Quote:
Originally Posted by Poindexter
IMO, if racing thinks they can continue to operate as they do or have in the past, and this will be some kind of unexpected windfall that will save the day, they are sadly mistaken.
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Good post, and unfortunately this is exactly what will happen. Just like the industry did with slot revenue, they'll go their state legislatures hat in hand. Giving the same song and dance about how sports betting can be a rising tide that lifts all boats, and if they can just get a small cut of the revenue (or limit betting to their facilities), then it will boost purses, which in turn will boost field sizes, which will save the game.
All the same arguments we heard a decade earlier. And if legislators fall for it again, a decade from now tracks will have received hundreds of millions in additional revenue with nothing to show for it.
Even as someone inside the industry, I don't want racing to have any part of this. It's 2018, and once CA legalizes sports betting, there is no valid reason why I shouldn't be able to make those bets from my phone or from my home PC. If Golden Gate or Santa Anita wants more foot traffic, then they should come up with another way to get people through the gates without arbitrarily restricting how people can bet on a totally unrelated game.
