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[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by DaTruth

The major tracks would only be permitted to hold live racing on Friday through Monday, with no more than 10 races per day. Each of those tracks would be equipped with lights so they can race at night on occasion. The remaining tracks would only be permitted to race on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with no limit on the number of races they can card on those days.

This is interesting, and I know what you're saying. I don't think it's quite that simple, as you need a good product more than 3 days a week to keep interest. That said, I've always wondered what would happen if racetracks were forced to bid for their dates...

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

This is interesting, and I know what you're saying. I don't think it's quite that simple, as you need a good product more than 3 days a week to keep interest. That said, I've always wondered what would happen if racetracks were forced to bid for their dates...

I respectfully disagree.

Hong Kong... Wednesday at Happy Valley, Sunday at Sha Tin.

Great horses, jockeys, big fields, huge payouts... maybe it wouldn't work here but it sure does there.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

I respectfully disagree.

Hong Kong... Wednesday at Happy Valley, Sunday at Sha Tin.

Great horses, jockeys, big fields, huge payouts... maybe it wouldn't work here but it sure does there.

Our version of the industry would crumble with racing two days per week at just two tracks.

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

Our version of the industry would crumble with racing two days per week at just two tracks.

In order to crumble there would need to be a foundation.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

In order to crumble there would need to be a foundation.

Very true.

I get the need for the contraction. One or two days a week would probably be powerful, but for a game that still generates $30 million in gross handle on a Wednesday and Thurs, $40 mil on a Fri, $50-60 mil on an average Saturday... I think the week-long model can work... but right now, we're over-doing it. 15 tracks on a Saturday is insane.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Nothing will ever improve - and the decline will only continue - until the sport can shed its label as a bigtime suckers game.

Meaningful takeout reductions and big rebates just haven't been attempted by any tracks - and betting exchanges are the last great hope for turning the tide... but you know this industry will screw that up. How can anyone have even a morsel of faith?

ESPN and all the Fox Sports stations gets absolutely spammed with poker shows .. because more people care about watching a replay of the 2006 Golden Palace.Com tournament of Tards - or the 2008 Celebrity Showdown - than they do about the Haskell or Whitney.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Nothing will ever improve - and the decline will only continue - until the sport can shed its label as a bigtime suckers game.

Meaningful takeout reductions and big rebates just haven't been attempted by any tracks - and betting exchanges are the last great hope for turning the tide... but you know this industry will screw that up. How can anyone have even a morsel of faith?

(emphasis added)

I don't think even reduced takeout can make a difference. When Ellis reduced takeout on it's Pick-4's to 4% for an entire meet 2 years ago, it hardly made a difference. People preferred the 20%+ takeouts at the "big" tracks. How much did Pimlico's recent experiment with lowered takeout raise handle? Not much.

--Dunbar

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

... ESPN and all the Fox Sports stations gets absolutely spammed with poker shows .. because more people care about watching a replay of the 2006 Golden Palace.Com tournament of Tards - or the 2008 Celebrity Showdown - than they do about the Haskell or Whitney.

I agree with the implication that more TV exposure would help horseracing. One of the main reasons poker is so popular is the familiarity of the big players. We recognize Brunson, Negraneau, Helmuth, Ivey, et al. Horseracing retires almost all of its budding stars almost as soon as they become slightly recognizable names. That's why if I were Racing Czar I'd change the breeding rules so that no horse could breed until it was 5 years old, regardless of whether its injured or "injured".

MMSC didn't explicitly say how far my Czardom extended, but even if it was just North America, I'd put the 5-yr-old minimum into effect here. Horses bred from a younger sire or mare would be ineligible to race in the US or Canada.

--Dunbar