Beyer Talks Takeout

Andy Beyer:

"Whenever U.S. racetrack executives get together at industry conclaves, they talk endlessly about the need to broaden the sport's popularity and attract new fans. But perhaps their real problem is that their horseplayers don't bet enough. If crowds at American tracks wagered more than $400 per capita, as they do in Japan, instead of $162 per capita, the sport could boom without a single new customer.

...gamblers are reasonably rational about the economic decisions they make, and they know that horse racing is usually a bad gamble. Tracks typically take from 17 to 25 percent of every dollar wagered, and those in Pennsylvania have blazed new trails by grabbing an exorbitant 30 percent from trifecta wagers.

Even for the most astute professionals it is tough to beat such odds.

So it is no wonder that big gamblers in America prefer to call their bookie and bet on a sports event, where there is only a 4.5 percent disadvantage against them. If horse racing is ever going to attract big players, it will have to reduce takeout to more reasonable levels."

That article was written in 1991. 

You are absolutely correct customers; they never learn.

If you'd like to inform yourself about a grassroots boycott of Churchill Downs Inc and there associated racetracks and properties, it's here.