Forcing Them to the Table

Someone, namely the CHRB looks like they will be forcing both Tracknet and TVG to the negotiation table sometime over the next year. Many thanks to those people in charge over there to have a backbone and work in the best interest of their patrons. Although I imagine these three in a room look something like this: The problem is and always will be that Tracknet negotiates from a point where it controls any lost dollars. For example, you watch race on HRTV that is owned by Magna/CDI but play it on TVG well TVG is still going to pay the track, therefore the holding company of Tracknet only loses a percentage of revenue. The flip side of that is that when you watch a race on TVG but bet it through HRTV. When Tracknet talks about openness they are talking about not paying TVG in that instance. Some of the smaller tracks who can't afford to start their own Tracknet go to TVG to manage their signal. For the most part TVG has done a good job bringing some of the smaller signals to the masses. TVG needs that exclusivity to ensure they have a reason to put the races on TV. The crux of these negotiations is that it leaves broadcasting rights totally out of this: The CHRB is focusing only on the practice of exclusivity for wagering purposes. There is no plan to alter any broadcasting rights. I imagine what they are trying to do is find a fair price at which to pay the broadcaster. Tracknet wants to pay nothing while TVG values them too high. I say throw 'em in a room and don't let them out until the children learn to play nice.

Cooperation for Cooperation's Sake Meeting

Assholes. That's what I come away thinking about the overall management of this industry when reading Bloodhorse's article from the recent Jockey Club meetings. I thought I liked CDI CEO Mr. Evans. Thought his view was real, unbiased, and was embracing many of the new initiatives others just talk about. But, then he comes out w/ this gem, "The industry has spent about $500 million buying television in the last 10 years, and in my view, 10 years of televised racing hasn’t moved the handle needle,” Evans said. “If distribution matters, every show on ABC, NBC, and CBS would be a hit.” Wow, putting the Derby or these Win and You're in weekends on television isn't about driving handle, but getting more casual sports fans interested. Getting the 3rd race from Evageline or even the 5th from Del Mar on a channel that 30 million people have access to (that might not have access to the TVG ADW) is about handle, and it has increased said handle. I'm glad the Jockey Club has found this situation to be urgent. Hey guys, incase you didn't know Pope John Paul died, they've invented a series of tubes called the internet, and the Berlin Wall came down. Holy cow, get with the times men! Again, if I hear that cooperation is the cure without any other details I'll crap a duck. (Although I must say the quotes from Mr Santanna sounded the most intelligent and detailed). And in the final throws of this cluster F Alex Waldrop CEO of the NTRA assured us “progress is being made behind the scenes.” He should have just come out and said, "You know we're getting plenty rich, and we really don't care about you bettors because we're treating you like garbage and you're still coming out in droves, so really what's with all this urgency?" Like I said, assholes. To think I'm coming back from a little R&R and I'm all relaxed and happy and this article craps on cupcake.

Churchill on a Spending Spree

CHDN has gone out and bought itself some interesting properties. It appears this consolidation is to shore up their ADW presence. By buying assets from BRIS and AmericaTAB, Winticket.com (Handride advertiser), BrisBET.com and TsnBet.com now are CHDN ADW's. No word if they'll eventually be merged into Twinspires.com (TBA Older Horse category sponsor) or remain stand alone.

#600

Yes, this is my 600th post. I missed the opportunity to pat myself on the back for #100 & 500, so you're stuck w/ a number 600 celebration. And while, Alan over at LATG might only put in one sentence for his milestone 2,000th post, let me try and celebrate a little. If you can, leave me a message and tell me how much you've enjoyed or hated 1 through 600 (so that I can prove to my wife there are people who actually read this) . And, I've decided to cure racing in #600. No small task, but easy when you are not a greedy bastard w/ an IQ of 80 (I'm being nice with that 80). There's only 1 thing that makes people cooperate: Not guns (Iraq), not yelling (Congress), not editorials (blogs), but money. Fortunately, there's only one place where money comes in horse racing and that's the signal, and with everything going on right now, this wouldn't be a bad time to blow the whole thing up. First, the signal should be owned by the tracks, not just a few, but all together in a joint venture. It should be run by an entity with no ties to TV distribution, ADW ownership, or anyone w/ a French Canadien accent. The signal ownership group should be set up like a clearing house. For example, Keeneland sells their signal to the clearing house at a set rate. Why sell to them? Because, Keeneland, like every track, is part owner in the clearing group. Keeneland then goes shopping for the signals it wishes to show at its track. The rate Keenelands pays for those signals is based on factors laid down by said clearing house. Finally, because the clearing house is run/owned by the tracks the factors will be set up in a way to benefit the track (not ADW's nor TV providers). I'm just guessing what a Congress of racing would come up with for a scoring sheet but, off the top of my head: Synthetic Track? Racing Days? Medication rules? Avg Purse? Jockey Insurance? Television distribution? % back to the horseman? How an entity answers these questions will affect what they pay for the signals. It could also determine how much the clearing house will pay for a signal. Once the signals are owned by the Clearing house, there would be a veritable congress of racing. All of a sudden you can do anything and everything you've ever wanted in horse racing because entities will be forced to the table and cooperation is coerced through incentivizing signal rates. Obviously, it would be good to have a final voice, maybe even a commissioner. What does this all lead to? Racing Utopia!!! On January 1st (or whatever day is set) every track knows what it's going to pay for signals that year and what they will recieve in revenues. Tracks will spend money, when economically feasible, to score better on the questionaire and get reduced rates or getter a better price back from the clearing house. This could lead to economical responsibility maybe even viability for many tracks. This makes way too much sense.

Magna Scrutiny

I had thought that if Magna could win the bid for Chrysler is would force Magna to rid itself of MECA (the part that holds the tracks). MECA is just a big loser for the overall Magna corporation and while shareholders can call Frank as many names as it wants, he's still the "King" (he called himslef that once), and owns all the voting shares. See, to own Chrysler would have forced greater scrutiny on Magna & its subsidiaries. Going into it w/ a partner would have futher forced Magna to make the Chrysler ownership the focus of its entire corporation, and pushed the current focus (throwing good money after bad, also known as funding a racetrack) out the door. Unfortunately, Magna didn't win the bid. But you know what? Maybe it wasn't so unfortunate, scrutiny is happening. There are as many articles about how the Preakness is on its last legs in Maryland (how many more years do we have to read these articles) as there are about how MECA is like a drunken college kid w/ a credit card payed for by mom and dad. All in all, Frank has to do something, and the plan is to do just that (of course he's had this plan for a while). It's a firesale I guess (story of the atmosphere of San Luis Rey), but they can't call it that, as MECA isn't really moving too fast. However, let's say they do sell off all the properties: Then what? What will Frank be left with? Gulfstream, Santa Anita, maybe a small never to be mentioned part of NYRA. That just doesn't sit right with me. I would really like to sit here and tell you what Frank does after the realty dump, but I really don't know. He'll be free of debt, but not awash in cash. I know I've said MECA could be a takeover target, but Frank loves, I mean LOVES horse racing, and I can't see him getting out. Furthermore, MECA is actually the only track owner to have their ducks in a row: ADW, Track ownership, signal control, & broadcast TV. I'd like some comments on this post because I'm so confused, so leave some!

The Difference

TVG does not own any signals inherently; it doesn't run a racetrack. It does get carried by a lot of TV stations, its TV signal is seen in places where it is not legal to bet via TVG, but legal to bet through other ADW's. Tracknet does not own any signals inherently, but it is owned by 2 companies that do. Tracknet does not own an ADW and therefore takes the "moral" stance that exclusivity is wrong. But: Tracknet is owned by companies who do own ADW's Tracknet is owned by companies who do put out a TV signal (The 50% stake that Chruchill bought in HRTV was the corner piece to the whole deal, and allows this whole "non-exclusive" thing to happen) Therefore the parent companies are still able to profit from people watching HRTV who may not bet via their ADW's thanks to the fact that they own Tracknet. And, this advantage allows Tracknet to be "non-exclusive", even though it is just a difference in appearance. What would happen if a consortium of Monmouth, Keeneland, NYRA bought TVG? Then what? Actually that's what I'd like to see. That might cause a couple more dominoes to fall and maybe we'd finally get to one large TRACKNET owned by all the tracks (not just 2) and then there would be non-exclusivity in the truest sense of the word.

For Those Keeping Score at Home

Let's see how we got here. TVG and CDI got into a little bit of a spat. Basically, TVG was selling CDI's signal overseas without telling CDI. What pissed CDI off was that TVG wouldn't disclose what they were making on the signal, and CDI was trying to move in on that territory with a partnership with Magna anyways! TVG couldn't renew it's exclusive deal with CDI and let out a press release pretty much saying CDI was small potatoes, and they took their ball and went home. Couldn't find anything about what has happened with the European content, but it's probably a moot point now. CDI then paired up with Magna and formed Tracknet Media to manage each parties signal, buying and selling. CDI bought a 50% stake in HRTV and stated that as its contracts expired with TVG those tracks would move to HRTV. Finally, Twinspires.com was announced as CDI's ADW platform. CDI & Magna had filled their business streams, and that makes sense. They had ADWs, a TV provider, and physical assets (tracks). Now, with Simulcast Winter coming close to an end (Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Fairgrounds, are all closed) the bargaining position for Tracknet Media is at a weak point, their content is kind of second rate sans the Derby. Youbet tried to pull a fast one. Youbet licenses content from TVG and tried to pay for the "free and open" signal of Tracknet. This would be a boon to Youbet as it would be the only ADW in the country that actually had access to ALL the tracks. However, this would be a downer to Youbet competitors Twinspires & Express bet, the ADW's associated w/ Tracknet. So, Tracknet in the best interest of its ADW's tries to strong arm those who wish to purchase the Tracknet signal into giving up their TVG siganl. Tracknet had already gotten AmericaTab to giveup their licensed content in exchange for the "free and open" content of Tracknet, and they were hoping to strong arm everyone. I would categorize this as a cluster-f. And, if you are in mainstream media, howsabout calling these greedy bastards out. No one in this story is without blame, and they are screwing over the little guy. This is a cluster F in every sense of the word, because we now have 2 exclusive content providers. TVG & Tracknet, however, TVG never stopped licensees from going out and getting even more content and Tracknet doesn't say it's exclusive (even though it is), and all of this goes back to my original point that EXCLUSIVITY is right! without it there would be no incentive to show racing on TV, because you on TV you can't control whether or not people will be using your ADW to make the wager. In the beginning I thought Tracknet was a great solution, however I didn't realize they'd be so tied to their umbrella companies and uncooperative. An LLC still could work, but it needs to incorporate more entities and have a modicum of dignity and openness. You can't try and screw over everyone that screwed you over previous and call that a business plan.

News and Notes

There is some other racing going on this weekend and I’m sure many other bloggers will do a great job covering it, but maybe you have a second to check some lesser heard about stories. Good people get good horses, and that’s proven as Smokey Stover fresh off his Sunshine Millions Sprint returns Sunday at Bay Meadows with the rider Aaron Gryder aboard. After reading that I typed in Lost in the Fog on the new finder and got this nice little article about sight handicapping that sort of comes out of the blue. Churchill and Magna are best of buddies, and what you should be looking at in the near future is an outright buy of MECA by CHDN. MI Developments CEO John Simonetti has already said keeping an eye on the MECA (they loan them A LOT of money) might not be the best thing. I read that as spin-off. Not to go all equidaily on you, but I found this article and it was a really fun read about a 60 year old groom. I can see myself retiring to the backstretch, but this guy is living it. And one idea that hasn’t left my head yet is that Friday’s Breeder’s Cup card should be Ladies Day. Seeing that the new BC F&M sprint will be on Friday why not focus on the fillies? Some of the best fillies to ever run have also stepped foot on Monmouth’s dirt: Personal Ensign, Lady’s Secret, Serena’s Song, Miss Woodford all won major stakes here. Monmouth was an early stop for Julie Krone. So, why not have some videos on the board of their winning efforts. Monmouth regularly hosts fashion shows and hand bag contest so hold those on Friday as well. There are a ton of other ideas, and they’re all good, so why not make this happen.

You’ve Created a Monster, a Really Stupid Monster

Tracks are selling their signal like a crack addicted single mother of 8 on the corner: Just giving it away. They’ve been doing this for years, but like that woman on the corner it takes it toll. You’re prone to mental health issues and just health issues in general. And it appears to me that tracks and their management are now pretty much batshit crazy. It appears that the streetwalker is turning into the cat lady, and I'm not talking about the hot one on the right. There is no rhyme or reason as to what a track, offshore hub, or ADW will pay to get a signal, you should just know that it’s cheap. This is for 2 reasons: First, that’s the way it’s always been. That is italicized because I’ve read that statement about a million times. Back in the day when simulcasting was in its infancy tracks thought they were doing each other favors by pricing it low. The tracks they were selling it to have costs themselves and the money generated from a little profit on a signal would go back to their horsemen. By being cheap they assured their signal would be picked up by most other outlets and any money they received was to them found money. Most tracks valued their signal like Fox values good sitcom writing, worthless. The second reason why signals are low is that tracks are dumb. It seems that most tracks are run by politicians and/or people with little business acumen. Reason 1 makes no sense for crissake! But, because of this “mis-pricing” ADWs and offshores are able to reap huge profits and lure more customers away from betting through the track. That last sentence can also be read as: Tracks give ADW’s and offshores bullets knowing full well those ADWs and offshores have guns pointed at their head. Tracks have been shot and are continuing to be shot, and what do they believe to be the solution? They start their own ADW!!! Hey if everyone else is shooting me it must be a pretty good idea. If I was a horseman a brick would wiggle its way free from my left pant leg. Track management over the last 10 years has watched as their state governments and own misdealing drive customers into the hands of oftentimes illegal bookmakers. A simple cure for these tracks would be to adjust the amount they charge on wagers, but god forbid they lose any handle. What if someone won't pay, waa waa waa. People who have a gun to their head or work the street corner aren’t big on back bone, but if they just showed a little the world would be a much better place. I still believe the CDI/Magna merger is good. I still think they should merge further, especially if somehow they win the NYRA bid. But, the first thing I would do would be to reassess my signal rates. In a utopia these guys might listen to me and let everyone in on their LLC as I noted here. Basically the LLC would have every track as a member and buy the signals from every track exclusively. This would allow the LLC to specifically focus on making the most money for the LLC via the signals they own, and seeing that tracks own the LLC, make money for themselves. TVG is right when they say exclusivity is the only business model, it’s just a shame that TVG will be long gone when they see their idea come to its full maturity. Currently, ADW’s still have a little bit of an edge due to the fact that not everyone has the same options. For example, in NJ I can only use NJbets, other states have more choices, and the ADW’s themselves offer only certain signals. The business term for all of this is a “cluster f”. I see this as something akin to the online brokers of the early and mid 90’s. There were a ton of them all offering something different, but when you boiled it all down the winners were based on cost and distribution. The same shall pass in this industry. No need to break out bloggerdamus as this is pretty much writing on the wall. Until then the girl on the corner is getting a little older and tracks will continue to shoot themselves in the head with a smile on their face.

Bloggerdamus

After considering all the news that came out yesterday about CDI and Magna, factoring in how well I did on the track on Saturday I could only come to one logical conclusion: I can see the freakin future and force people to do my bidding. I even knew that Haskin would beat me to the punch, with his little crystal ball gag, but I can make people do my bidding! Full on casinos in Jersey? Why not; Senator Al is going to head up the Poker lobby. Bloggerdamus sees a future where it’s hard to find a Starbucks compared to all the casinos. The new consultant turned CEO at MEC is no Bloggerdamus, he’s just realizing now that MEC doesn’t really care about customers, Bloggerdamus was still in diapers when he realized that. Bloggerdamus sees a bright future coming before the Derby. A deal will be worked out to buy TVG’s distribution. 3 channels of racing: Premier, West Coast, East Coast. Matt Carothers continues to annoy people with his frosted hair and pointless pick-4 tickets. Bloggerdamus has popped many racing bubbles before: 2005, 2006 and 2007 will be no different. It’s easy to pick 10 horses and when 1 wins you pat yourself on the back. To those people I say why not put a thumb in your bum. Why not name 5 prominent derby hopefuls who will NOT cross the line first, that takes skill and 2 things that Funny Cide doesn't have. Hard Spun – It appears now that the horse is too weak to race at Oaklawn, it takes too much out of him. Why not just enter him in the Oaks? Scat Daddy, Nobiz, Stormello –I hate to do this, but whenever 4 horses cross the wire together it’s unlikely that all of them are equally phenomenal, it’s more likely they’re equally above average, and above average doesn’t win the Derby. I leave Adore the Gold off the list due to his starting post and his progression towards a mile and a quarter. Street Sense – How can a horse move to #1 without racing on some people’s list? This makes me believe that the Derby winner might not have shown his true colors just yet, and people can’t let go of the past. Bloggerdamus thinks the winner might be on the West Coast right now!

Consolidation

Magna Entertainment reduces Q4 loss to US$12.5M, teams with Churchill Downs Well it's not exactly the consolidation I was hoping for (I called this move about 2 weeks ago), but a timely move nonetheless. I still think because TVG has such an imprint inside people's houses it might be in the best interest of this new company, TrackNet, to maybe purchase or become partners with TVG. And expand horse racing to 3 channels, but you're not here for old stale ideas; howsabout a new one?!!! First, get better cameras, quicker servers, and Trakus. Start streaming a live signal that's quality and able to be overlaid w/ all types of Trakus information, especially old feeds. Make all old races "Bloggable" If I see a good race I want to be able to share that with others. And, you should want me to share it with others. The current video feeds of Gulfstream, Churchill are poor to say the best, and it's not just you guys it's our industry as a whole. The look of horse racing on TV is shitty, and that's being kind. Why not think about this. In a nutshell what this is talking about is streaming live video content over the web, and from there I should be able to stream that to my TV via either Apple TV or a new device to be named shortly wirelessly. With that in place anyone with an internet connection would able to get the new horseracing channel on their TV with a crisp picture and smooth camera work. I'll be able to pick and choose what Trakus info I want to see as well. Traknet if you are alooking for a programming director or you need a general manager of common sense for your new ADW, drop me a line, I'll do it for free.

Couple things off my chest

Bloggers think way too much of themselves. They think they are better than writers, jockeys, trainers, owners, powers that be, and anyone else you can think of... And, I'm no different. I mean there's no good reason to write 1500 words a day for 100 or so people other than wanting to stroke my own vanity, the $29.27 I've earned over 2 years isn't really paying any bills. So, dear reader, knowing that I am an egotistical moron I took up the challenge set out by the well known Mr. Thorton. But, before I get to that... Today's opinion pieces in the Bloodhorse were 2 of the best I've ever read. Please go check them out. And, Mr Paulick, we had a pretty good discussion over here about TVG vs CDI that didn't fall into the, "matt carathurs should shut the hell up" category, just scroll down to previous posts and read the comments here and at LATG. As an editor of a large publication specifically angled towards horse racing I believe there is some responsibility on your part to get both sides of this matter to the table through public shaming, I'm not kidding. You should represent the fan in situations like this. Get your journalists to do what they are paid for: Find out the money situation and bare it out for all to see. No need to take sides just tell us how infantile this whole situation for both parties. Back to Mr. Thornton, and I'd love feedback from anyone w/ a law degree as to if this is possible. (Equidaily found this about a recent meeting w/ NTRA president) The solution to the Pari-mutuel paradigm: Start an LLC. For tracks to cooperate/join with this LLC the tracks sells an exclusive signal to the LLC. - Members cost of joining is proportionate to last year’s off track handle. - % ownership is calculated in the new year by offering more shares to partners who increased their handle the year prior. - Tracks will work together to buy each others signals fairly; knowing their own signals are being bought as well. - The LLC sets prices for all the signals that anyone can buy. Tracks themselves buy other tracks signals from the LLC. The LLC then goes to sell the signals back out to the tracks and ADW’s. They sell the signals back to LLC tracks at a cost derived from different attributes. The LLC can decide to use purse money offered, jockey insurance, racing days, anything it deems beneficial to racing as incentives for breaks. Voting on the benefits is done on an ownership basis. The better a track does in those categories the lower it will pay. The lowest an ADW pays will always be above the highest a track pays but they can lower by showing races on TV: Again the LLC can set up an algorithm based on factors they deem beneficial. Homes reached, total coverage of a meet (ie races shown) Why is this beneficial? Well it would take any 2 of CDI, NYRA and Magna to be the first two partners and exlclude their signal from all other tracks and ADW’s starting on a specific date, let’s say Jan 1, 2009. I believe that threat would force everyone to the table. We all know those signals are a lot of the lifeblood this industry has if not all. The LLC will work on a fair playing field as they are all part owners. Larger tracks will have more leverage than the smaller tracks, but smaller tracks can adjust their racing dates, purse structure to make the most out of it, and not worry about losing any signal at any time. They’re cash flow will be a lot smoother. This might also encourage working together on a proper stakes schedule to cut back on head to head competition. The ADWs will have the ability to pick any and all the tracks they want to cover, and are given incentives to show the races on TV. This could mean the while HRTV shows most of the Santa Anita meet, everyone might decide to cover the Big Cap knowing that handle on that race will be higher, and they could reap more benefits by putting it on TV. This also would give incentives for consolidation amongst the ADWs to lower their own costs. So there you have it. That's it, that's my pie in the sky hope. Something needs to bring this sport together, and every opportunity so far (illegal gambling, slots, exclusive rights) has been used to fracture the industry farther apart, and that blows for the common fan.

Greedy Bastards

You know I was a little shocked I didn't get more feedback on the last post, but was grateful to hear from Brad. Tote Board Brad said... Exclusivity with respect to televising races is one thing, but exclusivity with regard to access to the wagering pools is another. In California we're likely to put it into law that all Cali tracks must provide their signal to all licensed advance deposit wagering providers in the state (currently there are only 3—xpressbet, tvg, & youbet). This is different than saying HRTV or TVG must be allowed to show the races live on TV, just that their wagering platform has to have access to it. Thus, NBC or ESPN, or TVG for that matter, can still have exclusivity on the TV side. This is essentially a prisoner's dilemma. If TVG can be the big dog and exclude others, they do better for themselves, but the pie as a whole is smaller. If we abolish exclusivity, distribution is increased and overall handle will be as well. It's ridiculous how difficult we make it to get down on a race. Getting rid of exclusivity will help make it easier. Brad raises a great point about exclusivity of pools. But I tend to disagree. (Brad I hope this doesn't mean you won't bring me chocolates next time you're here). The word distribution is convoluted as it can take on 2 meanings. Non-exclusive signals will increase the availability to bet on those tracks, but it will not "incentivise" those w/ the signal to spread it via other forms of media than their computer screens. I think we can all agree that the TV is still the best way to watch racing, and no one really wants to spend a day in front of the computer screen handicapping the races. The computability of your own home is sort of thrown out the window if I'm sitting there watching a 2 inch delayed shitty camera. A non-exclusive agreement allows freeloaders on the system. Why would TVG air Cali horse racing in Cali when they know that some of the handle they create will go through expressbet and youbet, and they don't get paid? Again is TVG playing fair? Probably not, but their business model, I believe to be correct. I think some of the blame falls on the betting platform for not willing to pay the fee set by owner (in this case TVG). This is going to lead to a bumpy couple of years in horse racing, at a time when we least need this. But, it will take time for people to realize exactly what a signal is worth. My guess was that the idea of Magna and CDI was to pool enough sites together that your one group of signals would be enough to fund a platform exclusively. That really hasn't worked. CDI is selling assets now, and Magna is Magna. TVG beat them to the punch and got some really sweetheart deals because of this and now are on their bully pulpit, but if they continue to be so obstinate they will lose CDI, and who knows what next, NYRA? Where will the channel be then? If you are a horse racing fan you better start praying for all of these greedy bastards to start playing nice, and/or go to a business class.

A Better Product from Scratch

There's a nice little discussion occurring over at LATG shooting off from the CDI v TVG contract dispute (or should I say death of?). I also posted a comment a little while back and got a nice answer from Steve D, who was then told that he was an idiot over at LATG and that's just not right. Let's be cool headed and see what we've got here. Starting from scratch is a nice "pie in the sky" sort of idea one that is probably humming a nice little tune in Frank Stronach's ear, and I'm sure that is what CDI and Magna might be talking about right now. However, has either of these companies considered buying TVG from the parent company Gemstar, or atleast trying to become partners and consolidate the ADW industry a little? But, let's see what you'd have to do to match TVG, let's talk pie in the sky. TVG is in 18.5 million households as of April 2006, recently it was claimed to be 20 million. Fox Sports Net also takes some of the TVG feed and while FSN reaches 73 million nationwide, it was said only an additional 30 million can see the coverage: Total reached 48-50 million. HRTV on the other hand is only around 13 million households (10-Q). While a channel with CDI & Magna tracks would be great content; not many people will see it. What is even worse news: The bickering. The fact is that right now there should be a resurgence of cooperation amongst everyone in horse racing. Gambling is popular, getting more legal by the day, and harder to gamble off shore. However, there are still over 5000 different places (hubs) where you can place a bet on a horse and $0 goes back to the house. The funny thing is that the only thing stopping all of this is greed. "If I can't get paid, then no one gets paid" should be the motto of these people. There was talk a while back about an off shore wagering site to realize international wagers. And, wouldn't this be a better international focus for the NTRA/BC than figuring out the logistics of an international BC? But that idea died because it didn't have support. And why doesn't anyhing in horse racing have support? Well I'm going w/ all the assholes that have a little bit of power wielding it greater than they should, but that's just me. The question everyone should be looking at is how did Itunes do it? Most music is still pirated, but in the beginning some people said no one would ever pay for a song. A billion songs later... What would my 'Ihorse' look like? I wouldn't create a wagering platform, there are too many out there currently, but I would work on a national hub from which information could be grabbed by the different platforms to use as they wish: The odds would be real time, and I'd be able to pull up will pays for any and all exotics (even forward looking pick-3,4,6's). I'd be able to see a expected pay out on all exotics like boxes and part wheels. It would have account services where I could see my ROE on different tracks or bet types. It would act as my journal. There would be 2 TV channels carrying racing. One channel will only show racing, one race after another probably carrying the lesser tracks, no hosts just live feed of the race, no walking ring etc, just 2 seconds before the bell and 2 seconds after the wire. The other would be a "marquee" channel. It would focus on racing at the bigger tracks and would have hosts. I would still promise at least 5 races an hour, and I would play favorites. Meaning if Santa Anita had 4 stakes that day I would cover the $50,000 allowance race there over a $75,000 allowance at AQU where the rest of the day is crap. I would do this because players focus on a track for a day, and I wouldn't want to jump around too much. The hosts would give insight into the programming, but there would be no fantasy betting w/ exotics. They could say who they like in that race and that's it. Take out is hard to pin down, because it all is based on success really. A very succesful enterprise will be able to lower take out as more money flows in, but that brings us back to the greedy bastards in charge of all of this. I do think there is a place for rebates in our sport, and I do think currently big bettors are pushed away, not by just the tracks, but the legislation built into them. Once, you start talking about take out you realize that consolidation might be the most reasonable solution. The industry has to lessen the number of people w/ their hands out looking for their cut. Although it's hard to imagine that tracks can't get by on 20% takeouts w/ 14.6 Billion wagered in 2005 that's close to 3 billion dollars to feed purses and pay the tellers. But when you consider estimates range from 350-500 billion gambled illegally on sports in America you'd think there'd be an impetus to maybe work together a little and grab a % or 2 back. Anyone w/ facts and links please feel free to post below, also tell me what your "ihorse" might look like or do. Just remember this is all pie in the sky, none of this will ever happen because our sport is state run, and this would need cooperation on a national level.