I live in sunny Forida.
Where is there any wagering on Pimlico? Only at Pimlico?
Are all ADW\'s locked out?
Is there no Simulcast Wagering at all in this state?
Friday is Black-eye Susan/Pimlico Special Day and Saturday is the Preakness Stakes. Do people involved realize what they are doing to the fans.
Advice or help is appreciated.
SC -
Here\'s a link to a Bloodhorse article that explains what\'s going on with Florida.
http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/45181.htm
I know that Xpressbet is carrying Pimlico, which leads me to believe that the other TrackNet ADW\'s are also getting the signal. I don\'t know if they can offer it to Florida residents. You might check with whatever ADW you are using.
I\'m amazed at how little press this dispute between the horsemen and the ADW\'s has received. It seems like both sides have gone to the mattresses, and I think the outcome of the dispute will do more shape the future of the industry than anything that comes out of the Eight Belles breakdown.
Bit,
I will. I support the Horsemen on this one. Someone is telling them they are getting a fair slice and they are saying \"show us the books and we will believe you\".
Maybe I am looking through the wrong set of glasses but I believe the horsemen are representing the Owner, the Trainer, the Rider and the Fan.
Where does the Fan fit in here? I bigger the purses the better the racing.
This Bill Belichek reasoning of \"believe me I am telling you the truth\" doesn\'t fly. We need Congress to get involved.
Congress should be the last entity examining books.
If the Industry can not police itself with unresolved wagering lock-outs, steroid use, medication abuse and rampant breeding related breakdowns then a higher authority needs to take a look.
True, so which lobby do you prefer? The industry lobbyists or the horsemen lobbyist?
I think I answered that 2 posts ago. And if their medication regulation proposals are too limited then someone will see through it and do something about it.
Similar to what Spector is doing with the NFL.
SC –
I haven\'t taken sides and don\'t think anyone would listen if I did.
On the one hand, I can see the logic of the horsemen\'s position. Purses have historically exceeded 6.5% of handle, and now TrackNet is telling the horsemen they should take less than 4% of handle through ADW\'s, which is the growth sector of the industry and should involve lower costs per wager than having tellers punch tickets and handle cash. I also have no particular affection for Churchill Downs, Inc. (I\'ll spare you the rant), and most of their comments on this matter have struck me as intellectually dishonest, if not technically so. In particular, their claims that increasing the cost of the signal would make twinspires.com unprofitable are just games with numbers, the outcome of which depends on how you allocate costs and how fast you write off start-up costs.
On the other hand, I think the long-term health of the industry (in the face of competition from more popular forms of gambling that are less costly to operate) requires consolidation. The slots gravy train won\'t last forever, and reducing costs will require fewer horses, horsemen, and race tracks chasing a limited supply of takeout dollars. If you reduce the number of tracks and horses by 75%, and assume handicappers will shift their wagering to whatever tracks are left so that total handle is unchanged, then the remaining horsemen could indeed survive on less than 4% of the handle. That seems to be where Churchill Downs is taking us. Here\'s a recent quote from the CEO of Churchill:
\"There are 50,000 thoroughbred races in the U.S. each year,\" Evans said. \"This is a hugely oversupplied market in which online bettors have already shown their willingness to move their wagers to the best available product.\"
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/BUSINESS/805080348
And indeed, Churchill\'s actions in Florida seem to be having the predicted effect, as owners are shipping their horses out of Florida and stable help is being laid off.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/94451.html
It is hard for me to imagine CD bought Calder to bankrupt it but if Evans says there is too much racing then maybe they did. Now that they are partnering with Magna, by closing Calder, Stronach can get those December dates he so dearly covets. Then the rest of the year if anyone wants to play the horses they have to go to Stronachs Gulfstream Casino and wager or the Calder Casino. With no Live Racing of course.
And if they need to dance around the rules to operate the Casino they can hold a county fair meet in Oct for the Stallion Series. But move it to Palm Meadows and call it The Calder at Palm Meadows County Fair meet.
By the time all of the Consolidation is finished there will be four trainers left
1.) Pletcher
2.) Asmussen
3.) Lake
4.) O\'Neil
Then what is someone going to do about drug regulation policies.
Twinspires.com has the full card from Pimlico both Friday and Saturday for FL residents.
Calder, as of now, will not be taking the signal. No one at Gulfstream knows whether they are or not. LMAO