The State of the Racing Economy

re: The State of the Racing Economy

Patricia Bewley, Vice President the RACE Fund — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:11:50 GMT

One more thing that would help the race track, a total responsibilty for the lives of the horses. The greed that is involved is the main reason the owners, trainers, and facility owners avoid the obligation to place and care for the retirement of racehorses. No one seems to ever think about the horses, as one KY breeder remarked last week when he was contacted about taking back a mare bound for slaughter that he had bred , horses are just like cattle to me, no I wont' take her back. With that attitude , the conditions for the horses will never change. It is not all about people, it is about the horses.

re: The State of the Racing Economy

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:19:44 GMT

I used to think that with the first horseracing channel better times were ahead for this great sport. Now all we ever hear about the last couple of years is all the bickering and fighting of the "powers that be" Don't they both need each other and don't they all need the bettors? It seems to me that the greed factor is the major part of the problem. For the good of the sport there should be a national office of Horse racing. With a staff of electees & appointees with offices , terms and duties clearly spelled out and maybe a Commissioner or President with the authority to enforce a standard set of rules for all major & minor tracks in the country. That would rely heavily on the major players setting aside their ego's for the good of the sport as a whole. Horse racing just has to look at Boxing to see where it's headed or already is for the most part. Learn a lesson by another sport that was a national mainstay until the leagues took over and realized that legitimacy, & a level playing field is part of what makes these National sports national! Of course when asking business people to give up money to save their livelihood you would think you had asked for a contract of all first born males in the family for the next millenia! So we all get to sit here and be spectators to the sport of kings reverting back to just that! Wow how exciting will it be to watch races with the same 10 -20 stables represented at the few sites that can actually afford to have races. The Churchill thing exasperates me they want more money but not to increase purses which would seem to feed into more people having a chance to make a living and turn a profit.

re: The State of the Racing Economy

Brad Oaks — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:21:19 GMT

One of the ways tracks could help themselves where VLT's and other non-pari mutual devices aren't installed. Is doing what my home track, Oaklawn, has been doing since 2000, and that is Instant Racing. Instant Racing is betting on already ran races, the patrons just don't know the winner.

Instant Racing by itself has saved Oaklawn, purse wise, to allow this historic track to continue to be a major player in the world of horse racing. Oaklawn will be offering over $300,000 per day in purses at its upcoming 2009 meet.

Since Instant Racing is not an Alternate Form of Gambling, AFG, getting state, county, and city governments to allow this should be an easier task than having to get a special vote in a state's legislature.

Since Instant Racing is simply another form of an already legal pari-mutual wager, states already having pari-mutual wagering getting this adding form of revenue should be a less daunting task.

This could help "save" some racing jurisdictions like, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas just to name a few, and would allow purses to increase steadily, or at a minimum stay at the rates they are now without dropping.

With more jurisdictions using Instant Racing, then each track could co-mingle those races and bigger payouts would then go back to the bettor.

Also, new people to horse racing would not have to learn how to read the Daily Racing Form, in the beginning, in order to play Instant Racing. This would help to draw "new" fans to the game, and in this new information overload society, the waiting 20-25 minutes between each race would no longer be an issue.

Lastly, and most importantly, you don't have to worry about ADW's.

re: The State of the Racing Economy

STEVE STONE — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:14:17 GMT

Hello Steve..I very much not only appreciated but enjoyed reading your current piece regarding racings state of the economy as you certainly touched upon all of its complex components. The area of consternation and dismay that I have with all of this is that everyone associated within the industry and those outside of it...namely the fans.. are continually articulating their opinions and thoughts on how to improve the game.......however..nothing apparently ever becomes reality..talk is cheap as they say...trite as it may seem...If it weren't for the Eight Belles tragedy on Derby Day..the NTRA would undoubtedly never have embraced its current agressive mandates which was recently rolled out..Yet..what you note here are correct and racing is certainly not impervious to the current economic both domestic and global meltdown..Regrettably not everyone associated in the industry are going to survive..Sad as it may be...Did anyone of your readers notice the Breeders'Cup Classic Cup winners circle presentation where Frank Stronach was standing to the extreme right of the group..white shirt collar open yet sans any expression on his face?..He appeared to have the problems of the world thrusted upon his shoulders..and he certainly should be concerned....Next year this time he may no longer be the Chairman and President of Santa Anita Race Course..An local bank president could be making that presentation in the winners circle.......Now what does that tell you?? The industry is now in throes of an much-needed and long overdue wakeup call..Most of it their own doing...As I've contributed on THE BLOOD-HORSE blogs previously..like so many others here...the time has come for the committed and fervant and passionate fans to continue to make meaningful contributions to the sport..and let the so-called race track managers and operators finally sit up and listen...and take notice..Management et al has simply failed to deliver...Lets hope its not to late...Thank you always for your kind window...Best regards ..Steve Stone..East Hanover..New Jersey

re: The State of the Racing Economy

Kate — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:09:03 GMT

I don't think that there is a solution. Horseracing has declined so much in popularity that races that were always covered on major networks can only be seen on TVG or HRTV! Track attendance is down, betting is down, and the only races that seem to draw public attention anymmore are the Breeders' Cup and the Triple Crown. A lot of things are going to change for the worse in racing, but the industry is going to have to work to keep itself in the public eye and promote itself much better. The economy, no, the recession that is occurring now is going to have an effect that many in the industry will not recover from. I have heard it said that too many horses are being bred and that stud fees have grown way too high. Maybe this is a place to start, but there must be an aggressive effort to re-establish horse racing as a popular sport if anything at all is to improve in the industry.