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.

No More Detention Barn At Saratoga and Beyond

Great news for New York racing with NYRA scraping the dentition barn. This barn did little to protect the public and surprisingly hurt racing integrity. Who knows if the horse you just bet on - a known creature of habit- just pitched a fit in the detention barn? The public was in the dark here as many races were lost in the strange confines of a foreign place. Now NYRA will be a much more appealing destination for shippers. Just like any other track in the country the horses can run out of their own barn. Ever take a pet to a strange place like an airplane? They go nuts and so did many horses in the detention barn.

The big argument for the detention barn was that it shut down suspected "juicer" barns and leveled the playing field. This argument was not supported by the numbers as the "mega-barns" like Pletcher or Dutrow won at the same percentage pre-dentition barn. The additional costs associated with the detention barn chased away small stables and small owners leaving the racing only to the mega-barns. If the barn had no affect on the results what is the point of discouraging shippers, inconveniencing owners with the additional costs-hundreds of dollars a per race and scrambling the form of the horses by forcing them into a strange place?

If anything the detention barn discouraged competition and dropped the class of racing. After five years the detention barn did nothing but take a full field of suspected "juicers" and changed them into a short field of tomato cans. In the end the full field is better as testing is more can weed out the juicers but their is no anecdote for tomato cans. The real threat to racing integrity lies with the recently approved uncoupled entries, which has the potential to lead to more shenanigans but the detention barn did not change a thing.