John McCririck (Mutton Chops): "Horseplayers Have No Chance To Beat The Takeout In America"

On Saturday around 12:30 PM EST, HPITV aired the Gulfstream Park pre game interview by Alyssa Ali of John McCririck. It started off simple enough, discussing the 6th place finish of a fan favorite English horse (I believe it was Nicconi) and how that isn't good for racing, because racing needs heroes to keep running well (or something like that).

As you can tell by now, I was just able to take mental notes of the conversation. Trying to find the actual video online has been futile so far. After watching it, I knew for a fact that Gulfstream wouldn't have the nerve to put it on their Youtube channel.

Ok, now for the good part. Alyssa and McCririck started discussing the state of the game in America today.

The following points were made by Sir Chops:

*Horse racing is dying because horsemen and racing execs don't make decisions based on what customers (the bettors) want.

*Lack of freedom for bettors has stifled growth. Horse racing needs to allow betting exchanges and even bookmakers to become allowed in America. (Editor's note: I'm not convinced bookmakers are needed.)

*It doesn't matter who you are, you aren't going to beat an average takeout of 20-25%.

*If not for (he pointed to the new Gulfstream Casino) casinos, horse racing would be dead in America today.

As McCririck started telling the viewers the blatant truth about horse racing in (North) America today, I could see Ms. Ali become very uncomfortable. She had a "deer in the headlights" look on her face.

The reality that high takeout hurts growth or that horsemen are hindering growth (and actually helping with horse racing's death) are two facts that the industry does not want to be mentioned in a public medium.

Exchange betting can help grow horse racing in North America because thanks to low takeouts, players have a chance to win. Of course, most players lose, however, visible winners create a buzz and something for all to strive for. This worked in growing poker. Again, most poker players lose, but the few that are visible winners gives the perception that if you are good enough, you could make a living at it.

Betting into a 20% takeout only creates the idea that horseplayers are degenerate gamblers who will gamble on anything and never have a dime to show for it. No wonder that is how horseplayers are treated in North America by many racing execs.

There wouldn't be that much money added to the tracks or horsemen's bottom line from exchange betting revenues directly (Betfair spends a lot on marketing, salaries, and technology, and made only around $50 million USD in net profit last year). $50 million from all types of wagers, not just horse racing, isn't much even if all of it were added to the $1.2 billion that is handed out in purses in North America today. And one could argue that exchange betting may cannibalize some of the parimutuel pool.

However, where exchange betting can be beneficial, is by bringing in new customers who will begin to follow and play horse races.

The fact exchange betting doesn't deal with exotics is a plus, because players who like big priced horses or are torn between two or three horses may rather play exotics into the mutuel pools.

It is very difficult to compare British racing to North American racing because purses are generated from levy's that are placed on bookmakers, exchanges, and parimutuel betting on UK races plus sponsorship usually by companies that take bets on UK races.

Some more facts from Jockey Club stats:
Purses are 1/4 betting handle in Canada (thanks to slots).
Purses are about 12% total handle in the US.
Purses are about 1% the total handle in the UK.
Per capita though, UK residents bet around 6 times as much on horses as US residents do.

No matter how you slice it though, horse racing is in a tailspin in North America, and bets being overpriced are the main reason why.


Isn't This What I've Been Talking About?

In an article in Gaming Today, the point being made is that casino customer's satisfaction is at a new low, and it all has to do with the casino operators shifting from what used to work to what looks like the typical horse racing exec's attitude and it coincides with a higher rate of player dissatisfaction (survey says 88% of players are dissatisfied at local casinos):

In his presentation at last month’s Casino Marketing Conference, Meczka (Michael Meczka, president of Los Angeles-based MM/R/C Inc. and a 30-year member of the American Marketing Association) said that today’s casino marketers are constantly asking each other, "How can we extract more revenue from our customers?" rather than the questions they should be asking: "How can we provide service?" or "How can we give our customers what they expect?"

Meczka said the casinos’ "short sighted" solutions to the burning desire of getting deeper into the customer’s pocket include the following:

• Reduce playing time by speeding up the games (electronic and table)

• Increase the number of coins required to play

• Remove the popular 3 and 5 coin max games

• Eliminate the slot machine’s "arm" and replace with a button (increased speed, less playing time)

• Shorten the video reel spin cycle to reduce playing time

• Increase the hold percentage by 1 percent, which decreases the playing time by 17.5 percent

• Use table games with high holds and multiple side bets, as well as the lowest pay tables in order to force players to lose quicker and more often.

Meczka said the "short sighted" result the casinos are seeking is to "get the money fast … and get the player out of here."

The "success" of these policies, however, will eventually doom the casinos, Meczka said. "Ultimately, customers will have less satisfaction with the casino experience," he said, adding that customers will eventually reduce their frequency of visits, cut back on the amount spent and, eventually, stop coming to the casino altogether.

When customers cut back, some will leave altogether, some will find other things to gamble on, and most importantly when it comes to growth, when a customer is not going, they are not going to bring others to the casino...or racetrack. Conversely, the longer they last, the more likely they are to come back quicker, and the more likely they are to expose friends, family, or coworkers to the game as well.

For more, read The Big Squeeze, over at HANA's blog.



Bold Executive Named Leading Ontario Sire by CTHS
Trajectory ranked 2nd and Mobil was named leading new sire.


This just didn't get enough press in Canada. The exercise rider who died a few weeks ago in a very unfortunate training accident at Tampa Bay was a former jockey who rode in Ontario. From the the DRF Letters to the Editor:

Exercise rider a pro right to the end

This letter is in regard to the Feb. 4 article "Exercise rider dies at Tampa." I just would like you all to know that Robert Shields, better known as Ted or Teddy, was a very talented rider. Ted had ridden and worked with horses all his life. It was truly his passion and something he thoroughly enjoyed. He had a racing career as a jockey for many years, having a trainer in Canada named Carl Chapman hold his apprentice contract. His first win was at Bowie racetrack in Maryland in the late 1960s. He had the pleasure of working for many outstanding trainers, including Woody Stephens and Mack Miller. He had ridden races and exercised horses up and down the East Coast, from Woodbine and Fort Erie in Canada, to Saratoga, Belmont, Aqueduct, and Finger Lakes in New York, to Calder, Gulfstream, and Tampa in Florida, as well as many racetracks and training centers in between.

Any trainer or groom I had ever spoken to about Ted had always said what a "good hand on a horse" he was, and that he "had a good clock in his head," which is why he was always sought out to breeze horses in the morning.

I have been assured that he had galloped the horse who ultimately would be his last several times before Monday's accident, so he was familiar with this particular horse. Although Ted was 60, he was still a very capable rider. This accident could have happened to any rider at any time or anywhere. At least he was doing what he loved, and he did not suffer.

He is survived by his ex-wife Linda (me), our 15-year old daughter, Claire, and his younger brother, William.

Linda Shields - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Another Tracknet Track Underperforming In A Bad Market: Golden Gates Trims Purses By 7 1/2% and Drops 3 Stake Races Is it because of the Big Squeeze?

Calder Purses Slashed: No Surprise Here

Calder slashes purses 15%; Horsemen Upset

I wrote this headline a year and a half ago: Calder Raises Takeout: What Imbeciles
There hasn't been very much movement upward when it comes to track takeout amongst North American tracks since I began blogging (I'm only partly responsible for this:)), and that is why I was so flabbergasted that Calder had the audacity to raise takeout rates last year:

The big news to specialty gamblers Monday was that Calder raised its takeout percentage on a few wagering options. The track will now take 27 percent out of Pick 3, 4 and 5 wagering (up 3 percentage points) and 21 percent from the Daily Double and Exacta bets (up 1 percentage point).

Yes, they took an already high takeout rate, and made it higher. What did they expect?
To make more money? HAHAHAHA Nope, they just found out how Economics 101 works. You don't raise the price for the sake of raising the price and expect to make more money. The doofuses need to read up on the basic law of supply and demand: When demand shrinks, they price (the takeout charged) needs to shrink.

The mix of track execs and horsemen is killing horse racing. The horsemen want want more money NOW and they attempt to use coercion to the point that racing execs, even if they had the foresight (which most don't) to grow the game (by lowering takeout), they can't. And in fact, they wind up making decisions like the one made by Calder, that help destroy the game.

The horsemen want more from a shrinking pie. I don't blame them wanting more, but they just don't seem to get the repercussions of their demands. For instance, they want larger signal fees to be charged by tracks so they can "theoretically" make more money from wagers. However, they don't seem to get that the only growing business in horse racing are the ADWs that offer rebates. By trying to squeeze out more, they wind up lowering the rebates offered, which in turn causes the price sensitive players to play less or bet with bookies offshore.


Good Reading: Crisis, Danger, And Opportunity
Well, the comments make for good reading. One jokester (probably a Woodbine Exec) posts under the name CGDean:

There is a simple fix for owners and breeders like myself.

It's a three pronged attack at raising revenues for the people that put on the show.

1. Open up all off track distribution (ADW's, internet, simulcast facilities, etc.) to anyone that wants it and pay them 5% for taking the bet.

2. Raise all takeout to a flat 30% on all bets.

3. Split the offtrack takeout 5% for bet taker, 10% for host track, 15% for horsemen.....on track takeout split 12.5% for track and 17.5% for horsemen.

If we can keep betting around the $12 billion mark, that means there will be close to $2 billion available for purses instead of the $600 million we currently have.

I know some people will say handle will decline but I beg to differ. We are already recovering from the horrendous economic downturn which will increase the already deflated handle. So basically, new money will easily replace any lost money if there is any.

Barry Irwin said "While the takeout is onerous, it has never stopped a real gambler". This reaffirms my thoughts that people will still bet on racing because that's just the way the game works. Even if we are wrong, and handle dips down to 9 million in a worst possible case scenario, under this plan, that still gives us between $1.4 and $1.5 million for purses which is about 2.5 times more than we get now.

Imagine a worst case scenario where our purses are doubled or tripled without slots. If we can get a slot subsidy on top of this, we can have purses in the same range of Hong Kong which will obviously increase betting astronomically and that will raise purses to levels of which we can only dream of.

*************************************
Is this a moron being serious, or is it someone trying to show how farcical owner/breeders have become with their collective industry mindset and their demands? I can't tell anymore.

I replied to another comment there:

VEC said: "I do not believe our take out, also 22 to 24%, deters the average bettor, and certainly not a newcomer to racing. Not many at the track, or down at the local OTB complain about it."
**********************************
Again, this misconception keeps on showing up all over the place.

True,most horseplayers don't care about takeout. Just like slot players don't care about the house edge. They never complain about it.

However, Vegas started out with a very high edge on slots, but through trial and error they realized that the optimum edge is 8-10%.

This means that if they doubled the edge, they wouldn't get even half the total money bet.

So why is it? Because customers get blown out to quickly. They may not even realize why they don't feel like going so much, but they don't.

And when they don't go so much, they are less likely to bring friends, family, neighbors and coworkers with them the odd time to expose them to the slots.

Same is true in horse racing.



HORSEPLAYERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA APPOINTS JOHN PRICCI TO THE ADVISORY BOARD
Pricci is one of the few horse racing journalists who completely understands that horseplayers are the driving force of horse racing, and has no problem writing about it.


Adena Springs Finally Figured Out That It Is More Lucrative To Breed Ontario Sired Horses Rather Than Florida Bred Ones

'The stallions that will be moving from Florida to Gardiner (in Ontario), joining other Adena stallions Sligo Bay and Silent Name, are 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Alphabet Soup (Cozzene—Illiterate, by Arts and Letters), multiple grade I winner Milwaukee Brew (Wild Again—Ask Anita, by Wolf Power), and graded winner Olmodavor (A.P. Indy—Corrazona, by El Gran Senor). New stallion Giant Gizmo(Giant's Causeway—Golden Antigua, by Hansel) also will stand in Canada.'


SHHH Don't tell anyone, but despite the bad economy gambling continues to be on the rise in Canada.
Well, not at the racetracks though. Maybe one day they'll wake up and understand that it is the onerous takeouts that prevent horse racing from growing. I have a feeling it won't be under Willmot's watch.


For those who think that takeout is the same as it was 40 years ago check out this from the Daily Racing Archives:

LINCOLN DOWNS R I May 13, 1964
Under a new appropriations law that went into effect Monday night, the total parimutuel takeout on racing in Rhode Island is now 16 per cent. The additional 1 per cent is split evenly between the state and the track. The state receives 8 1/2 per cent and the track 7 1/2%. The new tax went into effect with the races at Lincoln Downs Monday night. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire the takeout is 14 per cent. Vermont is the highest in the nation with an 18 per cent tax followed by Maine with a 17 nick.
******************************************
Stands were full back then. Bettors had fewer betting options, win, place and show, a couple of exactors a day and a daily double. Many left the track with money in their pockets, enough to entice them to go back as soon as possible.

One of the better arguments to today is how does a track rationalize charging more for triactors and other exotics? It doesn't cost them more to print the ticket or to take the bet at a terminal or online. But the reality is that the exotics with the highest takeouts really kill bankrolls and ultimately discourage bettors from playing as often.

I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty sure takeout at the ORC track (Woodbine, Fort Erie, and Greenwood) were something in the neighbourhood of 14-16% tops. And the government was taking around 7.5% back then. Nowadays, Woodbine's average takeout is closer to 21%-22% and the government only gets 1.3% on each wager.


Did Chantal Sutherland recently have botox lip injections? It sure looked like yesterday on The Score.


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Milwaukee Appeal To Win The Prince Of Wales? I Think Yes

Fort Erie Race Track Ready For Their Biggest Day Of The Year

The Prince Of Wales runs tomorrow at The Fort. Although it only has 6 horses, I can see numerous outcomes. It is a tough race. Horses who do well at distances on the Poly don't necessarily have the edge on a dirt track going a distance of ground. I'm still not on the Eye of the Leopard bandwagon, so I'm leaning to the filly, Milwaukee Appeal who figured to bounce a bit in her last race. She does have the best numbers going into this race from two and three starts ago.

The Leopard may in fact bounce too, as Sam Son Farms horses are usually aggressively trained and aren't use to running three tough races in just forty odd days.
Mr. Foricos Two U looks like he'll be able to control the pace, but his sire (as a route sire) turned me off him last time and I'm not about to jump on him here, though he could hang in for third.

I still think Keino West is going to move forward. He was way too far back last time out. If speed comes back, I can see him getting into the second or third.

Selections: 2-6-4

I did pick the exactor last year, so I'm definitely not due tomorrow.

Only 76 horses are racing in 10 races at Woodbine tomorrow barring scratches. Good day to avoid their high takeouts....at least in theory. Even Fort Erie has them beaten out with 78 horses entered tomorrow on Wales Day.



Excellent piece by John Pricci
The article is mostly to do with pool integrity, an issue that HANA is about to be all over soon.

"I argued with the industry official that the majority of players would prefer wagering to be stopped at post time, that even though odds will continue to change late, horseplayers would prefer to know the closing odds before a race starts."

Ajax Downs To Get Another 544 Slot Machines

With Nick Coukos there, Ajax has a perfect chance to grow their betting product. Right now there is an average of around $1500 bet on a race. No real exposure at all. They can change that in a hurry.


Somehow I missed this: OLG To Use Facial Recognition Technology (Biometrics) To Keep Out Problem Gamblers
An experimental test will be conducted in September.

This is of course too late in regards to the large lawsuits against the organization with problem gamblers who signed documents asking the OLG not to let them in.

10,000 people have signed up to be booted off the premises if spotted by OLG staff.

I wonder what percentage these problem gamblers make up of the total revenues generated by places like Woodbine.

If it is big, this could be the catalyst that brings down purses at WEG, and it might motivate the execs to try to really compete on the racing side. They might even get the horsemen to work with them. Horsemen in the USA right are like deer in the headlights. That could easily happen with the Woodbine horsemen. Fort Erie has already experienced that feeling, and unfortunately, that feeling isn't over and done with yet.

Christine Papakyriakou wasn't one of Woodbine's customers. But she will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of stealing $7.4 million from wine company Andrew Peller Ltd.

It seems the gambling bug got to her in a bad way. And instead of accepting responsibility that she is a just a criminal, she is looking at the OLG as being the scapegoat.

'Papakyriakou has launched a $10-million lawsuit against the province, Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort alleging they encouraged her to gamble.'

How many Christine's play slots at Woodbine?


Great News For Ohio Racing
Ohio has approved VLTs to be placed in the 7 Ohio race tracks. Those bible belters sure made it difficult, but many of them will be heading to the track now. Of course, that is what they were scared of in the first place.

It hasn't been determined what percentage of VLT profits the tracks and horsemen will receive yet.
Hopefully for them, it will be 10% for each. There purses are just pitiful now, and nobody has been more patient than Ohio tracks and horsemen.



Really Cool Gadget: Streak Calculator; Determines the probability of losing a streak of wagers over the course of a wager series of specified length.


Down The Stretch on-line has some really informative articles in its newest issue.

Well, there is a now humiliating article on Woodbine's Turbo Charged Pick 6 that was obviously done before Woodbine wisely pulled the plug on this losing money fiasco.

"(Sean) Pinsonneault and CFO Steve Mitchell may have dreamed this one up, but there's some logic behind it and when they ran it by President Nick Eaves and CEO David Willmot, there was almost immediate approval."

Who would Donald Trump fire for this? Probably Willmot. He has the final say I believe. Lucky for Willmot, it is a private company and he is a Teflon CEO.

But it is still nice to say "Willmot, you're fired."

There is an informative article on Ajax Downs

Budding cub reporter Perry Lefko has a more in depth article on the three suitors that Fort Erie has right now.

Ontario Lottery And Gaming Could Be In Deep Doo Doo

$3.5 Billion Lawsuit Looks Good From The Plaintiffs Side
A $3.5-billion lawsuit against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. on behalf of more than 10,000 problem gamblers - with ramifications for many thousands more across Canada - reveals a devastating glimpse into a lucrative government business that leaves some of its best customers in financial ruin.......
Aubrey Dennis 49, a Markham man, lost a big whack of dough playing slots mainly at Woodbine and Casino Rama. He is the one who launched this lawsuit on behalf of gamblers on the self exclusion list.
After losing an estimated half a million he eventually signed the self exclusion contract, and was photographed and told that if he was seen at an OLG casino he would be charged with trespassing.
He was only turned away once (a bus to Casino Rama), but even on that day he wound up going to Woodbine instead.
He proceeded to lose a couple of homes and his job.

The fact that the OLG was stupid enough to have a self exclusion form that they obviously couldn't/wouldn't enforce properly puts them in a very bad situation in my opinion.

Personally, I'm not sympathetic to Mr. Dennis either. He knew he had a problem, but still went to the casinos obviously hoping they wouldn't turn him away. He may gain here because the system stinks. The fact that our society thinks they need to have these types of lists is ludicrous. I mean, how can you stop someone from losing their rent money and food money on lotteries? Until we utilize fingerprint technology, it is completely unrealistic for society to stop a problem gambler from gambling. And the OLG should have known this before OKing the self exclusion program.

The OLG profited over $2 billion last year, so $3.5 billion is still a lot. A similar but smaller lawsuit was filed previously by Joseph Keyes, who signed the self exclusion document. He settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. I have no idea what the OLG will use as a defense for this one.

For those who don't know, 20% of slot profits in Ontario are split between the racetrack and the horsemen.


In related news, a gambling postie in Calgary gets to spend time in jail for stealing mail and forging checks.



Friends Of Fort Erie Thoroughbred Racing
The EDTC of Fort Erie, in an attempt to put a plan together that will look good enough to the government, that they will guarantee a $35 million purchase plan of Fort Erie race track by the EDTC, has put together a web page asking for suggestions on how to improve the bottom line at "The Fort."
I sent a couple of suggestions regarding post times. I have more. They have my number. Here is the suggestion box page.


Speaking of Fort Erie, opening day is just around the corner. The first Saturday of May (same as the Kentucky Derby).

Some of the Fort Erie jockeys are seen in this Youtube video working on their fitness and timing:

OK, that was just a mild attempt at humour. It does look like fun. Maybe this could count as another idea for Fort Erie. This would be a great attraction for kids, though I'm not sure how insurance companies would handle the danger aspect of it. These inflatable horses are unpredictable, and a child still risks serious danger, though it is highly improbable, it could still happen, helmets or no helmets.



Good news for bettors; bad news for business that don't want to compete like Woodbine: Canada May Get On-Line Gambling.



Wagering drops in New York OTBs. Didn't they just raise takeouts "thinking" it would mean more money for the OTBs and the state? Morons. Sure the economy has something to do with it. So does competition as New York residents can actually get rebates or rewards by sitting at home and playing with ADWs like Twinspires, Youbet and Premier Turf Club amongst others. The OTB's cry that they can't compete with them is complete hogwash.



Semi success story: Heather Takashi used up her savings to buy a broodmare, patiently sat on the broodmare until breeding her and producing a pretty nice foal who has gone on to win considerable dough. Skill, luck, and patience is the key to making money as an owner (Luck is the number one factor by a country mile).
H/T Jen's ThoroughBlog


Winning Ponies (an internet radio program) hosted by Ed Meyer recently interviewed Chantal Sutherland: Click here and listen to it.


Don't forget to check out the free Past Performance available by clicking here thanks to Brisnet.

The Daily Racing Form has a free page that shows profiles of the contenders, including their last couple of Beyer numbers and video links as well.


Jeff Mullins gets 7 day hand slap for dissing the rules. NYRA may impose further sanctions.


Stalking bid dropped for Magna Entertainment. Stronach appears to be a goner now, as he lost leverage to play more games. Good.

Slots Will Have To Close If Fort Erie Doesn't Race

There is absolutely no way that slots can remain open if Fort Erie were to not race this year. The reason is pretty simple. It creates a horrible precedence.

What is to stop Windsor or other tracks from cooking their books a bit (or maybe legitimately having losses), showing a loss, and then stating they won't run races because they are losing money???????


Even Woodbine can get in on the action and move some numbers around to show that Mohawk loses money. What could the government do to prevent them from closing the racing operations, if Nordic can close the doors on horse racing but continue raking in the dough from slots?

It wouldn't take a lot for bigger corporations like Great Canadian Gaming or WEG to be able turn their tracks into bottom line losing operations. How much of a loss would it take for them to halt racing thanks to this potential precedence? How about a dollar or more.

The government needs to tell Nordic like it is. Without live horse racing there can be no slots. Right now, Nordic is using the non commitment by the government as a negotiating tool. The fate of the slots needs to be addressed now, before any further negotiations take place.

The government doesn't want to lose out on the slots revenues. They also don't want to be responsible for another 300 casino employees being out of work. But they have no choice because we could easily see another 10 tracks feint overall losses in the near future, and that would tread completely against why slots were put into tracks in the first place.

The government must make a stand NOW! By not giving a definite as to whether the slots remain open, the price of the track is also a big question mark. Nordic says they lose money even with the $4 million they get from slots each year. A company that loses money isn't worth much. Especially with the realistic little upside that the track has as is (the land can't be worth that much because Woodbine sold the place to Fort Erie over 10 years ago for $10 and assumption of $3 million in debt). But a company that nets $2-3 million a year (and this would be the case for Nordic if it can operate without live racing), is worth anything from $16 million to $25 million.

The least the government needs to do is to fine any racino owner their entire slots cut if they do not have live races. Then Nordic would be forced to be the ones to decide to cut off the slots. This would be due the fact that their property taxes would remain high if the slots operate, but would go down immensely if they were not operating any business on the property.


Here is an update from the Ontario HBPA site:

Good Morning Horsepeople,

The breakdown of negotiations yesterday regarding the purchase of Fort Erie Racetrack from Nordic was disappointing, but not entirely a surprise to all of us involved in the process.

For Clarification:

* The HBPA has been fully apprised and engaged in all negotiations.
* The HBPA fully supports the steps and position taken by the EDTC.
* The rhetoric coming out of Nordic is at best, misleading.
* The EDTC did NOT withdraw the offer. The offer made to Nordic had an 11am on Monday February 23rd deadline. Nordic failed to respond by that deadline.
* The Province is the key to the ongoing success at Fort Erie. The Province & our regulator, the ORC, are fully apprised of the developments.
* Negotiations among all parties will continue and are ongoing as we speak

We, the horsepeople, and particularly, right now, the Fort Erie horsepeople are amazingly committed. You are resilient, proud and dedicated to both our industry and especially to the horses. Now, you have also demonstrated incredible patience.

We can’t promise the final outcome of Fort Erie, but we can promise the effort to save Fort Erie will be fought to the bitter end. I personally, will not be deterred or intimidated by criticism, public posturing, or set backs such as yesterdays.

Please continue to refer to our website.

Respectfully yours,

Sue Leslie
President

******************************************
Good for Sue Leslie and calling Nordic liars. If they lie in press releases, imagine what they do with their books. There is no way they are losing the kind of money they claim legitimately.


I have a feeling the government is trying hard, and they thought Nordic was going to accept the deal on Monday.

At a trade show in Niagara Falls last Thursday, Michael Bryant, the province's minister of economic development and Government House Leader said:

.... 'the province provided $2 million to the Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation to assist with negotiations to save the Fort Erie Race Track and the Niagara Economic Development Corporation has also received more than $1.9 million to apply to business initiatives.'

"The government has to act now and as quickly as possible, we're investing literally billions of dollars...."

(In an interview with This Week, Bryant said the province is continuing to work on keeping the track in Fort Erie open and residents can expect an announcement as early as next week.) Note: It looks like he was expecting a positive outcome, but obviously that was not the case.

"Fort Erie and potential opportunities with the race track has the government's full attention."

So what are the options?

Fort Erie closes and the slots close. Fort Erie becomes a ghost town. Nordic is stuck with a lot of real estate that will become more and more worthless each day. The Ontario thoroughbred industry will also suffer more. Breeders will have less of a market to sell to. Owners with horses not capable of running at Woodbine will be forced to race in the states. Less owners, less interest in racing overall.

Fort Erie closes but slots remain open. Again, the precedence this would bring with it would cause many tracks in Ontario to at least think about closing the racing side of their operation.

Nordic sells the track. Realistically, it won't happen because Nordic has historically wanted too much money. If the government is intending to buy though, it is to their own best interest to state that without racing there will be no slots, as this will force Nordic to sell at a more realistic level.

Nordic decides to race in 2009 and absorb another year of supposed losses. And pigs can fly.

The government makes an exception for thoroughbred border tracks (ie Fort Erie), where Nordic and the horsemen are to split 35-40% of the slot revenues instead of the usual 20%. This seems like a no-brainer. If the government sincerely wants to keep Fort Erie open, this is what they must do. The government needs to pressure the OLG in changing the slots revenues arrangement NOW!

As for precedence. Again, Fort Erie is an exceptional case being the only other thoroughbred track in Ontario, and the government can deem its existence crucial to the entire thoroughbred industry in Ontario. End of story.

Down The Stretch has a new issue online with an article by Perry Lefko on Fort Erie's current plight.