NYCOTB Closing Is Great News

It would seem that NYRA is truly in crisis mode without the handle from NYCOTB. They are chartering buses to funnel OTB players to the Big-A, pressing to overturn laws that prohibit live video and predicting that there may be purse reductions. Even the head of failed NYCOTB went on record to say that " there’s a definite possibility that the Saratoga Race Track will close as a result of the shutdown of OTB". The numbers after one day do not agree with this dire assessment. Instead of true crisis this could be a case of crisis as a means to an ends. It was Hillary Clinton that said "never waste a good crisis". NYRA could be using this "crisis" to accomplish goals which have stagnated in the sea of Albany dysfunction for decades. Beneath all the doom and gloom there may be a light which will be the start of a new paradigm for NYRA. A novus ordum of New York racing that will benefit the long term health of the industry.

Last Thursday 02DEC10 Aqueduct handled a total of $5.6 million including $475,000 on track and $1.3 million at all OTBs within New York state. Attendance was 2101. This week on Thursday 09DEC10 Aqueduct handled a total of $5.2 million with $536,000 on track and $822,361 from in state OTBs. Attendance was 2,704. While handle did drop a total of $416,000 Aqueduct enjoyed increased on-track handle along with more bodies in the plant. Every dollar wagered on track must be worth at least three wagered at OTB. With OTB in bankruptcy there were no guarantees that NYRA would ever see these funds wagered at OTB. With more people at the track converting to NYRA one accounts-- NYRA is gaining market share over the local handle. The fact that on- track handle has increased from last weekis a positive sign and will help NYRA weather the storm of decreased total handle.

A big part of that $416K deficit is that OTB players are still in scrambling mode looking for a place to book their action. This $416,000 deficit will likely close as players find a new home and return to action. The deficit may not be a long term affliction. How could these OTB guys just give up the greatest game so easy? Some will land off-shore, some will land with bookies, others with NYRA one and even with national ADWs like expressbet. When this all settles most of the OTB players will transition into a new vendor; some may even find a new love for the game -or a small profit- without that onerous 6% tax on winning levied by OTB. Of course there are some players -the type that used local OTB as a social club- that will be transitioning into a new hobby. These people will focus their dollars on things like lotto, dominoes or local cockfights. Maybe a few will execrate vice from their lives which is what many of these souls need.


In the end I believe that the primary effect is a livened up Aqueduct. A game with vitality. As a whole horse racing in New York will be better positioned to jettison that hardcore degenerate reputation that effused from the corner OTB like the pervasive smell of smell of rotting rubbish on a sultry summer night. NYRA will gain control over local market share and eliminate a divisive competitor that stifled the simplest initiatives live streaming video. Maybe I can begin to tell people I follow, watch and wager on horse racing without the expected gamblers anonymous hazing. From a holistic point of view the loss of NYCOTB may be just the tonic the game needed here in New York- we should have on-line video soon and the political dog and pony show will be over as racing interests are consolidated.

Task Force on the Future of New York Off-Track Betting

Only a gaggle of lawyers could craft the complicated situation that New York horseracing is in. The bad news as it looks like it is only going to get worse. As the various OTBs lose revenue to out of state ADW's defensive legislation will be enacted to protect an OTB on its deathbed. A myriad of laws/committees/boards/task forces are designed to protect harness racing, OTBs and locals tracks. Instead of protecting and promoting growth the entire industry is mired in the muck of too much government. The OTB may poach the NYRA customer but OTB has to pay NYRA money for dark day simulcasts. NYRA may offer out of town simulcast tracks but NYRA pays much more for the signal as OTB gets a volume discount on the signal. The conflicts are endless. As the OTB parlor increasingly becomes an anachronism, no amount of laws can stop the death spiral of OTB revenue.

OTB REVENUE PLUNGING
Rockland County – Have seven branch locations, Nanuet, Pearl River, Nyack,
Haverstraw and three locations in Suffern. Have received the following revenues
from OTB:
2004: $2,758,388
2005 $2,800,651
2006 $2,587,447
2007 $1,941,924
2008 $1,587,195

It is sometimes scary when lawyers get involved in anything beyond a criminal case. When I think about the head lawyer in Washington getting involved in healthcare it makes me want to reach for a double dose of vitamins and fiber supplements. The dysfunction of New York state wagering is enough to make anyone sick to their stomach. In an ideal world the various interests conflicting with each other would bring about an equilibrium, but the lawyers will not let it happen. Instead we suffer under multiple laws that try to account the disparity between strong and weak. When one of the interests start to weaken a task force of beaurocrats with scant bottom up knowledge are assembled to search for the reasons why the filthy, stinky OTB that charges a 6% tax on winnings is losing handle to an internet ADW.


Instead of improving the lot for the masses these endless laws allow the sickness of the weak to impair the strong. Why can't NYRA offer harness racing to their customers? An exacta is an exacta. The only growth market for racing has been the internet ADW's. Now the OTB's are pushing the state to shut down out of state ADW operations in New York. While this may help the OTB it will hurt racing by reducing handle and making the game unappealing for the vital yet rare, young internet savvy racefans within the state .


Niagara Country's Response to Competition;

* Either prohibit out-of-state ADWs from accepting wagers from New York residents or require them to be licensed and regulated like theOTBs including the requirements of statutory distributions that are equal or greater than the ones the NY OTBs are required to make.

Another example of the OTB sway over Albany is on internet video. Under pressure from OTB Albany enacted a law that prohibited video/audio of NYRA races to be broadcast over the internet within the state of New York. NYRA can not even stream their product. NYRA puts up the purse, takes the entries and runs the show, why can't they show it? OTB wants to pressure the race fans of New York to go the OTB parlors if they want to watch what they bet on. While this idea that people will be queuing up outside the branches because they can not view Belmont on youbet.com is absurd it also does nothing for OTB. Limited video access hurts the overall well being of the game. There are plenty of outlets to watch NYRA racing within New York other than a OTB parlor, there is TVG or HRTV which is widely available via cable or dish network. There are rumors that crafty racefans have figured out how to circumvent the OTB blockage of the NYRA signal over the internet as well. It is a very tangled web to navigate if you want to watch/wager on racing in New York.


When Nassau OTB was caught pirating the Aqueduct signal over the internet earlier this year, NYRA took action and cut Nassau OTB off from offering the NYRA feed OTB's cable TV customers on Long Island. Why should Nassau OTB be allowed to do what NYRA can not? The fans, the horseman and the game suffer under this mess. It is amazing that the game has persevered under the heavy weight of the legislative parasite. It is the most unlikely of longshots but if a de-regulator with strong bottom up knowledge could neutralize the morass of top down knowledge bureaucrats we could realize the potential of racing in New York.

Derby Day Good News

The TVG & Tracknet deal is just what we needed. Now the one race that actually has mass appeal can be promoted on the most prominent of racing media. Hopefully they can build on this agreement and grow the pie instead of decimating the pie in selfish struggles.

How about that Rachel Alexander? She ran an absolute hole in the wind in the Kentucky Oaks. That was about as impressive as a race as I have seen ever. The filly actually took my breath away and left me speechless.

Horseracing Is For Horseplayers

While I like Handride's passion for the sport, I do not agree that horse racing will ever be a mainstream sport the way NFL/MLB/NBA is mainstream. First I am a horseplayer and second I am a fan who marvels at the view from the grandstand at Belmont. While the horses are gorgeous the view only captures my attention for a moment. What keeps me hooked in this game is that I am a dedicated horseplayer who keeps daily notes, maintains a database and has devised my own system to handicap races. A horseplayer has more in common with Bobby Fischer than he/she does with Joe Six Pack tailgating on Sunday afternoon. Horse racing is a niche sport and it caters to gamblers, horseplayers or punters. Horseplayers are people who seek out puzzles to unravel, these are people who are excited by unraveling complexity, and do not want to be emotionally manipulated by simplicity. Example after example proves without a doubt that horse racing is most successful in jurisdictions (HKG, AUS, LON, NYC,SIN, TYO, IRE) where gambling flourishes.



NBA/NHL/MLB/NFL needs a fantasy league because the games themselves are not engaging as a stand alone entity. There is not that much to think about if you are not gambling on a pro-sports game. It is sit, watch the commercials and root type of thing. The TV talks and you listen. The info streams in from the TV, from the computer and from the handheld device. It is mostly a one way info stream. The engagement for the pro-sports fan involves an emotional attachment to one team. The profit for the NFL is in having that emotionally attached fan going out to order a TV package, buy $120 jerseys, $130 sneakers and $75 fathead wall posters. The expression of the pro-sports fan is in consuming. The expression of a horseplayer is in wagering.


Racing can not rival those pro-sports games in the merchandising department. Racing is not selling a fantasy or emotional projection, racing is providing the vehicle for you to challenge your mind. Nobody is going to go out and buy $120 Merlin Circle(well maybe me) sneakers. Take away that blind emotional fan attachment and the pro-sports games are a bore if you do not have action on the games. If games are a bore racing is even more of a huge bore if you do not have an opinion on the races.


Where racing diverts from team sports is that there is nearly nil rooting interest on a daily basis with racing. If racing had a fantasy following like the NFL this fantasy would neglect 99% of racing's content. However all is not lost for what the pro-sports game lacks racing holds in spades. Racing is a tremendous mental puzzle, when the game is healthy and the racing is robust there is nothing better than a day at the track. If you open up an account with any ADW and you have just bought a ticket to the greatest game going and your favorite team is your account balance.

Why waste the public's time and market the game as small time fantasy when the game is the greatest gambling orgy known to man? There are small time micro-sites available to rein in the newbies. YOUBET.NET is where you can open a play bankroll account. Road to the Roses is a derby prep fantasy. TVG had a fantasy league a few years ago that was a abject failure. With failure staring right in your face why continue to bang your head against the wall with fantasy games? Even a play money exercise is more engaging than a fantasy game where you have to wait for the Saturday stakes to see your horse win so you can get a point or two. What about the other 1000 races a week where there are no graded stakes horses? These fantasy games are for entry level fans of the game and most quickly move past entry level fan to full blown horseplayer in a matter of months.


How can you sell the sport as a list of top horses while the mental challenge of handicapping is neglected? This game is massive rush when you start to open up your mind to the form of the thoroughbred. The juice is in building opinions and the benefit is in bridging new synapses in your brain while discovering ideas about what constitutes winning form. Breaking down puzzles is what fuels the interest in racing.

Suddenly in the last two years sending a colt to stud is not as profitable as it once was. Some of the factors pushing away casual fans are turning around. The racing game is gaining economic appeal over the breeding game. This should help keep stakes horses in training for a few more years. This could widen the appeal for the entry level fans of the game.


Another problem is too much racing. It makes the product unpalatable on a daily basis for all but the must dedicated of horseplayers. This problem is also attempting to correct itself. Tracks going bankrupt is an excellent thing for the overall health of the game. There is too much racing and not enough horses. Short term pain means long term vigor. On any Saturday during the summer there are a dozen (SAR,MTH,SUF,PHA,DEL,CNL,CT, MNR,PEN, WO, FL, PID) tracks running on a Saturday along the east coast, this is too much racing and this goes on 7 days a week almost every week of the year. The product is watered down and needs to right size down to a quality product. Right sizing the game is a dirty job but fortunately the hand of market forces will do the dirty job.

With less entertainment options and a more concentrated version of the game bored sports fans who are looking for a challenge will be drawn in to the greatest show on turf. Patrick is doing a great job of pushing the game into the present, but let's not lose sight of what the game really is.

Customer Service Improvements At Aqueduct

Can you think of a group that is more filled with lament than horseplayers? These people are angry and they will give you dozens of reasons to justify that anger. They have the nose beats on the wire, questionable DQ's that cost them a fortune, jockey error, mutuel clerk error, tracks ignoring their concern and high takeout. With all of this adversity it is easy for a horseplayer to justify a foul mood. Find a horseplayer within his domain at the track and a complain session can break out and any moment. This is why it is important for tracks to look like they care and to stroke their patrons. It looks like NYRA is on the right track with the introduction of the new VIP club for players that bet a modest amount. After years of disconnect between management and the patrons, slowly a relation is building between NYRA and its patrons.
















PERSONAL WORKSTATIONS IN THE NYRA VIP ROOM

Opening a VIP club at a New York race track is not as easy as it looks. NYRA had proposed this VIP club within the track years ago but the NYSRWB blocked it over and over again to protect the government interests at OTB. Now that the club has finally been approved it is a step in the right direction for racetrack customer service. This shows that NYRA cares about customer service and is willing to fight against government corruption to ensure that it is taking care of their customers.


As someone that bets a modest $1000 a month on a NYRA rewards account I am eligible to be part of the club. This makes me feel good about going to the track. When I bring a non-tracky friend that has not been to Aqueduct he/she may now get the impression that the track is a place where they will take care of you and thay might even be under the false impression that powercap is an important big-shot. Horseplayers relish feeling like a big-shot, big-wig or big-cheese. This whole game of picking winners is a exercise in ego and stroking the ego is something that the track must try to do as much as possible for its patrons. For the track to expand its business the players must associalte the racetrack with their ego and how great they are at picking winners. NYRA has found a way to stroke everyones ego in a very economical way.

Back in the old days(spring 2008 and earlier) the VIP room the "Sunny Jim room" was a simulcast area with dozens of TV and chairs where you can watch every race from Boston to California. The Sunny Jim did not have a unique role in the facility it was just like any other area where anyone could watch a race. The modest improvements NYRA has made to the room is a new floor, new decor, a free continental breakfast buffet and dozens of workstations where the players have their own dedicated monitor/wagering terminal. With just modest improvements and a host controlling access NYRA has created the best place to play horses in the area. It is comfortable, you can drink all the coffee you can handle and there is a TV in front of you that allows bets up to when the latch pops on any race in the country.















REWARDS ROOM DECOR FEATURES A OLD TIME BOOKMAKER THEME


Any racing wagering facility should work on something like this to take care of their repeat customers. While other sports leagues are draining their customers with high ticket prices, there is a window of opportunity for racing to separate itself as a sport that cares for their patrons. Being considered a VIP is a validating experience that makes the horseplayer feel good about his handicapping and will even make losing a positive experience. Making horseplayers feel good will increase the likelihood that new horseplayers are recruited to the ranks and the game grows. Vegas has played this game for decades it is time for racing to get into the customer stroking game. In an industry where the participants are increasingly fighting for a bigger piece of a smaller pie it is vital that someone is growing the pie. NYRA is attempting to grow the pie. Most people that become a member of the NYRA VIP room will be inclined to become dedicated NYRA rewards horseplayers. This is the edge that the brick and mortar joints should exploit. Internet ADW's can not set up a VIP room in their patrons homes. A racetrack can do a physical stroking while the ADW is a distant entity far away. There are lights at the end of the racing tunnel.

Advanced Deposit Wagering Fiasco

Betting on ponies in 2008 reminds me of all the three card monte games that were played in the streets before the quality of life assault eliminated these games from street corners. Those Monte guys and their shills had a uncanny knack of hiding that lady and taking the marks money. They were fun games to watch. Today's horse racing market is not that far removed from the three card Monte games from 20 years ago. It must be funny for someone out there to watch horseplayers jumping through hoops to watch races and get a bet down. However it is not so funny if you are the mark jumping through the hoops.

Just like the Monte game the mark is always one step behind. You look under one hand and expect to be able to bet Churchill on the Twinspires website but the lady is not there. You go to the NYRA website to watch replays and the NY state government restricts NYRA from showing video and replays, the lady is not there either. This is like Ikea not being able to display furniture in it's big box superstore. You have to go to some to other store (calracing) to see the Ikea goods. You live in Texas and you can bet with a ADW, you can see a lady, but you can not bet on Texas races if you live in Texas. It is like being married and not being allowed to be intimate with your spouse. It is getting increasingly more challenging to find the lady in the horse racing world. The various regulatory bodies and the tracks themselves have made mistake after mistake, taking the customer for granted, disrespecting the customer and making few attempts to attract new fans. Real discontent is growing in the horseplayer community and a backlash is underway.

What can a horseplayer that truly loves the game do? We enjoy the game, it provides a diversion from the mundane responsibilities of life but on the other hand who wants to be a three card Monte mark? In New York takeout is increasing in new and punitive ways. It is like the state has introduced a new automated milking mechanism to harvest our milk more effectively and without us noticing. The state really thinks that horseplayers in New York will stand for getting less than track prices on each and every race we bet on. The NYSRWB consistently rules not for the good of the game or those that fund the game but for special interests like OTB. Rather than governing with the benevolent philosophy of growing the game and attracting new players, the current horseplayer is consistently treated like a lactating heifer fit to be milked dry. It is time to take our teats and jump the fence.

Horseplayers are not trapped in a round pen. We have options and outs. We can close our accounts and leave the game we love behind, but why cut off our noses to spite our faces? Perhaps a better option is to move our money to people that want our business and will treat us and the billions we wager with respect. Off-shore wagering was something I once resisted but it is time to embrace this alternate way to enjoy the game. It is a way to liberate ourselves from a dysfunctional system while collecting beneficial rebates. It is all about helping those that help us.

horse race wagering

TVG To Offer Free Past Performances to Account Holders

TVG announced today that it will offer free past performances to their account holders. The first ADW provider to match the free PP's that Twinspires have offered for years. Perhaps somebody at TVG realized what horsesplayers like and they shrewdly arranged some free stuff for horseplayers that clamor for this sort of thing. This is an improvement for a ADW provider who is a notorious nickel and dime operation that charges a $.25 surcharge for every bet placed. If you look at the ADW poll TVG lags far behind Twinspires.

TVG has contributed their fair share to the industry. Perhaps someone like I would not have become an obsessed racing fan if TVG did not exist. While I watched racing since the mid-1980's, the bug did not really hit me until the early 200's when TVG was the first to beam the into the TV 18 hours a day. Before TVG racing was on TV for 12 hours a year, now it is on 18 hours a day everyday of the year. We can not underestimate the positive influence TVG has had in modernizing the racing industry and coaxing non-dinosaur fans into the racing circle. It would be a shame if a network like TVG fails. HRTV does not reach as many people. It would be a greater shame if it failed because it was outgamed by Twinspires and their free BRISNET PDF PP's. It is a huge positive that TVG has entered the free stuff business. Even 58 Flat Matt hit the late pick 4 at Aqueduct today for $670 bucks. Things are looking up at TVG.

ADW account poll

Even though it is a minuscule sample, the results of the ADW poll completely support the top ten things horseplayers like list. Twinspires is far out in front while TVG and YOUBET once dominant tenured ADW providers are being completely ignored by the online horseplayers that visit this blog.

Why is twinspires the on-line dominant ADW provider? TVG has the most exposure reaching 30 million homes on TV and YOUBET has the best website. The key to Twinspires success is two words, free stuff. In comparison not only do YOUBET and TVG not offer free PP's but they are notorious nickel and dimers who charge fees to watch video or charge per wager fees. These smalls fees are the main reason why the customer base is switching to Twinspires. Twinspires understands the customer base and does not try to find revenue where the horseplayer finds annoyance.

The online upstart Premier Turf Club is a favorite of those that frequent the paceadvantage message board. The selling points of Premier Turf Club is rebates for all, a highly motivated pro-active owner who is involved in customer service and offers a modern wagering interference that horseplayer designed with many innovative features. The glaring weakness is that the major thoroughbred circuits are not available on Premier Turf so if you want Aqueduct you will have to settle for Assinoba or Belmont fans will have to settle for Beulah.

Other local providers like NY OTB, NYRA rewards, Cali Intertrack are a mixed bag Personally I use NYRA rewards and they work well for me. They offer a small rebate, an amazing track menu featuring almost every flat track from Suffolk to Del Mar and an array of free stuff perks. Preferred access to Belmont Stakes tickets, Saratoga Tickets and a free Breeders Cup Buffet. OTB still charges a 5% winning bet surcharge to those with accounts less than $300 so OTB is completely out of the question for those that want track prices and have modest bankrolls.

If ADW management is reading this I would hope that they read the top ten things horseplayers like list and take heed. Anything less than free PP's and they are showing that they do not understand their customer base and are okay with twinspires demolishing their business. Why are these ADW providers still nickel and diming the horseplayers with per bet fees and video fees? Do I have to make myself available for freelance consulting to correct the YOUBET/TVG business model? Management needs to alter the budget plans to eliminate these fees as the small revenue from the small fees are cannibalizing the gross handle and causing the patrons to migrate from your service to those ADW providers that have read and respected the top ten things horses players like list