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A bit of a rant incoming. This got longer than I intended, but it is my thoughtful considerations on our favorite sport.
These small statistical differences are insignificant compared to the myriad combination of both positive and negative factors caused by COVID, IMO. That's a cocktail that is not easily unpacked outside of an academic paper and accompanying statistical analysis.
As far as contraction, horse racing is best off being non-reliant on factors outside of the industry like state subsidies and, even, dare I say, non-racing gambling revenue. A healthier, smaller sport could very well be better for us horseplayers and the product on the track in general.
I realize that less tracks and less races and less horses means less jobs, which is a very real negative outcome that affects people and their families. We need to figure out how to offset that impact with things like support services for backstretch workers, which could include both public and private funding support.
The industry has to evolve and innovate more quickly to the rapidly changing gambling market. Just look at the typical demographic of any OTB or simulcast center at a track. The sport needs to do more to attract the billions of dollars that DraftKings, FanDuel and the others are pulling in.
We also need a national governing body for horse racing, or at least a national horse racing commissioner that has real power over state commissions. Imagine if the AFC North had CFL rules like only three downs and 110-yard fields and goalposts in the endzone, but the NFC South had the typical NFL rules.
Bonkers, but that's what we see in horse racing every day.
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