Drop in Santa Anita Betting

[rwwupl]

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/drop-in-s...112706994.html

Las Vegas News, Sports, Business, Entertainment and Classifieds
Las Vegas Review-Journal - Sports
Friday
Dec 31, 2010
Drop in Santa Anita betting could continue to get steeper

Richard Eng

Posted: December 31, 2010 | 12:00 a.m.

[lamboguy]

i guess those are the reasons why california racing handle is down over 20%.

maybe the fact that racing on the west coast is outright boring has nothing to do with it.

for those of you that like exciting racing, i suggest you take a look at tampa bay downs, i believe that in the same timeframe and the supposedly same circumstances with otb, their handle happens to be up. why not take a look at sunland park as well, they have full fields with lots of big prices as well.

[andymays]

We'll know after the Saturday and Sunday numbers are in.

There is a 40% chance of rain on Sunday.

[macguy]

I just hope with the decrease in handle and increase in takeout, they end up making less money.

They finally get rid of the all weather track, then decide to boost the takeout, talk about one step forward two steps back.

[Fingal]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

maybe the fact that racing on the west coast is outright boring has nothing to do with it.

Nobody cares to go on track, simulcast or ADW & wait all day for one or two win bet opportunities that may not even happen due to short odds in small fields. It's not worth the effort. It's all about opportunity, & dominating heavy favorites & short prices aren't going to cut it.

[DeanT]

Originally Posted by Fingal

Nobody cares to go on track, simulcast or ADW & wait all day for one or two win bet opportunities that may not even happen due to short odds in small fields. It's not worth the effort. It's all about opportunity, & dominating heavy favorites & short prices aren't going to cut it.

There are numerous problems in CA racing - that is what the boycott is about. Currently horseplayers and gambling experts are not given the time of day. With some change, perhaps a few sharp gamblers and some experts can help and create something worthwhile in CA, that balances the needs of owners with the needs of the customer. If that happens, many people think CA racing will grow and it will be a win-win.

[Robert Fischer]

there is a lot of catering to different interest-groups going on.

Unfortunately the QUALITY OF THE SPORT is being neglected.

high take = the addicted "entertainment" players are asked to subsidize rebates. The gamble that the tracks are taking depends upon these players somehow not being tapped out by the take increases. In other words the tracks are gambling that increased takeout will provide the optimum contribution from this subset of player.

rebates = larger churning players are the MVPs. They are offered the "real" for-profit racing product with reasonable takeout. These large-churn players have proven to be more and more important to do business with. The "entertainment" pool of players has become stagnant with younger people choosing other gaming options. If players aren't going to commit to large-churn play they would have to be geniuses to consistently beat the larger take.

supertrainers/equine-PEDs = equine performance enhancing drugs are tolerated because it is important to make concessions to the larger-churning players. Supertrainers can operate at only a small loss (or even a profit) over a high volume of plays. Large-churn horseplayers can simply add just a bit of handicapping and they have an excellent foundation to maximize churn. Increasingly important money-laundering operations can play almost without handicapping due to their position to sustain an acceptable loss and still thrive.

small non-competive fields = The syndicate of trainers, owners, agents, and other good guys that want this thing of ours to be successful, work together to spread out the pool money offered. There is no sense in them banging heads for day-to-day purses. Most races therefore will be for one group of people at a low resistance. It is profitable for the syndicate to be on the same page.

these are just a few. As you can see there is some organization to what could appear to be chaos from the perspective of the "general public". The actual quality of the sport is obviously very low on the priority list. With the low quality, and the large vig there is little incentive for new players to grow the sport, particularly if they aren't willing to make a large-churn commitment. A final note - Because of state laws, and varying social norms, (and poor management) there is no mass media television broadcast. This broadcast would allow the syndicate to grow the population of "entertainment" players, and would prop up the sport. This will eventually happen on a state by state basis, as it could be very complicated and potentially problematic to pass in every state.

[skate]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

i guess those are the reasons why california racing handle is down over 20%.

maybe the fact that racing on the west coast is outright boring has nothing to do with it.

for those of you that like exciting racing, i suggest you take a look at tampa bay downs, i believe that in the same timeframe and the supposedly same circumstances with otb, their handle happens to be up. why not take a look at sunland park as well, they have full fields with lots of big prices as well.

sounds good to me, im taking a look at tampa and Rem Pk, although the meet is over, their handle was way up, along with a 10.1 per race entry, great payoffs.

[rwwupl]

Originally Posted by DeanT

There are numerous problems in CA racing - that is what the boycott is about. Currently horseplayers and gambling experts are not given the time of day. With some change, perhaps a few sharp gamblers and some experts can help and create something worthwhile in CA, that balances the needs of owners with the needs of the customer. If that happens, many people think CA racing will grow and it will be a win-win.

Yes , that is the idea,We do not wish to harm our brothers at the working level in this great industry, but we do want a new direction for racing in California from a spiral downward.

The leadership in California have been making the wrong decisions and we are pointing out what must be done to re-direct the course.

The wind and economics are our partners in this, and changes will be made,we want to make sure that customer interests are given the weight they deserve.

We will lose some battles but we will win the "war" because racing needs us more than we need them.

rwwupl

[BarnieClockerbigal]

Originally Posted by macguy

I just hope with the decrease in handle and increase in takeout, they end up making less money.

They finally get rid of the all weather track, then decide to boost the takeout, talk about one step forward two steps back.

Nope thats two steps back.

Frank hasn't gotten anything right for ages.

two breakdowns already on the dirt track.

[Southieboy]

http://149.6.184.82/cgi/NGoto/2/466809166?1191

[The_Knight_Sky]

Originally Posted by BarnieClockerbigal

Nope thats two steps back.

Frank hasn't gotten anything right for ages.

two breakdowns already on the dirt track.

Your '79 AMC Gremlin doesn't run well today.

Should we call DEP and have them repave your local roads.

[Hoofless_Wonder]

I think the drop in handle has less to do with the boycott and MUCH more to do with the fact that 75% (or so) of the horses entered on the dirt have NO dirt races to gain insight on how they'll run on it compared to the AW surfaces.

That being said, I had forgotten about the boycott, but will now participate since I don't believe SA management should be rewarded for that move. To me that's the same as the numbnut governor here in Illinois who wants to raise taxes without any meaningful spending cuts. Screw 'em....

[DJofSD]

Originally Posted by Fingal

Nobody cares to go on track, simulcast or ADW & wait all day for one or two win bet opportunities that may not even happen due to short odds in small fields. It's not worth the effort. It's all about opportunity, & dominating heavy favorites & short prices aren't going to cut it.

Bingo!

[toussaud]

Originally Posted by Hoofless_Wonder

I think the drop in handle has less to do with the boycott and MUCH more to do with the fact that 75% (or so) of the horses entered on the dirt have NO dirt races to gain insight on how they'll run on it compared to the AW surfaces.

That being said, I had forgotten about the boycott, but will now participate since I don't believe SA management should be rewarded for that move. To me that's the same as the numbnut governor here in Illinois who wants to raise taxes without any meaningful spending cuts. Screw 'em....

But most do have dirt form.

The cheaper horses run at fairplex, the ones that don't, are coming from a dirt circuit and the more expensive horses more times than not have run on dirt somewhere else (Sydney's candy, gleaming, Indian firewater).

That "these horses have no dirt form" is not true.