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anything but rosy
My two cents - the long term outlook is pretty bleak, especially for the smaller operators that had to sit on the sidelines for a few months. Santa Anita's re-opening was disappointing - with mostly unbettable cards after opening day. Del Mar off to a rough start, and with PITA and the costs, racing in Californy is in peril. Very suspicious rides at Tam and GP when they were a couple of the only tracks running - boat rides and strangles galore, IMHO.
I've been suggesting for years that racing in North America is headed for what passes for the sport in South America - very high takeout, and very low quality horses. COVID has accelerated the timeline of decline, significantly. There's too much greed and graft for takeouts to be reduced, rebates to be eliminated, or drug testing to become effective. The status quo of the movers and shakers in racing are parasitic barnacles, bent on killing the host.
I play a card or contest here and there, but mostly on overseas racing. Like ronsmac pointed out, there seem to be very few new fans - I can only think of one under 40 off the top of my head that I know, and he bets more on sports.
Enjoy it while you can....
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