Sunday Miscellanery

HRU has learned that some of the biggest races in the industry, The Battle of The Brandywine, Colonial Trot, and Valley Forge Trot will not be contested in Pennsylvania this year.  This is not surprising as gaming revenues are down in the state as there is more competition from other states as everyone else, except New Jersey, is seeking their share of gaming revenue.  As I have mentioned numerous times, gaming has become a commodity where there is no need to travel to play.  Even with online gaming in NJ and Delaware, it is only time until other states offer it as a means of getting revenue in.

Of course, while it is three stakes which have been cancelled, what does it foretell for regular purses.  You cut the big ticket items first and eventually you cut lower.  This has been one of the fallacies of slots and racing.  Sure you get that original kick of purse money but as more states offer slots, the increases are not as great and will eventually shrink.


Bill Finley talks about the November 29 race at Yonkers which resulted in a low Exacta pay-off, one that was roughly 87% less than the price seconds before the race started.  In his article, he claims the race was honest and the low payoff was due to three gamblers wagering roughly a total of $200 at the bell and winning.  His proclamation is the race was honest, but the payoff was due to the success of the Bell Ringers.

This is probably correct.  But one thing not addressed was whether or not these gamblers had the advantage of the alleged C-Band feed where other Bell Ringers and last minute ganblers didn't,  As we discussed once before, at one point the C-Band recipients saw six seconds more of a race before the windows close and when you are dealing with harness racing, those six seconds can mean a lot.

Finley is correct that you would have to be a fool to fix a race these days, the reward is not great enough.  However, if some gamblers are getting a different feed than others, resulting in them getting six seconds more of the starting procedure than others, there is an unfair advantage.  I just wish a respective media source would either prove or disprove the use of a signal that shows more than the standard signal within the same time frame.  If so, the industry needs to standardize the satellite feed all wagering sites use.


According to some Florida interests, my story about the Marion County quarter horse project may not be what it seems as they have not yet talked to the FQHRA, the group which sanctions quarter horse meets in the state of Florida.  You can read their comments after the original story.  If this is true, the regulators (if you can call them that) are worthless.