28 August 2007

Initial Bettor's Buycott Deemed Success

Initial Bettor's Buycott action deemed a success:
'A group of bettors angered at the divisive state of advance deposit wagering has taken action by staging what it termed a “buycott” at a New Mexico racetrack, and also launched a protest Web site against a content provider.

The initial wagering protest involved focused betting on the Aug. 25 card at The Downs Racetrack & Casino at Albuquerque. The group claimed victory, saying its influence was felt in helping raise the off-track handle 78.6% to $126,057 from a $70,596 total recorded at the track Aug. 18.

“Unofficially, today's handle was the highest of the meet,” the track’s racing secretary, Stuart Slagle, wrote Aug. 25 in a post on PaceAdvantage.com'

Russell Baze gets 15 days suspension for whipping a horse that should have been pulled up. To view the stretch run click here.

NOTE: Apparently I upset a few jockeys with my analysis and ratings. First off, I want to say that I'm not a licensed horseman (jockey, trainer, owner, groom, or jock's agent, etc.), the ratings and comments are my personal opinion as a handicapper and fan. Secondly, why do jockeys get pissed off over these things? Buy a fantasy football guide and you will find ratings for every offensive player from 1 right to the bottom. Why should jockeys be immune to public opinion and ratings? Do jockeys get mad because Equibase publishes stats for the public to see? If some jockeys think I have given them a bad report, be my guest, prove me wrong. Maybe they will climb up the list next time I publish one.

FEX Straw Manufacturing a subsidiary of Magna Entertainment gets a multi year licensing agreement.

Showdown looming for legal internet gambling in the USA

Australia horse racing should resume soon. It was stopped due to equine influenza concerns. Concern is still high.

Scott Lake to invade Presque Isle Downs. Meet starting soon. Purses are huge.

Result of Laurel's low takeout experiment called inconclusive. WEG didn't carry it. I'm not sure who else didn't allow their clients to play either. I had no access to it, or I would have played for sure.

Signals restored in Indiana for Arlington and Calder

Jockey Terry Houghton gets win number 4000

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey CG

Couldn't agree more with the jockey comment...very hard to convince these folks that they have life very easy media-wise.
I can't tell you how many get mad, whiny, downright angry when they don't like something that is written - even if it is "horse had a bad trip last time".
And the protection that they get from the media/track is incredible - they don't know how good they have it.

Anonymous said...

If people in a public sport, where the public wagers 15 Billion of their hard-earned money on their actions, can't handle some rating system, or criticism, they might want to choose a new profession.

Anonymous said...

CG. I am interested in hearing your comments on the following article in the racing form from a Thursday.

Thanks for taking the time

Bob J.

Takeout cut has little effect
By MATT HEGARTY

An analysis of wagering totals during Laurel Park's 10-day meet did not produce any discernible impact from a cut in the takeout to 11.4 percent, and the track will not experiment with takeout cuts in the near future, Laurel's top official said Tuesday.

Lou Raffetto, chief operating officer of Laurel's owner, the Maryland Jockey Club, said the analysis of the five-day period from Aug. 15-19 revealed that average all-sources handle on Laurel's races was down from $1.66 million a day to $1.52 million a day, a decline of 9.2 percent. Raffetto said he used those five days because they matched up to last year's meet on an apples-to-apples comparison, based on the number of races run, the number of runners on the cards, and the number of turf races run.

Raffetto said that two large account-wagering operations, Youbet.com and International Racing Group, bet an average of $154,000 a day during the same five-day period last year. This year, the two account-wagering operations could not offer the Laurel signal due to a lack of agreement between the companies and a simulcast-marketing partnership formed by the MJC's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., and Churchill Downs Inc.

Out-of-state handle this year on the Laurel signal, including account-wagering companies, was $1.29 million a day during the five-day period, compared to $1.41 million last year. When the numbers from Youbet.com and IRG are taken out of last year's figures, out-of-state handle was up $34,000 a day.

Laurel cut its takeout to an effective blended rate of 11.4 percent for the 10-day meet as an experiment. Economists who have studied racing have persistently maintained that a significant cut in the takeout will result in handle increases, although those increases are most likely to be seen over the long term and not over a 10-day period.

Raffetto said the track may have made a mistake cutting the takeout while horseplayers were focused on racing at Saratoga, which dominates the East Coast betting market in August. Raffetto also said he believed it was hard to attract big bettors because of the small size of Laurel's pools.

"The little guy, it doesn't appear as if he cares" about the takeout level, Raffetto said. "The big guy may look at Laurel at August and say that it's great we cut the takeout, but we're only doing $1.5 million a day, and it's hard to play in those small pools."

Laurel Park, its sister track Pimlico, and Magna Entertainment have all been struggling financially, and for that reason, Laurel will not likely be cutting its takeout anytime soon, Raffetto said.

"I still think the industry needs to try new ideas, but there are financial ramifications to this, and, as you know, we're not that strong right now," Raffetto said.

Anonymous said...

Raffetto is sucking up to the racing industry that doesn't want takeout cuts.
Youbet, IRG, and WEG did not carry Laurel. Canadians could not get into the Laurel pools.
Obviously 10 days (2 weeks) was not enough time to measure the overall affect. For example, was the extra money won spent by the bettor's eventually, even at other tracks? I doubt much was pocketed? Did Laurel find increased betting on other tracks because bettors had more money to recycle? This was not addressed either.
All I know is that the bulk of my betting from now on will be where I can get the best bang for my buck.....and that isn't HPI. And there are many more like me out there.