Capital OTB discontinues free PP's

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by Linny

Honestly, I have never quite understood the concept of free info.

Never underestimate the power of free. Some of the most powerful companies in the world are based upon the premise of free. Google and free search is one example, but a more close to home example is casinos. If you had to pay $1.00 to sit down at a slot machine, would you ever sit? Of course not.

In horse racing, the game changer is the information. The information is horded like its the Holy Grail. Equibase, who controls the information, only licenses it. Those who sell it are not allowed to give it away for free, to protect the information's value and protect their interests.

If the industry were to ever overcome this ridiculous hurdle, one can only imagine where it could take us.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

Never underestimate the power of free. Some of the most powerful companies in the world are based upon the premise of free. Google and free search is one example, but a more close to home example is casinos. If you had to pay $1.00 to sit down at a slot machine, would you ever sit? Of course not.
In horse racing, the game changer is the information. The information is horded like its the Holy Grail. Equibase, who controls the information, only licenses it. Those who sell it are not allowed to give it away for free, to protect the information's value and protect their interests.

If the industry were to ever overcome this ridiculous hurdle, one can only imagine where it could take us.

but would they pay $1 to find out which machine pays off the most, or the highest? probably.

i am not surprised, considering the economy right now, to see formerly free materials suddenly have a price tag attached.

[joeydb]

I concur that it is strange for them to suddenly start charging. I prefer DRF past performance files, and when I know I'm going to the track or OTB, I buy them and download the PDFs. The price isn't bad and I like the product.

They also do two free "Races of the Week" as many of you already know, and I have gotten in the habit of checking those out too. It has definitely caused me to play more as I can casually analyze those two races without committing to spending the time of reviewing an entire card. It also gets me to check out DRF.com several times a week, and then I see what their top stories are.

So they already have me as a periodic, and somewhat frequent customer, but they also are keeping me happy by giving me something for free, and that stimulates even more interest. I think it's a great strategy, and their owner, Steve Crist, is a very bright guy.

[Bobby Fischer]

they should charge a PENNY a day

[deltagulf]

Originally Posted by Danzig

but would they pay $1 to find out which machine pays off the most, or the highest? probably.

i am not surprised, considering the economy right now, to see formerly free materials suddenly have a price tag attached.

some casinos do charge for the form but its just a dollar.

[Stall Mucker]

The cutting off of free info. is the result of how "tight" the dollar really is.
As a close watcher of handle of the OTB corp that employs me, I can tell you that free info is very costly. Equibase et al is putting the squeeze on everyone therefore making free info no longer free. The fees are costly.
The down handle figures posted on different sites for race tracks etc are real. For a lot of reasons this game and others are in big money trouble.
For at least the last 60 days I have seen 1 up day so far and that was this past Wednesday. As a Dept Head I have been asked for several reports asking for the barest of minimum to operate at the risk of shutting down.