New Member Comments

We have received quite a few new members lately. Their comments tend to show diversity, but with several main themes. I thought we'd share some of them of late to show what folks out there want done, or looked at. We encourage everyone who signs up to leave a comment as we can find out what issues are important to you, whether you be a bettor only, or if you work in the business, or if you are like many of us at HANA - an owner-bettor.

My main issue is to reduce the takeout and eliminate the tax on tickets that are 300/1 and pay more than $600. Paul from Nevada

Paul, we are very concentrated at takeout. We think the tax is crazy and should be changed. If you have not read too much about the tax that is for one major reason. The NTRA group is making great progress on that. A player rep for the NTRA is Mike Maloney. Mike, as he commented below is a HANA member too. We at HANA feel 100% confident that Mike will represent players concerns with that panel. We offer the NTRA our full support with the proposed tax lobbying and have mentioned to them that if we can do anything we would be happy to help. If the tax is repealed, and say $100,000,000 is injected back into player bankrolls, it can result in an increase in $600M of handle. We need that in this sport to reverse the declines of the last years. There are only a handful of things that horseman groups, tracks and others agree on in racing. This is one of them, so they should all be behind it.

As a native of Louisville, Ky. now living in metro Atlanta, I greatly miss horse racing. I do not understand why this backward state doesnt allow or embrace pari-mutual betting. I beleive there is a large number of horse racing fans here who would love an opportunity to get into the game. FN, Georgia

State by state laws make our head spin. I think it was Nick Kling of the Troy Record who last year wrote in a column 'I can sit in my underwear and buy a stock on the Hang Seng exchange at 2 in the morning, but I can not bet all tracks over the same internet'. Thanks for the Georgia note. We did not know things were restricted there. For those who don't know, Arizona in 2007 made it a felony for taking a bet on horse races over the internet.

As the question above:

Horse playing should be international. Why does US Laws do not open their minds and see there is a lot of money (clean money) that will be willing to play your tracks. EM, Mexico City

The horse betting market is the world. We have been insular with monopoly thinking - home market areas, state laws and all the rest. Other enterprises have opened markets and have been kicking our butts. Perhaps betfair buying TVG will help force change and open North American betting to the world? We agree, and thanks for joining HANA.

There are several others. We read them all. And we respond when time allows, too.

Thank you to everyone who joined HANA. Tell a friend and send them to our sign up page if you have not already. We need you!