Cali tracks get free hand to tinker with takeout..

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by johnny pinwheel

its not that the sky is falling...its more like another nail in the coffin and the clouds are lowering. the management, governing bodies and such are not that bright either... to say they don't have problems out there and racing handle in general is like sticking your head in the sand. want to see this game go away, alienate the bettors. its pure economics, self interests and competition. its in the self interests of racing to give the best product (quality,quanity and cost) to the bettor (customer) or people will shop elswhere. try running a track that people don't like to bet on. or even worse one that owners/trainers don't want to race on. you have california in a nut shell. people call it complaining but how long will they last at the present course and then this board will be lit up with crying: "What happened ???!!!!" someone point out a good decision they've made in 5 years and i'll listen. they are hurting" lets raise the takeout that will drum up business"...lol...lol. desolation row, " was that some kind of joke!"

J/P,

I understand the dynamics. I deal with EVERYONE in the industry. Track management, government regulators, owners, trainers, riders, players, fans, media, information suppliers, industry support system operators, et al... Everyone wants the best but there is an overall lack of leadership. And since the business is enormous and far flung, there are few ways to provide widespread, tangible result-evident improvements.

But there are plenty of examples of things happening that have had impact like the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium making more progress in 2 years on testing and rule uniformity than was done in the previous 30 years. If you allow the negative influence to overwhelm everything about the sport, it is impossible to acknowledge ANY positives.

Meanwhile, racing handle is off 10% while casino gambling is off 30%. Doesn't that tell us anything? The bubble burst on the breeding side will end up a positive as well because its' effect could serve to force the reduction in meet days that so many believe will be a true benefit.

In life, if you meet every challenge with contempt and disdain for the mechanisms that are needed to implement action, no result can be well received. As LBJ said, "Don't spit in the soup, we all have to eat it."