The Problem With Horse Racing

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

How about a DFL wager?

Which horse will finish dead ass last?

Everybody complains about being a loser at the track; even the 1st timer. How about a wager on the horse that will finish dead last? Would be the same as any other pool, right? At least give everybody's lovable loser a shot at glory, amirite?

How about a $.10 P6 DFL jackpot carryover as well?

A 99/1 now becomes 1/5.

You could roll home and say my picks finished dead last every race, and yet I won $5K.

IMO...such a wager would create more controversy than all the other racetrack developments put together.

[chuckster1968]

The truth is today, the kids are into the fast thing, the slot machine is like a video game, the black jack table with a video hostess etc. Unfortunately, the kids today do not care to take the patience to want to sit at the track and learn how to study a racing form or whatever way you handicap. I have been going to the track regularly since I turned 35 years, because my father loved it. I ended up there because of divorce, like many others I presume. I personally love it, but the truth is, when I was a kid you waited for that the first sat. in may on ABC with Jim MacKay and Jack Whitaker because if you were into sports, there were 3 major networks competing and that was special because it was the start of the triple crown. Jump ahead 45 years later and you have 40 tracks playing, a casino in most of tracks, now, play online, play from your phone, watch a million different channels. So, the problem has become like so many other products or goods or services, they become old and outdated to expensive, their are too many choices for the consumer/gambler/handicapper. Horsetourneys-The NTRA are smart by having a membership and tournaments to the online crowd. The truth is, they keep making it impossible or harder for the horseplayer. I agree, if the horseracing world wants to survive, particularly in North America, then they should consider on a National scale like a professional sports league. I am in Toronto, Ont. and Woodbine essentially has change so many things in their marketing schemes to attract players yet they just decided to finally build a casino. However, in the process, they added more live poker tables and video tables and took away the best part of the track for the regular players who show up every week. So, you can not even get a good seat to sit and handicap for the day unless you show up at 8 am. They have switched the surface three times, they have now added an inner turf to try and attract, but the fundamental issue is there is no big barns here anymore. People are pushing away from it because of the expense, So it is truly a sport that is completely dominated by money of the multi millionaires and billionaires who outspend the the little trainer and little owner. The problem with horse racing is they have destroyed the middle class and now they are destroying the lower class. Why have tracks, my guess is eventually only the largest venues will survive, i.e. Churchill. Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Oak Lawn.

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

IMO...such a wager would create more controversy than all the other racetrack developments put together.

Does the Thask fun-meter always hover around 0?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

Does the Thask fun-meter always hover around 0?

Quite the contrary, actually. I am usually the life of whichever party I choose to attend.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

How about a DFL wager?

Which horse will finish dead ass last?

Everybody complains about being a loser at the track; even the 1st timer. How about a wager on the horse that will finish dead last? Would be the same as any other pool, right? At least give everybody's lovable loser a shot at glory, amirite?

How about a $.10 P6 DFL jackpot carryover as well?

A 99/1 now becomes 1/5.

You could roll home and say my picks finished dead last every race, and yet I won $5K.

LOL - Imagine watching a race where the tail end of the field are trying to finish last.

The winner runs 1:09 and the race ends 4 minutes later.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

LOL - Imagine watching a race where the tail end of the field are trying to finish last.

The winner runs 1:09 and the race ends 4 minutes later.

"My horse went off at 5 to 1...and it came in at a quarter to 2."

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

"My horse went off at 5 to 1...and it came in at a quarter to 2."

I searched my mind and just could not come up with that joke. LOL

Thanks.

[Dan Montilion]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

I searched my mind and just could not come up with that joke. LOL

Thanks.

I searched FOR my mind and came up with nothing.

[bob60566]

No need to be rocket scientist to see the trend at most tracks .

Maybe we have to many tracks and such a poor product?

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...0FSRCY.twitter

[PuckLuck]

This thread went further than I figured. Lots of people interested in getting the younger crowd interested. I know all my friends old like me with kids who like to bet horses but only on big days. I would interview these kids to see what would bring them out more. I think these derby-preakness-belmont crowds need to be tapped into and polled.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by bob60566

No need to be rocket scientist to see the trend at most tracks .

Maybe we have to many tracks and such a poor product?

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...0FSRCY.twitter

Well, that is sure a factor.
Belmont running 18 stakes in three days.
Two of them work days.
Now those are stakes races not available for a lot of other days.

How many 5 horse fields will we see for the rest of the meet?

I know their reason for doing it, but their goals and my goals are not the same. They want a big payday, I want quality racing.
So many stakes on one day, the only one was really interested in was the Met, which SHOULD have been run last weekend.

Feast or famine these days.
Racing is just not all that interesting anymore - the product sucks most days. Short prices, short files, scratchers, terrible rides late odds changes, mistimed races the norm......it really sucks.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by Tom

Feast or famine these days.
Racing is just not all that interesting anymore - the product sucks most days. Short prices, short files, scratchers, terrible rides late odds changes, mistimed races the norm......it really sucks.

Yeah Tom, I sadly agree with what you've stated here.....This year has been one of the worst for horse racing I've seen in decades, on numerous fronts.

[stlseeeek]

Full fields on weekends with rich stakes racing.

LOL

Trainers are super pussies, you expect them to race against top competition week in, week out? LOL they want that grade stakes placing for breeding, they dont give a shit about the racing.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by PuckLuck

This thread went further than I figured. Lots of people interested in getting the younger crowd interested. I know all my friends old like me with kids who like to bet horses but only on big days. I would interview these kids to see what would bring them out more. I think these derby-preakness-belmont crowds need to be tapped into and polled.

You actually believe that track management would ask the opinion of someone who bets?

(It is a great idea but, as always, nobody from any track will listen.)

[PuckLuck]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

You actually believe that track management would ask the opinion of someone who bets?

(It is a great idea but, as always, nobody from any track will listen.)

and thus... the death of horse racing.