Ok folks, it’s time to break out the shovels to bury horse racing, again.
We came across an article on ESPN.com written by Bill Finley entitled “2005 was a lousy year for horse racing.” In his article Mr. Finley cites 9 reasons why 2005 was such a bad year for horse racing in America. Although we agree with several of his observations, number 8 on his list, “U.S. Pari-Mutuel Handle Falls”, should have been dealt with more objectively.>
Despite all the cries of gloom and doom that have been ongoing since the unfortunate decision in the fifties to reject television’s offer to broadcast horse racing nationally, the sport has continued to grow. Second only to baseball in overall popularity, horse racing enjoyed 11 straight years of increasing handle (total amount of pooled wagers) before this bemoaned 0.5% decrease. According to Mr. Finley, “an ominous sign of things to come.”
Yes, horse racing does have its problems and challenges, but it also has a lot going for it. It’s the only sport offering legalized wagering in the majority of the United States and across most of the world. Why it’s even legal to bet on horse racing in China where basic human rights are hard to come by.
The advent of simulcasting in the nineties made it possible for tracks to increase their own handle while boosting their revenues by accepting wagers on races from other tracks. Legalization of off-track betting facilities, phone wagering and internet wagering has created a climate where over 87% of the handle is now generated off-track. This may hurt race tracks’ hot dog and popcorn sales, but should lead to increased profitability.
Several states have enacted legislation allowing slot machines and other forms of gaming on-track. Tracks such as Mountaineer have used this additional source of revenue to improve their facilities, increase their purses and upgrade their overall level of racing. This legislation has also made it attractive for casino owners, such as Harrah’s, to purchase and operate horse racing venues as a part of their business strategy.
So what is wrong with horse racing? Well, for lack of a better answer… horse racing. By that we mean the tradition mired establishment of horse racing where “because we’ve always done it that way” seems to be the golden rule.
Where did that harbinger of doom, the missing 0.5% of handle go? Our best guess is that you’ll find that, and much more, going to the enterprising non-pool race and sports books that have cropped up to better serve today’s horse racing fans. Most of these on-line books offer full track odds, signup bonuses, cash back on wagers, and give refunds for scratches, instead of forcing the bet to the track favorite. Oh, and did we mention that most don’t impose taxes of any sort on winnings.
In addition to offering the full menu of track bets, i.e., Win, Place, Show, Daily Doubles, Exactas, Quinellas, Trifectas and Superfectas, some have started offering additional types of wagers such as a two horse match bet. This, in our opinion, is the most significant opportunity for horse racing today. In an era where proposition bets on football range from the point spread to which way the wind will be blowing at half time, horse racing is missing the boat. They’ve failed to recognize what Las Vegas has known for some time, namely that gaming is entertainment and that the way to increase ‘handle’ is to offer more types of wagers. This year’s Superbowl offered over 300 proposition bets resulting in a record setting day for the Las Vegas sports books with over 94 million dollars wagered. To put that into perspective, that’s about .6% of the 15 billion dollars wagered annually on horse racing.
Successful horse race wagering takes a degree of skill and research. Unlike most sporting match ups where you have a fifty-fifty chance of winning by random choice, with an average field of 8 horses, the horse player only has a 12.5% chance of winning by chance. Let’s put fun into the sport for the casual fan. A two horse match up takes wagering on horse racing back to its earliest and simplest form; “I bet my horse can beat yours!” But there’s no need to stop there, horse racing offers a myriad of options for wagering; which horse will be in the lead at each point of call, which jockey or trainer will have the most wins for the day, and how about betting a horse to lose. These are just a few options that come to mind.
Horse racing’s traditions give it unique flavor and character, but to be successful, it must be willing to evolve to catch up to the present and to meet the future. We most certainly hope that it does.
Watch the video related to horse racing
So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and subscribers we obviously explain why its up so late so the actual vid starts at about 1:27 if you want to skip it. We also used clips from: woznme: www.youtube.com TileValleyMorganRaw: www.youtube.com Alright think that clears everything up so later!!! … ssoftballproduction varsitysoftball4 barrel racing dressage jumping cross country gallop horse pony equestrian merry christmas happy new year …
Help answer the question about horse racing
What site has free downloadable horse racing clips?I've been searching for any downloadable horse racing clips, I need good ones. Anyone know some good sites??
About Author
C Wayne is the Executive Vice-President of Picks and Plays, Inc. and an author and lecturer on gaming and handicapping. You are invited to visit http://www.picksandplays.com and receive free membership and a free daily report from the home of ‘The Best in Handicapping’.
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As I always say, there's a village missing it's idiot somewhere and they can usually find them trolling on here. They think that if they repeatedly ask the same question and rave their PETA misinformation, that someone might actually end up agreeing with them. Let's hope not!
Most owners actually don't make money racing.
Only about 70% of all Thoroughbreds ever get to the races, and only about 55% of all Thoroughbreds ever win a race. It costs about $25,000, give or take a few thousand, to keep a horse in training for a year; more for the major racing centers like New York or Southern California, less for tracks away from the major population centers. roughly 10-15% of all Thoroughbreds earn enough money during the course of a year to cover their training expenses.
Some owners can recover the residual value of their horse at the end of its racing career by selling, but most racehorses– particular male racehorses– have residual value that is low or even zero at the end of their racing careers.
Basically, most people who are in racing are in it for the excitement, the fun, the competition; and the hope that maybe they'll be the one to strike it rich with a horse like Mine That Bird– or one of his relatives. It's the hope of getting that one special horse, plus the love of racing in general, that keeps people going.
i don't like the gambling, the horse race is alright, mainly only good in the Kentucky Derby when you are really rooting for a horse to get the triple crown
I think this gives a good explanation of the definition of the various track conditions:
http://www.ultimatecapper.com/track-conditions.htm
That said, it's important to note that because there is no standard for track composition in terms of sand, silt, clay, loam, organic matter, and every track is different, each track plays differently. To cite one example, the track at Aqueduct has a high sand content because the dates run at Aqueduct are typically the wettest times of the year. So the track superintendent finds it beneficial to have a lot of sand in the track to assure fast drainage. The result is that when there has been a lot of rain, the main track at Aqueduct can be like a wet beach– it packs down and gets harder. You may get faster times on such a track than when the surface is rated "fast".
Churchill Downs historically has had a high clay content in the track surface, with the result that the track can be very cuppy at best of times ("cuppy" means that when a horse strides on it, the hoofprint forms a "cup" on the surface of the track; it has depth, and it holds its shape rather than immediately crumbling) and can be really sticky and tiring when it gets wet.
A lot depends, too, on how the track superintendent deals with rainfall. At Santa Anita and Hollywood Park in the pre-synthetic days, the superintendents had enough time in most cases to get out the heavy roller equipment and "seal" the track before rain came. Basically when they seal the track, they're rolling and compacting the surface so that instead of water penetrating and making the track muddy down deep, the water just runs off the surface and drains away. Of course, the problem with this is that even when they opened the track surface in preparation for the day's racing, there was some compaction and the track would tend to get harder. During some of our rare wet winters, the track superintendent would sometimes have to close the track to exercise in order to do deep harrowing and conditioning of the subsurface and base after the track had been repeatedly sealed.
With synthetic surfaces, I think everyone, including the people who manufacture and install them, is still on a learning curve of what has to be done to keep the track consistant and safe in all kinds of weather.
From a handicapping standpoint, the important thing to remember is that each track is unique, and that you have to become familiar with what the weather conditions do to the the individual track surface.
Hi,
A jockey has a very dangerous job, but a very important one. He must guide the horse in the correct way as to know how his horse runs, and performs during a race. It is his responsibility to get his horse in the correct position, and know how to guide him through traffic going at very high speeds while the rest of the field is fighting to do the same. Jockey error has played a huge roll in injuries to other jockey's and horses. The horse does the running, but it is up to the jockey to know how fast the horse runs, and when to ask the horse for his best without compromising. So the roll of a jockey is very important. Without a jockey it would be like racing a car with no driver. Hope this explains it to you.
You need to go to a reputable trainer and tell him you're interested in buying a horse. Tell him how much you've got to spend and he'll do the rest. He might have a horse in his yard that's already for sale or he might go out and buy one for you.
Don't go buying horses over the internet!
The flat trainer Richard Hannon has had some good successes with cheaply bought horses in the past. He trains in Wiltshire.
http://richardhannonracing.tv/
Don't forget you'll have to contribute towards the horse's training expenses every week so the more people involved the cheaper it will be.
Its people like you, that pissin' an moanin', that ruin the world…………………..
You can go to the site for the Daily Racing Form at it should answer your questions also at any track the program will have instructions inside the cover explaining how to read the form and also how to make all wagers including the exotics.
http://www.xpressbet.com
You have to sign up, but it's completely free. There's no fees for watching or betting. And they have like 60 tracks you can watch. It's a great service.
Several tracks have their own broadcasts on their website, but xpressbet is great because you can get all the tracks in one place and place a bet if you'd like.