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#1
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![]() Since I've done my share of bitching about the industry, here are a few things I think could help INCREASE handle and the shrinking pie everyone is fighting over.
(no particular order) 1) Modernize the information. No more about distances, no more stupid run ups, precision timing, no more "eyeballed" charts. 2) Lower takeout. Nothing new to say here. 3) Free admission and basic PP information available online, along with replays and live video. 4) Close racetracks, and I mean a good number of them, at all levels of racing. We need more competitive races with bigger fields. 5) Open all tracks to all licensed Account Wagering companies at the same price. 6) Change existing tax laws. The industry has done little to change laws that hurt them and the player. There is a new organization at NTRA that I did sign up for (once again the players are asked to foot the bill) 7) Open our pools to international bettors. Europeans love the vast amount of information we provide compared to other countries. 8) Rules reform regarding DQs...way too many people are baffled by some of the happenings. Again, just a few that could help make the pie bigger. |
#2
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![]() That makes too much sense.
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#3
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#4
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![]() The thing that gets me fired up the most, is the tracks poke you for 2 bucks walking thru the gate. I sometimes think that Churchill spends more paying the old folks from the community center to sit at the gate than they actually collect some days. You would think the track mgt would take a field trip to a casino sometime to see why they are popular.
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#5
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the thing most needed is advertising. sell the product. sell ownership-sell a cheap day long fun fest. sell the fact that you can win huge bucks. a variety of ways to do it. but they need to get into mainstream advertising. the only time you see ads for racing is during a racing telecast. eff that. we who are watching already know about the sport. run ads during a baseball game, a nascar race (we're the ORIGINAL horsepower)...
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Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all. Abraham Lincoln |
#6
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I happen to own a small town pharmacy and I value each customer that walks thru the door. How long do you think it would take to go under if I stood at the door all day and charged a $2 admission fee to shop at my store? Although, Sam's Club seems to be getting away with it I am not going to go down that road.. Please, tell me the difference!! |
#7
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how about just making the stewards discussion a matter of public record? i don't understand why there isn't a recording made and a transcript available. i don't think we need new rules. we just need transparency on how current rules are being applied. transcripts would do that. |
#8
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#9
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![]() You want bigger fields how about raising the purses across the board.
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#10
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#11
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![]() And what is wrong with charging a low general admission of $3 like the Spa does ? I think that is very reasonable for having full access to the grounds other than the clubhouse ( which costs $2 more). A reason why the Spa is the most successful meet in the world is because it is fan friendly and filled with history, not mall like stores.
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#12
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#13
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![]() a mass media effort (television on cable)
the next best thing, and maybe the easiest, is to provide free tvg hrtv to all cable subscribers for 6 months while drastically improving the effort. *re-shaped major track racing schedule(prime time night racing) * top class sports announcers to participate in the broadcast and more *"flexible advertising rules"(signs for beer and trucks around the safty rails and tacky visability). |
#14
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Sounds like a pretty expensive experiment when most people with new connects wouldn't give either of those channels the time of day, and the networks would be footing the bill all the same. |
#15
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dont forget the money it would cost to facilitate prime time racing, hire classA announcers, and put up all those ad banners on the rails. either way it is an investment i happen to be a big believer in the wonders of mass media on a product. I could be wrong. ![]() |
#16
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#17
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Sorry.....that was the wrong answer. But, feel free to try again.....it is the internet after all.
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Just more nebulous nonsense from BBB |
#18
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![]() If you cannot afford the $2 or $3 entrance fee, then you shouldn't be going to the racetrack. Horse racing isn't for the casual fan (with a couple of exceptions). Horse racing is for the person who enjoys gambling. Horse racing gets tons of competition from other sources--NFL, NBA, MLB, and casinos to name a few. In addition, horse racing is quite boring. The person has to enjoy the handicapping aspect and also the beauty of the horses racing. Not too many people have 3 hours before the card starts to handicapp and then another 4 hours watching and waiting for the races. Horse racing needs to speed things up a little. We have a generation of people who are young who expect and want things fast--they do not want to have to wait 30 minutes inbetween races. Also, horse racing has to do something to combat the negative connotation that the races are fixed. The NBA had the ref gambling, MLB had Pete Rose....but neither sport can prove that their actions caused teams to win or lose. When a story of a jock, owner, or trainer cheating then that builds upon the opinion that horse racing is fixed. When the casual fan cashes a ticket, I think he/she feels it was dumb luck and not handicapping skills. This is what I would do increase the take-out.
1) Change the negative image of racing 2) Make the time between races 10 minutes 3) I think racing should be a single owned entity (this will never happen). 4) There needs to be national laws governing racing--not at the state level. 5) Make the racetrack "the place to be" with agreassive marketing. This is just a start. |
#19
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#20
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imagine how annoying the betting lines would be. I am not a serious horseplayer so I'll glance at the form the night before maybe but the majority of the time I just look that the form is in between races. Wouldnt have time for that if I immediately had to get in line after the last race ended. |