Fort Erie Hopes To Fill Stalls And Fill Races

Daryl Wells Jr. reports that Fort Erie has 500 stall applications already. The track will be open for training early in the week.
They need to add more to the bottom claiming races and eliminate allowance races and claiming races above $14,000. If an owner thinks their horse is worth more than that, prove it, and run at Woodbine.
By upping the purses for bottoms, they are sure to attract quite a few more horses, especially with Ohio being in the dumper big time right now.
Canadian bred claiming races could draw many horses from across Canada as well, plus they would be a good out for many Canadian owner/breeders.



Equibase is having a free contest today (Turfway Handicapping Challenge). The winner gets $500. Looks like a lot of chalk.


Three Account Betting Companies Given Notice In Maryland Outside of the Preakness, I don't know very many people who even follow Maryland racing. Especially after increasing takeout recently, I don't see the circuit being missed at all.
I'm not for tracks closing, but if they must, Maryland is a perfect place for it to happen.


Top ADW companies post their numbers in Oregon

The shift continues from live betting to betting on the internet. The only way for horsemen and tracks to take advantage of the shift (and not continue to lose out on the shift) is to start their own ADWs.



Don't shoot the messenger: I'm totally against the slaughter of race horses

Vet argues for horse slaughterhouses. Calls it the lesser of evils.

Meanwhile, prices are up over 30% for slaughtered horses.



Jeff Platt, President of HANA interviewed by Case For Race Anyone still kicking the tires about joining HANA should read the interview.


New Blog Worth Reading: The Science Of Horse Training



Paul Moran Chimes In On The Horse Racing Sport Versus Gambling Debate
No gambling means no horse racing. End of debate.

But if you don't think that ends the debate read Is Racing a Sport and Horseracing Is For Horseplayers (Power Cap gets it)



Magna Entertainment Writes Down $136 Million In Assets Well duh! I guess the assets are really less than the liabilities after all. Isn't that why they went into bankruptcy protection?


Meanwhile, Stronach The Destroyer Has No Intention Of Leaving The Track Ownership Business

HANA'S Number One Rated Track? Hint: It Isn't Woodbine

Keeneland is number one out of the 65 rated tracks. Their brass took the results pretty seriously too. Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson seems very pleased that his track was rated on top:

Nice field sizes, but more importantly, the lowest takeouts in North America pushed Keeneland to the top. To put things in perspective, a triactor at Keeneland that pays $810 for a deuce would pay $717 at Woodbine, if the betting on each were proportionally the same.

If you are a horseplayer who wants the biggest bang for your buck, please join HANA, it is free.


Fort Erie Update
Tim Hudak was adamant that slots should go if Fort Erie doesn't have live races.
No slots and no racing at Fort Erie would make the racetrack almost worthless. The land can't be worth that much if Woodbine sold it for $10 and the transfer of a $3 million debt just over 10 years ago.
'The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) appeared before the Standing Committee on Government Agencies Tuesday.' I watched most of it on TV (channel 67 on Cogeco). Rod Seiling seemed to be optimistic that racing would happen this year at the Fort. Only he knows what he knows.
There is a lot of quiet optimism happening right now. Is a deal imminent? Will Fort Erie be saved?

Also, OHRIA will probably be getting more power soon and take away some of the pressure from the ORC. But if they think that they can go ahead and campaign against what they call "illegal offshore betting," good luck to them.
OHRIA, WEG, and every other racing entity in Canada had better learn that their days of monopoly are over. It is time they compete for the bettor's action.


Andrew Beyer Gives Maryland Hell For Raising Takeouts

'Executive 1: "The economy is killing us. Customers are deserting us. Our business is terrible. What are we going to do?"

Executive 2: "I've got an idea. Let's raise our prices!"

Executive 1: "Raise prices! Brilliant!.....

....Whenever I visit tracks in other countries, I observe the relationship between the takeout and the health of the sport. Gambling-mad Hong Kong and Australia produce per-capita wagering that dwarfs the United States. Their takeout rates are around 16 to 17 percent, and in both places I met pros who bet astronomical sums and make a lucrative livelihood beating the game by a couple of percentage points. By contrast, when I visited Argentina last spring, I did not hear of a professional horseplayer in a country with a rich horse tradition. The takeout rate of 28 percent made serious betting impossible. Somewhere between 17 and 28 percent is a crucial tipping point.'

New York Breeding Program Finally Paying Dividends
Hey, don't they have state bred claiming races? How come Ontario doesn't?



Maryland Rejects Magna Entertainment's Slot Proposal
H/T The Paulick Report


Speaking of Magna and Frank Stronach, this is one of the funniest pieces having to do with horse racing that I've ever read:
Economy Hits Magna: Stronach Announces Jockey Layoffs

'Magna CEO Frank Stronach announced in a teleconference held yesterday that the latest cost cutting measure by his beleaguered racetracks and company will include the layoffs of jockeys.

“The economy has adversely affected out bottom line at Magna, and we are forced to make some tough decisions, including the layoffs of all jockeys at our tracks as of Feb. 18,” Stronach said.'

Read the rest:)