ESPN writer goes for the jugular. Track Management.
 

I'm sure most of the PA members can identify with this article.

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/stor...ive-indecision

RR

This article has been bouncing around twitter for a few days now.

Not sure it's getting any real traction. There isn't a track in the country that cares what the racing press says. A minor blip on the radar.

I can identify really well with the article
 

I know of a track very similar with the espn article. This track never had a pick 4 until over 10 years after all the other tracks in the country already had this bet. Now the have a $1.00 pick 4 while most tracks have the perferred .50 bet.

This track had a $1.00 super for years after most tracks had the .10 supers.

This track never has contest for bettors to qualify for Las Vegas. Most every other track in the country does have these contest.

This same track has new track management for 4 or 5 years now for the racino. Friends who work on security there for 20 years or more have told me that they have never seen these new managers not even once.

It is a track that is hard to believe. Hardly anyone goes there to bet anymore.

You must be talking about the same place I was. Go back to the ESPN article and read the comments posted at the end.

RR

PS. I hope the Mountainman does not put his 2 cents in. Would hate to see any revenge taken. But I don't think anyone there reads a Horseracing blog.

article
 

This track is making so much money and the management is also. This is just a blip on the radar to them. Life is fine for them.


What I am hoping- is for a miracle to happen. I hope a good racetrack moves about an hour away from where I live so I can go there and qualify for the Las Vegas tournament. I've got 35 years experience playing this game. I would like to get a big win before I just fade away.

HRTV and Katie Micolay showed those Zebra, Ostrich replays on a following morning. I guess if I was at the track and could not leave.. like taking care of horse in last or waiting for mutli-race exotics, I would probably not be very happy either.

Kudos to Gary West, a very well-respected turf writer, for recognizing some of the best on-air broadcasts in the country and for specifically mentioning the best by a landslide.

Mark and Nancy at Mountaineer deserve mention in this club too.

The subject matter in the article is similar to what my view of racetrack managements. I have been of the same opinion for 20 years.
Racetrack management overall, save for a few, STINK for the game.

We've all felt the way that Gary West articulates in his article. This game is really in need of a major overhaul across the board. The sad part is that there are about 200 people on this message board alone that could implement winning strategies if given an opportunity. However, the people in positions to do just that, don't....and probably can't.

I will make a plug for my hometown track in Minnesota. These guys have put a good product together (both live and simulcast. How many other tracks have scratch sheet print outs of enteries and morning line odds ready for ALL tracks across the country for FREE)? They really cater to the bettor and have done this for years on a shoe-string budget. They now have an influx of Indian money. Could be a major Midwest player as soon as next year.

Too bad the game nationally is on life-support. I find it weird that I know exactly NO ONE that is a die-hard horse racing player that I didn't meet at the track. I meet a lot of people in my work life. Never met a die-hard horse player. NEVER. The product has a big wipe stain on it before it is served to the public. No wonder they aren't buyin'.

People could toss MILLIONS of dollars into the weekly drawing of Megamillions when the prize is "12" even though the odds are "175" and yet, those same people all of a sudden need to be 'educated' to make a horse racing wager. Oh no, i cant bet horses unless i read 10 books and become an 'expert'....yet, thse same people are pulling slots levers, betting on Roulette and purchasing scratch offs.....why cant some of this 'gambling' money find its way onto trifectas at the track?

Is there some prerequisite that every dollar wagered in horse racing has to be wagered by a seasoned handicapper?

Because the slot player and the horse player are two different personality types. They are both gamblers and if there is no slots, the slot player will bet the horses. But if there is slots, the slot player is not going to bet the horses. What is even worse, some die hard horse players can be moved over to the poker tables if they are treated better there and we all know how most tracks treat horse players.

Why people don't gambool on racing
 

I sort of see what you're saying, and when racing was the only gambling game in town (for those who didn't want to bet sports through a bookie) they'd gladly take the worst of it for a thrill, but now with other options they don't need to.

I.e., When you bet roulette on a wheel with double zero, your expectation is to lose .0526 units per spin no matter who else is playing. That's not the case with racing since the sharper bettors increase the takeout for the luckboxes.

The typical rebuttals to this are, "The luckbox player doesn't know he's that much up against it" and "People play the lottery with a higher takeout."

I agree with the latter but not the former. Yeah, people play the lottery with sometimes as high as a 50% takeout, but again that takeout is uniform. No one else is costing them money. Racing (and poker) does not afford that luxury.

The lottery can't be compared to other forms of gambling. People are buying the dream. They are expecting to lose, but from the time they buy the ticket to the time they see the draw numbers, there are at least a couple of times that the person is thinking about never working again, buying a bigger home, or a home if they don't have one, and which relatives they will make happy and which they will stick it to.

Takeout is irrelevant for the most part when it comes to the dream, but it is my understanding that the lotteries with the biggest payouts tend to see the most improvement when it comes to total revenues. There is an element that lotteries that pay off more for correctly getting 3 numbers for example, have an overall outcome of getting players to play more often and many tend to lose more of their money in the long run because it becomes more of their focus.

I completely agree that takeout is irrelevant when it comes to Powerball and Mega Millions. I always laugh when people buy tickets at $200-million but not $50-million. The prize is really the same. You get to retire and live like a king.

But I wasn't ONLY talking about big jackpot games. My comments apply to scratchers, daily 3, etc.