Racing's 800 pound gorilla

[Candybag]

Racing's 800-pound gorilla: The industry has repeatedly gone to the legislative "well" too many times, yet the industry is still in decline. Eventually creditability evaporates, support fades. In Ohio alone, Sunday racing, more gimmicks, simulcasting and slot fueled purses were supposed to be the cure all. Yet, racing dollars are still in decline, tracks closed.

There are a lot of great ideas to save racings currently, or should I say theories that require the racing industry to use their money and political capital to experiment? Perhaps one or more ideas could work. How does a person with an idea convince the industry to try yet another experiment at the industry's own expense/political capital?

My possible solution to the 800-pound gorilla:

...Get a state's attention with a solution that reduces Medicaid dollars paid in error

...My company's money is used to fund the Medicaid pilot project, the State has no upfront costs. No Medicaid savings, no cost to the state

...No new legislation is needed. Members of the house and senate observe the pilot project in the background at no political risk

...Should the pilot program produce the projected savings, then the racing community asks for legislative help with results of the pilot program in hand

...To be clear, no Medicaid dollars or savings go to racing although legally those saving could via a budget process

This "wait and see" approach funded by a private company deserves consideration. Nothing is asked from the state or racing industry other than to try a new idea using my money. If the idea produces great savings for the state, the racing industry gets consideration on legislation to help grow the industry (prop bets, fixed odds wagering, exchange betting, etc.). If the pilot project fails, it goes away quietly at no loss to state and no embarrassing exposure to members of the legislative body, it was an operation of current law to pursue albeit it was unsuccessful.

I have made several requests to get audience with people of importance. No response to date. Not sure I will get a response; cold calling is tough stuff.

The racing industry is so fragmented and rudderless, can it even recognize a "can't lose" proposition?

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by Candybag

I have made several requests to get audience with people of importance. No response to date. Not sure I will get a response; cold calling is tough stuff.

Because it's nonsense, no matter how many times you crap post it.

[Parkview_Pirate]

There have been numerous ideas about how to improve racing, and as you point out many haven't been tried - thus can be described as theories.

An 800 pound gorilla implies the bureaucracy of the game is to blame for the woes of the sport, and that is certainly partially true. I have observed little to no improvement in that regard for over three decades.

But another animal analogy is worth mentioning for much of the root cause of the decline of racing, and that's the "elephant in the room" with regards to the economy. As entertainment, racing is funded by the discretionary spending of the fans and owners, and of course the mercy of the sticky fingers of government. In spite of .gov's narratives to the contrary, the economy of the United States has been in decline for many years, and that in turn has resulted into a decrease of the flow of money into the sport.

Like politicians willing to run on a platform of spending cuts and reduction in handouts, racing's leadership has avoided the issue. They've failed to confront the economics head on and propose and implement sound ideas for contraction, which is a reality whether or not rearranging the deck chairs is the only "option" that springs to mind...

[Poindexter]

If what you say is true and you can save states/taxpayers millions of dollars, that is what you should do. Wtf does horse racing have to do with this and more importantly why are you trying to get them more charity. Even if you were to get them more charity, the racing industry will just do what they always do, higher purses, more money for breeders, nothing for the horse bettor. Charity just keeps them breathing for a little longer as they seek out new ways to attain more charity. Frankly the last thing I want to see is more charity that ultimately will just end up in the pockets of rich owners and trainers.

God forbid this industry set up a system that would enable them to stand on their own two feet. What happened to making money the old fashioned way (the old Ef Hutton commercial “by earning it”).

[racenomics]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Because it's nonsense, no matter how many times you crap post it.

Is there a mute button?

[the little guy]

Perhaps a moderator can merge this into his other preposterous thread. Did this really need to be repeated?

[Track Phantom]

Originally Posted by the little guy

Perhaps a moderator can merge this into his other preposterous thread. Did this really need to be repeated?

I like reading it. But, in full disclosure, I also slow down to a crawl when passing a car accident.