The ARCI of 50-years-ago was the greatest friend the bettor ever had in horse racing.
Their leadership bitterly tried to fight against takeout increases and had blistering rhetoric of HANA proportions - and that when the takeout was 12% at most tracks.
I don't remember a peep out of the ARCI about Santa Anita's takeout increase. Not only has horse racing lost the ARCI ... but the DRF columnists of the 20's, 30's, and 40's were very good friends of the bettor. Things started to go down hill fast in the 70's ... the DRF of today isn't a mass producer of silly fluff like in the 70's ... but in terms of the writing (not the data) certainly no one there today is sticking up for the bettor...even though many of them are bettors themselves. As great and talented a writer as Crist is - you couldn't possibly find a guy any more anti-firebrand than him.
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