Bobby Flay says what Horse Racing needs WITHOUT really saying anything

[lex]

Well I think he has mentioned getting rid of the Big A. So I stopped listening.

From what I understand he's mostly for the boutique meets and maybe Belmont. As a breeder I'd like to know what he thinks should happen with all of the lesser horses that come along.

We can't all introduce people to the track the way Flay can, and I'm not sure that works often anyway. Tons of people go to Saratoga every year but I don't see them road tripping with me to Aqueduct. They don't think about horse racing again until July. Not sure how many people actually know we have an OTB channel and it's not conducive to learning anything anyway.

[turfnsport]

Fashion? Does Bobby know most of the revenue stream for the sport comes from dudes sitting at home betting in their underwear?

[classhandicapper]

If what he's saying is that the best course of action for racing is to consolidate into mostly a handful of high quality boutique meets at potential vacation destinations like Saratoga, Del Mar, Keeneland, Oaklawn, Belmont, Santa Anita, GP, etc... where we feature high caliber racing, good food, drink, and entertainment, etc... then I agree with him. It would be best for the economics and all sorts of other reasons to consolidate.

However, consolidation means lost jobs and that some people are going to have to give up their portion of the pie. Then we run straight into the politics of it all and the idea is dead.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

If what he's saying is that the best course of action for racing is to consolidate into mostly a handful of high quality boutique meets at potential vacation destinations like Saratoga, Del Mar, Keeneland, Oaklawn, Belmont, Santa Anita, GP, etc... where we feature high caliber racing, good food, drink, and entertainment, etc... then I agree with him. It would be best for the economics and all sorts of other reasons to consolidate.

However, consolidation means lost jobs and that some people are going to have to give up their portion of the pie. Then we run straight into the politics of it all and the idea is dead.

You figure after the entire breeding industry collapses, they will regroup and breed about 2000 horses a year, most of which will be top class race horses?

Thinking is underrated.

[azeri98]

Half the people who attend the races live in this era usually go a few times a year or look like they are out of a scene from the "Great Unwashed". It's a dying sport, too many other sports to bet on and you don't have to spend as much time handicapping, it's the instant gratification generation

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by the little guy

You figure after the entire breeding industry collapses, they will regroup and breed about 2000 horses a year, most of which will be top class race horses?

Thinking is underrated.

I think horse racing is like every other industry in the US. If there's too much capacity it has to consolidate to take costs out of the system so the remaining players can become profitable. Otherwise it withers and dies. Our industry has way too much capacity now. Anyone with a functioning brain can see that. Many tracks would not be here without casino subsidies and we don't have enough horses to match the capacity. What we have is quite a few "zombie" tracks.

I believe if racing was consolidated, it would not reduce the overall handle much (if at all) since we now have online wagering and simulcasts everywhere. All the handle would flow to the handful of remaining active tracks around the country instead of being divided among the up to 30 that are sometimes active now.

That means each remaining track would would handle massively more money than they do now. That would allow them to raise purses, invest in infrastructure, lower the take, or do whatever else they thought made economic sense that they could also get passed by the corrupt politicians in their respective states.

Even without dramatic increases in purses, I think the best horses would still be bred to the best horses in the exact same numbers they are now. There would still be just as many high level ALW races, Stakes, and Graded Stakes. They would just more more compressed because there would be fewer trash tracks and races. If the purses all look like Kentucky Downs or better, wow!

Where there would be a drop off is in lower levels and some subsidized statebred programs. But even that might not be as bad as you think if I am correct about the remaining premier tracks having an enormous increase in handle. A lot of owners will want to own horses if the purses are large enough to actually make money instead of typically losing like they do now. The 2nd tier breeding might continue to do well and we'll have huge full fields instead of the parade of 5 horse fields we have at some major tracks now.

The market could sort through which tracks make economic sense, how long the meets should be, how many should be open at any given time etc..

The biggest problems are political. Consolidation means job losses. That's never easy, but the industries that survive consolidate. Those that refuse die.

The model of way fewer active tracks and higher quality racing does just fine overseas and arguably, the quality is higher than in the US in some of them.

I agree with your last statement though. Maybe you should try it.

[the little guy]

Is there a Cliff Notes version? Anything beyond a few sentences is too much.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by the little guy

Is there a Cliff Notes version? Anything beyond a few sentences is too much.

I understand, but to explain why I think consolidation should happen is not a quick note. It's complex and most likely not going to happen because of the politics even though the economics do make sense.

[classhandicapper]

The one thing I can tell you is when I introduce people to the sport in the right way, they really get hooked in the best way …

I'm going to guess what he means by this.

I have friends that are not into serious handicapping and gambling. When I've gone with them to Saratoga and they experienced the country atmosphere, enjoyed the music, the food, the fact that the horses were the best in the world etc... they loved it. Now they buy seats and go by themselves every year and bet a few dollars on the races.

If I took those same people to Aqueduct in the dead of winter they'd never go again.

The sport needs hardcore gamblers, but it also need for people to get exposed to the sport and fall in love with it for what it can be at its best.

[AltonKelsey]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I'm going to guess what he means by this.

....

If I took those same people to Aqueduct in the dead of winter they'd never go again.

.

I know pigeons that have given up the game . Not enough bald heads to poop on anymore.

[Suff]

Every Board member of the Breeders Cup should be forced to bet 15% of their income at Penn National or Parx. You'd see some serious changes then my brothers.

The Gambler is the last thing on these people minds. You can Bank on that.

[Elkchester Road]

Originally Posted by Fuss

Every Board member of the Breeders Cup should be forced to bet 15% of their income at Penn National or Parx. You'd see some serious changes then my brothers.

The Gambler is the last thing on these people minds. You can Bank on that.

This is gospel.

[stlseeeek]

Only thing more overrated than his horses are his cooking skills.


He's not the great chef ,food network(which he has stake in) tries to sell you on.


I do love when they have Master chef, and he faces Morimoto, and the judges are 3 ball sucking bobby flay homers and bobby some how eeeks it out.

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by stlseeeek

Only thing more overrated than his horses are his cooking skills.


He's not the great chef ,food network(which he has stake in) tries to sell you on.


I do love when they have Master chef, and he faces Morimoto, and the judges are 3 ball sucking bobby flay homers and bobby some how eeeks it out.

This board man, who knew there was such a cross section of experts. Who knew we James Beard here with us.

[chadk66]

I've always said that the industry has lost the "pageantry" of the sport along the way. And I'll stick to that statement. I think gamblers will take to it regardless, if it's something they think is a value. But the casual bettor/fan needs to be swooned by the pageantry of the sport, most significantly the horses themselves. This would also potentially expand the ownership of these horses I think. I think of you lure them in with the pageantry the next logical step is to want to see them more and more. Then eventually you want to get your best ten friends together and buy a horse. And it grows from there. One of the years I trained I had twenty horses and 68 owners. Canterbury was in it's first few years and these were all brand new owners. None wanted to take on the risk by themselves. It eventually broke down over the next few years having some of these owners going about it themselves. They wanted to be more in control.



Another scenario that played out was one on one contact. These new found fans of racing sat in the grandstand on race day and saw those barns. Wondered what it would be like to see those animals in their day to day environment. See how they were taken care of. How they worked out. So canterbury started back side tours. They had a double decker bus and they would drive around the back side so these people could be closer. But they never got out of the bus. So I talked to one of the owners. Whom I just so happened to be training for. And asked him if these people couldn't stop at my barn and come inside and look at these animals and actually touch em. And ask me any questions they wished. He agreed. So we started doing Saturday tours. These people were totally amazed at what went on back there. And quite a few owners popped out of these tours. They were also allowed to go trackside and watch morning workouts. They absolutely loved it. And quite honestly I did too. I loved sharing the "pageantry" of these animals with people. And they got to see it and ask questions about it in these horses confines. It doesn't get any better than that.