THE BOTTOM LINE

[lamboguy]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2011/02/03/penn-national-sees-little-pari-mutuel-future.aspx

this guy could care less about horseracing, it was only way to get his hands on slot machine gambling all over the country.

i have said this over and over again, if racing was run right it would make more money for these large corporations than what they take in from mindless slot machines, and guys like carlino would look good instead looking like a two bit thug after what he just said.

[thaskalos]

Carlino says that "there aren't sufficient numbers of racing customers in the world anymore because they died."

Did all these customers agree to die at the same time? How come death hadn't affected horse racing's customer base to this extent until recent years?

[lamboguy]

these are the bums running the show. they want to find their way to as much money as they can find with the least amount of effort. its a dead heat between carlino and his slot machines to see who thinks less.


in economic terms, the slot machines will have much more in the way of the law of diminishing returns than horseracing.

they like to spend their time figuring out how to bus more people to his establishment so he can clean them out and for him to get a fat bonus.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

Carlino says that "there aren't sufficient numbers of racing customers in the world anymore because they died."

Did all these customers agree to die at the same time? How come death hadn't affected horse racing's customer base to this extent until recent years?
Lets say that in the 70's there was a sufficient number of customers, and very few new customers were added since then. Then it is very possible his statement is true. I can think of 12 close friend older regulars who have died from the 70's (almost anyone who was 50 or older in 1970, and most who were in their 40's in 1970), and maybe only 6 have replaced those 12 since the 70's.

[lamboguy]

no business can survive without finding a constant flow of new customers. the racing game has worked overtime to chase potential players away. carlino is part of that breed these days.

[thaskalos]

Lets say that in the 70's there was a sufficient number of customers, and very few new customers were added since then. Then it is very possible his statement is true. I can think of 12 close friend older regulars who have died from the 70's (almost anyone who was 50 or older in 1970, and most who were in their 40's in 1970), and maybe only 6 have replaced those 12 since the 70's.IMO, death is not the problem. The real problem is that the game is no longer appealing from a betting standpoint...and too many of the sophisticated, well-heeled players have moved on to better gambling venues...and their absence is reflected in the dwindling mutuel pools.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

IMO, death is not the problem. The real problem is that the game is no longer appealing from a betting standpoint...and too many of the sophisticated, well-heeled players have moved on to better gambling venues...and their absence is reflected in the dwindling mutuel pools.
I think the 70's is when new player creation peaked. There were more new players created in their teens and early 20's than we've seen since, and these are the majority of today's regulars.
Yes, many have left the game for fairer gambles, and many of the potential teen Horseplayers in the 80's, 90's and beyond bypassed horse racing or maybe gave it a tiny try.

[lamboguy]

IMO, death is not the problem. The real problem is that the game is no longer appealing from a betting standpoint...and too many of the sophisticated, well-heeled players have moved on to better gambling venues...and their absence is reflected in the dwindling mutuel pools.
the game is awful because they allowed it to go to hell. trainers can't wait to rush a horse to a breeding farm after their 3 yo career because they know its unlikely that the horse can make it at age 4. they can't make it because they didn't train them the vets did. now people can only follow the horse in a farm and not on a track. that is just one of the things wrong with the game.

[Stillriledup]

IMO, death is not the problem. The real problem is that the game is no longer appealing from a betting standpoint...and too many of the sophisticated, well-heeled players have moved on to better gambling venues...and their absence is reflected in the dwindling mutuel pools.

Death not being the problem is right, human beings have been living longer than they were 100 years ago or even 50 years ago. Old people die LATER than they used to and yet, these higher ups in racing are using the 'dying off' excuse.

People are just getting smarter and there are just many more options. Racing has not kept up with the times. Everyone knows the saying, "if you're not getting smarter, you're getting dumber"

This is exactly what's happening in racing. These higher ups are sitting around twiddling their thumbs hoping that the genie is going to go back in the bottle and there will be 30,000 people on track every day.

[toussaud]

It really is a shame. I am the poster child for the guy in the article. I'm a young minority that grew up playing basketball and absolutely fell in love with horse racing. I am proof it can be done, but with some effort, which no one seems to want to put forth anymore.

It's really hard to sit back and just watch people toss the game you have grown to love in the crapper. It really is. This game is better than that and deserves better.

[Stillriledup]

[QUOTE=toussaud]It really is a shame. I am the poster child for the guy in the article. I'm a young minority that grew up playing basketball and absolutely fell in love with horse racing. I am proof it can be done, but with some effort, which no one seems to want to put forth anymore.

It's really hard to sit back and just watch people toss the game you have grown to love in the crapper. It really is. This game is better than that and deserves better.[/]


The problem is that there is no 'keeper of the game'. In pro sports, the sports leagues have 'gate keepers' to make sure that the history, pageantry and tradition of the sport remains in tact. With racing, there's no 'game' per se, its just a bunch of businessmen who have acquired licenses to accept gambling and horses just happen to be there for them to use as their gambling vehicle.

These people are just worried about the gambling, they have no 'incentive' to be the keepers of the game and to be really concerned about its direction for the future.

Its a shame.

[toussaud]

I think the real problem is we don't have gamblers running the sport.


The key element to keep horse racing alive is people putting money through windows, yet no one knows the mindset of a person who plays the horses. The things we care about. The little things that make a big difference. Even worse, they don't want to know.

With that said, I can honestly say I have never ever wagered on a race at Penn National. It's a crappy product. There are better options. Because of that, this doesn't surprise me.

[On Spec]

As a "newcomer" returning to the sport after a 25+ year absence, it seems to me that racing is now being terminally subsidized by other forms of gambling, and as those other forms of gambling strengthen, racing will be destroyed or boutiqued at a few locations of historical/nostalgic/kitschy importance (Saratoga, Churchill Downs).

It seems obvious to me that the whole slots-racino thing is a game businesspeople play of pretending to preserve the legacy cachet of racing to get an opening to own a casino, the cash machine of the future. Eventually, the casino side of the business strengthens and, after a suitable time of mourning (and the Penn National gent seems to suggest that the mourners can all go home now) the costly "teaser rate" business of racing is eliminated.

I'd be surprised if this strategy isn't already a case-study being used in B-schools across the land.

I'm beginning to think that the most interesting plays that today's horseracing offers are decisions on whether to back or lay that callously frank new executive and the gaming company he leads.