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R6 does tie up money, reducing churn, reducing revenue. But when the pool gets large after multiple carryovers, it is something the track can advertise to the casual fans and general public, generating interest for individual days while the pool is still large. Maybe it works as a type of loss leader, losing money due to loss of churn while building up, but then recovering those losses with more general interest in the overall product until the pool is taken down.
I agree that track management maybe aren't the most brilliant business operators in the business universe, but I also agree that they certainly are not morons that don't know how to read P&L statements. The numbers must crunch somewhere, somehow.
As good a bet as the P5 is at most tracks, it has very little advertising value in generating interest with the casual fan and general public. Even guaranteed pools don't have advertising value to those that don't have some amount of gambling acumen. However, R6 carryover pools of $2,000,000 makes sense to everybody that sees it. There is $2,000,000 to be paid out to one lucky winner. And if nobody wins it today, it'll be even more tomorrow. Everybody, regardless of how little knowledge of horse racing they have, understands that.
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