Tampa Bay Downs

[Calzone Lord]

1996 takeout: 19% WPS - 28% all exotics

2001 takeout: 18.9% WPS - 25.9% all exotics

2011 takeout: 17.5% WPS - 18% Daily Double, 18% Pick 3, 18% Pick 4, 20.5% exacta, 25.9% trifecta


In 15 years time - you went from an exacta takeout of 28% to 20.5%... big-time drop for such a high-churn bet.


Lower takeout increases handle, increased handle leads to better purses, bigger betting pools, and more interest in racing. That leads to a better racing product and growth.


Considering how mind-bogglingly too high the takeout is everywhere - raising takeout will always have the exact opposite impact.

Southern California has twice raised their takeout in the last 8 years.

The exotic takeout has gone from 20.18% in 2003 to 23.68% today.

When they raised the takeout on exotic wagers from 20.18% to 20.68% in the year 2003 --- it had me so angry that I wrote the only Letter to the Editor I've ever sent the DRF.

http://www.drf.com/news/letters-editor-215

The So. Cal takeout raise last winter was MUCH steeper than the one I freaked out about in 2003.


It wasn't long ago that Tampa Bay Downs was an old laughing stock track that offered horrid racing and did disasterously bad in terms of handle. Now, Tampa Bay Downs out handles winter tracks such as Oaklawn, and Fairgrounds ... and they crush places like Arlington Park, Golden Gate, Turfway, and Calder.

Tampa is the only track in America during my time following horse racing that has taken takeout reductions seriously and made a steady march downward.

To everyone else - they either don't matter, or they're tried as a marketing gimmick on bets like like Pick 4 that offer no real churn potential, or political forces have cock-blocked them from reducing rates in a manner such as Tampa.

At this rate - If Tampa sticks with the program - by the year 2021 things will start looking pretty attractive for bettors. Get the takeout under 10% on a high-churn wager - and you'll see incredibly explosive growth. That's where the finish line and the glory is.