HANA's Track Rating Resource: Great For Horseplayers And The Industry Alike

HANA (Horseplayers Association of North America) has published their 2010 Thoroughbred track ratings. It is a great player and industry resource, with sortable columns for up to date track takeout for most wagers as well as sortable columns for things like handle per race and field size. The current blog piece is a focus on tracks with the lowest takeouts.

It is pretty amazing that 12 of the top 16 track's with the lowest takeout score have no alternative source of gambling. This isn't true when it comes to the bottom ranked tracks, which are dominated by tracks that have slots. Woodbine and Northlands Park tie for 58th spot out of 69 tracks when it comes to highest takeouts, while Fort Erie finds itself pathetically in 67th spot on the list, bettering only Suffolk Downs (68th), and Assiniboia (69th).

The industry is not taking HANA's work lightly lately. It is in panic mode, and I think the message that it is the horseplayer that is the customer, and only the customer, is beginning to become a reality, and it is about time the industry find out how the customer thinks, and works with that knowledge instead of the old way which is how the industry wants the horseplayer to think.

HANA is getting lots of press. Check this out.

To join HANA, simply click here, it is free, and it only takes a minute.



Gaming revenues in Nevada jump almost 14% in February
So what is horse racing's excuse? Total handle on US races declined over 6% in March. That followed double digit declines in January and February compared to the corresponding months the year before.

Horse racing has still not bottomed out yet, and still, next to nothing has been done to address the pricing of the bet, in order to compete and grow again. Proving once again, that racing is one of the most, if not the most, dysfunctional industry in the Western world.

Cutting race days or purses is a band aid solution, and as this trend continues, horse racing will become less of a concern, not only by the public, but also regarding government subsidies.

On a related note, if Woodbine is not careful, they will soon have their slot subsidies questioned, as more and more American outfits usurp the Canadian outfits thanks to Woodbine's effort to attract Americans by carding American bred friendly races such as B Allowance races. And more importantly, not carding Ontario bred claiming events and even worse, continuing the new practice of not allowing the owner of a newly claimed Ontario horse run for the full purse.

It is almost like Woodbine is telling the owners, go get a superior Kentucky bred, bring it here and race it. It is a lot less risky than buying an Ontario bred either at a sale, and of course, unless you think a newly claimed Ontario bred can win an Ontario sired allowance race, don't even think about claiming one.

There are two existing components of growth for betting: The existing horseplayer, and the existing owner. Owners and horseplayers are the one's who will likely expose newbies to the game (friends, relatives, and sometimes coworkers and neighbours). The horseplayer in Ontario has been ravaged for years by high takeout. Many have left to play poker, Betfair, or are now wagering offshore with bookies or rebate shops. Now the horse owner and breeders are really feeling Woodbine's corporate mentality of trying to attract more quality (even though studies have shown that quality means very little compared to pricing when it comes to handle). We are seeing less and less new Ontario owners come into the game through partnerships or as lone entities, and it all boils down to Woodbine having little understanding of who the real customer is.

Forum Question: If you won a $5 Million Lottery would you continue to bet on horses? Not one NO so far. Horseplayers sure are either passionate and/or addicted.


CHANTAL'S BACK

CHANTAL'S FRONT

Seriously though, Chantal Sutherland is back at Woodbine. She is listed to ride a couple of horses this afternoon (Friday) at Woodbine.


Beulah Park's 25 Cent Fortune Pick 6's jackpot has climbed to $307,465 going into Saturday. You can bet it here, if you live in the right State.

Why Does Woodbine Race Wednesday Nights?

I just don't get why Woodbine continues to schedule night racing for thoroughbreds. There is pretty much no demand for their product at night, and they could be doing much better if they switched to days.....or could they?

Here is a comparison of Woodbine with Beulah on Wednesday December 2.

Woodbine (Total Handle $1,635,771) Field size 10.78
Race and purse
Race 1
$40,100
Race 2
$25,100
Race 3
$29,000
Race 4
$25,100
Race 5
$17,100
Race 6
$125,000
Race
$62,800
Race 8
$21,600
Race 9
$25,800

Beulah (Total Handle $1,994,441) Field size 9.78 per race
Race and purse
Race 1
$3,800
Race 2
$6,100
Race 3
$4,000
Race 4
$4,800
Race 5
$5,100
Race 6
$4,000
Race 7
$4,200
Race 8
$4,000
Race 9
$3,800

So what does the above prove? Because of lack of competition on Wednesday during the day, Beulah was able to take advantage and have a very good day. Bettors may not care that much when it comes to quality especially if field size is close to 9 horses per race.

Woodbine doesn't fare well on Thursdays during the day either, so the might embarrass themselves going head to head with Beulah during a light competition day. It makes me wonder why Woodbine handle is so lousy, considering their field size and purse structure is so good.

Is it the polytrack? I don't know. In 2005 and 2006 Woodbine only had handle of $1.3 million on each of their last two Wednesday nights of the season. Up until this year, Woodbine benefited from things like common pool wagering and signal availability at many ADWs and tracks.

There is something that turns players away from betting Woodbine in general. Is it that the takeouts are actually being looked at by more bettors? Beulah takeouts are higher for bets like WPS (18% versus 16.95% at Woodbine), 22.5% versus 20.5% for doubles and exactors, but for other exotic bets, Beulah remains at 22.5%, but Woodbine charges between 25-27% on things like Pick 3's, supers, and tris.

It could be a combination of poly, takeout and signal availability. Beulah is available at pretty much every ADW and the one's that give decent rebates may attract the afternoon players who in most cases don't get much, if anything, from Tracknet or NYRA tracks, and in some cases don't even get NYRA or Tracknet signals.

Woodbine made a smart move for next year by switching post times to 2PM on Thursdays. This gives them a chance to woo the dinner crowd. I can understand them trying to hang on to Wednesday nights on the bases that they have corporations that have dinners at Woodbine. But Woodbine is not taking advantage when it comes to converting these potential newbies because of the reputation horse racing has when it comes to beating the race and not the races.

There is no incentive for anyone to learn a game that has no visible winners, and where the only winners are those who get substantial rebates. And players just can't last because of current takeout levels whether they understand takeout or not.

Woodbine is in a position where it won't hurt them to reduce their takeout significantly. I can tracks everywhere inching downward when it comes to takeout rates. Woodbine can be a leader.

Ideally, I think 12% takeout on all bets would be very close to optimal. Optimal being where race tracks make the most money.

Woodbine can do themselves a huge favor by dropping takes to at least more reasonable levels. How about 16% WPS, 20% for exactors and doubles, and 22% for all other bets? See how it goes, and then maybe drop even lower if successful.

If Woodbine does not lower takeout, they might as well run on Wednesdays with a 2PM post.

UPDATE: David Willmot to leave post as Woodbine Entertainment's CEO on June 4th. Nick Eaves, the current COO will take over.

Best news out of Woodbine all year. Maybe Eaves can get racing to grow in Ontario, an impossibility with Willmot at the helm.


It has been known for years that certain horses inspire certain jockeys:

HT/EQUIDAILY

NYC OTB Seeks Bankruptcy Protection


US-Online Gambling Legislation Put On Hold
The legislators just want to make sure that horse race betting isn't compromised at all, so they are being extra careful with how they word the law.


Down The Stretch has some good articles: The case for Chantal Sutherland being Athlete of the Year in Canada.

An interview by Perry Lefko of HBPA President Sue Leslie.
She confirms that Nordic Gaming wants too much money for the joint. It looks like the only hope Fort Erie has right now is if the government changes the 10-10 percentages on slot revenues. Sounds like Nordic can hold out because the province has remained silent on whether the casino will close if there is no racing.