Crist Adds His Name to the Chorus

As you know, slots have entered various jurisdictions with almost all of the proceeds going to purses (and some capital improvements, mostly for horsepeople). This has not helped handles, as witnessed by the massive betting losses since slots have been introduced in the mid-1990's.

Recently we highlighted several bettors and fans who have asked NYRA to use some of the slots money for customers, and customer cultivation.  This was even before the recent NYRA takeout snafu.

Steve Crist today in the DRF seems to add his name to that list:

"The new Aqueduct racino is providing NYRA with as much as $100 million a year for purses and capital improvements, and some slice of that should be redirected to the public in the form of lower takeout. NYRA can finally afford it, and the crumbling of the state’s OTB system removes a major impediment to enacting it.
A short-term remedy to an error should not be mistaken for long-term reform."

We agree with Mr. Crist. NYRA looking to approach a blended takeout lower than Kentucky (a state without slots) should be a long term goal.