How low could takeout actually go while still having enough left to run the show?
 

I doubt it could ever math the sports betting vig, but could it match poker's or fantasy sports'?

See here :

http://www.betfair.com/aboutUs/Betfair.Charges/

Betfair doen't pay for the show, just facilitates gamblers for other peoples show

it comes down to bettors don't care about running the show. The NFL puts on a "show" and bettors get to bet the games at approximately 5%, none of that 5% goes to facilitate the lifestyles of the players, yet, race bettors are expected to buy silver haired trainers a new Mercedes each year.

I could not care less about who pays for the show.

How the professional soccer, baseball and football teams manage to pay for it anyway? Do they charge a cut for each dollar bet on them?

No, but they would love to, and I think the NBA will be the first to get a cut legally. They still have paying customers who either buy seats or indirectly pay through their support of cable companies carrying sport channels to keep the show going.

Horse racing needs the betting because they dont have true paying customers close to traditional sport levels.

I didn't realize that gambling revenue was part of the business model for soccer, baseball, and football. Considering that gambling revenue is what racing is all about paying for the show is paramount.

Why racing has to rely on take out in order to make a profit?

What really makes it so different from other sporting events that can survive on their own?

How other countries manage to have bookmakers and betting exchanges in top of on track betting?

The TV rights $$$$ contracted for LA Dodgers and Lakers ALONE could probably float 5 good racetracks for a year, incl purses.

Well I guess that is a question I have then, how do they? They don't get a cut over there?

Time to get real. Horse racing is about gambling. Take away gambling nobody would care about racing except for a few, very few people. There is no way horse racing can maintain the facilities etc without a cut of the action. Show me a track that makes money without a takeout.

The difference is that another group of people-- television viewers and ticket and merchandise buyers-- ARE paying for that show.

Someone has to pay for the costs of a racing operation. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

If it's going to be a live audience who does it, then the takeout could theoretically be extremely low-- just taxes plus marginal cost. But you need to find that live audience, and you need to charge them enough money (and some PA folks will complain about the racetrack charging a bunch of money to live attendees, of course).

If the live audience is going to be tiny, as it is at most tracks, then you need to generate a ton of handle AND take out enough to pay for the racing operation.

This is why the old farts that run this game should not be in charge.

Why can't horse racing receive monster advertising rights from sponsors?

Why can't the 1/16 pole/gate/jockey silks be decorated in advertisements/sponsorships?

Why can't horse racing be a sport where merchandise is sold in the millions of units?

Why can't a team of female riders race against a team of male riders & the series be shown on NBC live (with wagering encouraged)?

Why can't a team of horses be grouped together, be branded with a flashy name (attached to a city) and be pitted against other regional groups of horses in stakes that have team standings and generate regional loyalty (like sports teams do)?

With new and consistent revenues coming in, takeout can be reduced significantly, which would drive up handle etc.

Why not?

Because these fossils that could care less about proper marketing, are in charge. All they care about is sucking every dollar out of the ever shrinking golden goose.

No offense guys, but you are all dreaming.

Newspapers don't carry racing anymore. Nobody really pays attention anymore.

Why, because there are other forms of gambling available now.

Big sponsorships, etc are nice dreams, but you tell me one major sponsor that might be interested in day to day racing. Sure some show up for big days, but who is going to sponsor the day to day product.

Face it, racing is a niche sport and that will not likely change. I would love to see it, but I do not believe that it will

The fact that all the race tracks in the world (with some very few exceptions) are charging a hefty amount of take-out, does not mean that side betting vehicles, like bookmakers and exchanges are not available as alternatives...

This is the whole point..

Make bookmakers and exchanges legal and let Darwinism free to select the 'fittest' tracks that will thrive in the new era of horse betting, something than of course means, way less racing and way better sporting quality.. Instead, racing resembles an anarchic landscape, with many small operations who try to squeeze as much of the betting dollar in a disastrous alliance with the casino industry without any kind of a long term vision for the evolution of the game.