This week, the "B" track tour stops in Florida for a visit to Pompano Park. Pompano is unique in that they have a racino yet horsemen don't receive any revenue from the slots as revenue sharing in Florida was mandated only for thoroughbred interests. The FSBOA is currently in the process of trying to get the current slot law changed to mandate revenue sharing for standardbreds or seek to have the law declared unconstitutional, thus shutting down the slot machines. My guess is if the FSBOA lawsuit continues to moves forward, the state will change the law as there is too much revenue at stake.
Pompano's racing colony during the winter months is pretty strong. Wally Henessey, Matt Kakaley, Ricky Macomber Jr and others winter at Pompano competing against Pompano regulars Kevin Wallis, Bruce Ranger, and Joe Pavia Jr. As the season moves on, many of the big stables will begin racing at Pompano to getting their charges read for their campaigns.
This week marks the second twi-night doubleheader. Due to the poor response of Tuesday racing, Pompano has discontinued Tuesday night racing and is now carding two racing programs on Saturday night with the 'twilight' program starting at 7:05pm and the evening program starting at 9:45pm.
Here are my selections for both cards on Saturday.
Card 1 - 1st Pace - $8,500; FM Winners over $10,000 Lifetime
3 - Allee T 4-1
6 - Terra Cotta Bay 3-1
4 - Rio Raider 2-1
Card 1 - 2nd Trot - $5,000; Non-Winners $2,601 Last 5 Starts
1 - Brancaleone 4-1
6 - Call The Trotters 5-1
8 - Winbak Half 8-1
Card 1 - 3rd Pace - $5,000; FM Non-Winners $2,501 Last 5 Starts
2 - Golden Falcon N 3-1
7 - Blissfull Jessie 8-1
5 - Nillabomb 2-1
Card 1 - 4th Pace - $5,000; FM $6,000-$8,000 Claiming Handicap
1 - Legacy Franco N 5-1
2 - You Are Precious 9-2
8 - Bolero Talula 4-1
7 - See's Alookin 3-1
Card 1 - 5th Pace - $5,000; FM Non-Winners $2,501 Last 5 Starts
6 - Cam Town Carrie 2-1
5 - Barbara D 6-1
1 - Nonuknlady 7-2
Card 1 - 6th Pace - $5,900; FM Non-Winners $4,001 Last 5 Starts
5 - Coreys Apache 6-1
7 - Roxanna Hanover 15-1
9 - Market Dynamic 5-1
3 - Major Trap 4-1
Card 1 - 7th Pace - $13,000; FM Open
4 - Esmeralda Semalu 5-2
2 - Bling 3-1
3 - Alice Springs 2-1
Card 1 - 8th Pace - $4,000; Non-Winners $1,501 Last 5 Starts
1 - Professoralbright 4-1
6 - All Ameripan 6-1
2 - Nathanials Artist 3-1
4 - Seton Hall 5-1
Card 2 - 1st Pace - $9,500; $20,000 Claiming
1 - Omaha Survivor 9-2
2 - Life's Z Tam 5-1
3 - Art Star 4-1
Card 2 - 2nd Trot - $4,000; $6,000 Claiming
1 - Pip's Affair 5-2
4 - Victory Connection 6-1
5 - Armbro Baroque 3-1
Card 2 - 3rd Pace - $13,000; Open
7 - Mai Tai Guy 7-2
3 - Cammabis 8-1
4 - Power Park 10-1
Card 2 - 4th Pace - $5,900; Non-Winners $4,201 Last 5 Starts
6 - Lay Down The Law 8-1
1 - Lookinforasign 9-2
7 - Vapor In The Wind 4-1
4 - Little Mister 3-1
Card 2 - 5th Pace - $9,500; Non-Winners $9,251 Last 5 Starts
5 - Monet C C 8-1
1 - Mata Harry 7-2
4 - Daley Deposit Only 5-1
Card 2 - 6th Pace - $5,000; Non-Winners $2,701 Last 5 Starts
1 - C B Towner 4-1
6 - Maxine's Menace 10-1
9 - Born With Class 12-1
8 - Hero 5-1
Card 2 - 7th Pace - $6,800; Non-Winners $6,101 Last 5 Starts
6 - Tuffery N 6-1
8 - Golden Mattjesty 9-2
3 - Sign Of The Moment 5-1
Card 2 - 8th Pace - $5,000; Non-Winners $2,701 Last 5 Starts
5 - Paper Luck 4-1
8 - Murphs's Tiki Bar 12-1
2 - Chicane 6-1
3 - Can't Slay Me 3-1
You think you had a tough day in the office? Driver Debbie Manning took a tumble during a race at Northlands Park when three rabbits ran along inside the rail and spooked her horse at Northlands Park the other night. Fortunately, driver and horse were fine. For more on the story, including video, click here.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
NYRA Joins the Anti-Slaughter Movement
The New York Racing Authority is the lastest to join in the anti-slaughter movement with the establishment of an Anti-Slaughter policy. Does your local standardbred track have such a policy? Most likely not.
It is time that our standardbred tracks adopt such policies. There is no excuse not to.
It is time that our standardbred tracks adopt such policies. There is no excuse not to.
Missing the Boat with Casual Fans
In a recent column, Dean over at Pull the Pocket discussed how in Australia, racing provides a mechanism for syndicates to get together to wager in mega pool wagers such as the V75 and Pick-6. In the example cited, a punter with an online account may join a syndicate which will deduct money out of his account to pay for their share of the syndicate’s wagers on the V75. By getting together as a syndicate, they can cover more combinations giving each player a better chance of hitting the V75. Dean suggests providing such a mechanism would be good as it would provide a means to increase participation in gambling on horse racing in general.
While I agree with Dean’s assertion that racing in North America should facilitate the establishment of syndicates for our mega pool wagers, the fascination by race tracks on mega wagers highlights my assertion that racing doesn’t know how to market to the casual fan. Race tracks have been adding Pick-4, Pick-6+, Superfecta, and Pentafecta wagers to their racing menu in an effort to offer wagers that will have large pay-offs to attract gamblers. No doubt these wagers are attracting the interest of our serious gamblers (the jury is out on the Pentafecta), but what do they do for attracting the interest of the casual horse player and developing new fans? I suspect little.
In the United States when Pick-6 pools get particularly large, there are informal syndicates that pool their money to play the Pick-6. What does this tell you? For the casual horse player, the Pick-6 is a sucker bet. Let’s say you are a casual gambler who goes to the track with $100 for the night. If you were to play two horses in each leg of the Pick-6, that would be sixty-four combinations. You would have $36 left to wager the rest of the night and those sixty-four combinations wouldn’t give you a particularly good chance to hit the Pick-6. After a couple of times playing the Pick-6, the causal bettor will realize this bet is not for them. The casual gambler can play the Superfecta, after all, isn’t that why many tracks offer a $.10 wager on the Superfecta? Well, this is fine if you have favorites running out of the money but when you have a gambler boxing four horses for $2.40, winning a $13.00 pay-off is not going to excite them.
What the race tracks need to do is develop wagers where a casual bettor has a chance to win a three or four figure pay-off with a modest wager. Yes, a lottery type pay-off will attract people, but after a few times losing at the track those people won’t return. Many casual players will be satisfied winning a more modest paying wager with a reasonable investment; after all, all those slot players are not hitting the jackpot. Just get one non-favorite in a Pick-3 sequence and you typically are guaranteed a three figure pay-off. A gambler does not have to play those many combinations to have a reasonable chance to win. If a track does not offer a rolling Pick-3, they need to do so. It is also time to offer wagers like double exactas or double quiniellas; again wagers which can produce a reasonable pay-off without a huge investment by a gambler. Wagers like this will keep casual players coming to the track. Why worry about the casual player? Today’s casual player become tomorrow’s serious gamblers. They are the ones who are going to bring their children with them and expose them to racing and develop the next generation of fans. The casual fans are the ones who will bring moribund race tracks back to life.
This is not to say we should not be developing more attractive wagering options for big gamblers as well; we just need to realize they are not the same wagers. Racing needs the big gamblers in the short term, but like baseball, you need to develop your casual fans for the future. Developing attractive wagering options is the key.
While I agree with Dean’s assertion that racing in North America should facilitate the establishment of syndicates for our mega pool wagers, the fascination by race tracks on mega wagers highlights my assertion that racing doesn’t know how to market to the casual fan. Race tracks have been adding Pick-4, Pick-6+, Superfecta, and Pentafecta wagers to their racing menu in an effort to offer wagers that will have large pay-offs to attract gamblers. No doubt these wagers are attracting the interest of our serious gamblers (the jury is out on the Pentafecta), but what do they do for attracting the interest of the casual horse player and developing new fans? I suspect little.
In the United States when Pick-6 pools get particularly large, there are informal syndicates that pool their money to play the Pick-6. What does this tell you? For the casual horse player, the Pick-6 is a sucker bet. Let’s say you are a casual gambler who goes to the track with $100 for the night. If you were to play two horses in each leg of the Pick-6, that would be sixty-four combinations. You would have $36 left to wager the rest of the night and those sixty-four combinations wouldn’t give you a particularly good chance to hit the Pick-6. After a couple of times playing the Pick-6, the causal bettor will realize this bet is not for them. The casual gambler can play the Superfecta, after all, isn’t that why many tracks offer a $.10 wager on the Superfecta? Well, this is fine if you have favorites running out of the money but when you have a gambler boxing four horses for $2.40, winning a $13.00 pay-off is not going to excite them.
What the race tracks need to do is develop wagers where a casual bettor has a chance to win a three or four figure pay-off with a modest wager. Yes, a lottery type pay-off will attract people, but after a few times losing at the track those people won’t return. Many casual players will be satisfied winning a more modest paying wager with a reasonable investment; after all, all those slot players are not hitting the jackpot. Just get one non-favorite in a Pick-3 sequence and you typically are guaranteed a three figure pay-off. A gambler does not have to play those many combinations to have a reasonable chance to win. If a track does not offer a rolling Pick-3, they need to do so. It is also time to offer wagers like double exactas or double quiniellas; again wagers which can produce a reasonable pay-off without a huge investment by a gambler. Wagers like this will keep casual players coming to the track. Why worry about the casual player? Today’s casual player become tomorrow’s serious gamblers. They are the ones who are going to bring their children with them and expose them to racing and develop the next generation of fans. The casual fans are the ones who will bring moribund race tracks back to life.
This is not to say we should not be developing more attractive wagering options for big gamblers as well; we just need to realize they are not the same wagers. Racing needs the big gamblers in the short term, but like baseball, you need to develop your casual fans for the future. Developing attractive wagering options is the key.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sulky Arms Race
Down Under, Monkey King won the Miracle Mile in an Australasian record time (1:50.8) racing with a newly developed AdvantEdge Pro II Australasian Model sulky. Whether or not this attributed to Monkey King’s performance is unknown. What is known is there will be a lot of horsemen down under looking to upgrade their racing bikes.
Prior to the introduction of the modified sulky, standardbred races were much slower than they are now. Did it hurt the sport that our horses were pacing in 1:56 instead of 1:48? I don’t think so. Are breeders improving the breed or are the new race marks being hung on new stallions the result of the latest generation of race bikes? My suspicion is race bikes have more to do with the new generation of world record holders than improved breeding. However, horsemen are look for whatever edge they can get over their competition so they look to the latest and greatest race bikes.
Now a days, there is no one race bike, there is (in no particular order) the X-factor, Flex-Lite, Advantage 6.3, multiple varieties of Black Jacks, Razer Os, 4-Stars, Reactor bikes, and a slew of others. Just to give you an idea as to how many sulkies are legal for racing in the United States, you may check this list.
One has to wonder if the sulky arms race is doing more harm than good in the long run. In some aspects, harness racing is becoming like NASCAR, races are often being won in the labs of race bike manufacturers, who develop new generations of bikes that are more aerodynamic and faster than their predecessors. The manufacturers get their bikes approved and wait for the orders to come in from drivers and trainers. With some of these bikes costing as much as $5,000 each, what happens?
The leading drivers and stables go out and buy the new bike. They start winning a higher percentage of races forcing the other drivers and stables to buy a new bike if they can afford it with the cost of the new bike passed on to the owners. Can’t afford the new bike? Continue to struggle and eventually you will see an owner leaving the sport and a driver/trainer searching for a new career. Then a newer revolutionary bike gets introduced and the same thing occurs again. The end result is while harness racing wants to attract new owners; we make it tougher for the small time horsemen and owners to stay in the business.
Recognizing new bikes will continue to be developed, racing needs to take some steps to slow down the influx of new race bikes. While the USTA will continue to approve race bikes as applications are made, race commissions should only allow sulkies which were available to the public at the start of the first race meet in the state; any new bikes released mid season would not be allowed to be used until the following race season. This will level the playing field somewhat between the larger and smaller stables; at least for the current year.
We want new owners, yet we stack the cards against them. Let's slow down the introduction of race bikes and give potential owners a fighting chance against the stables with deep pockets.
Prior to the introduction of the modified sulky, standardbred races were much slower than they are now. Did it hurt the sport that our horses were pacing in 1:56 instead of 1:48? I don’t think so. Are breeders improving the breed or are the new race marks being hung on new stallions the result of the latest generation of race bikes? My suspicion is race bikes have more to do with the new generation of world record holders than improved breeding. However, horsemen are look for whatever edge they can get over their competition so they look to the latest and greatest race bikes.
Now a days, there is no one race bike, there is (in no particular order) the X-factor, Flex-Lite, Advantage 6.3, multiple varieties of Black Jacks, Razer Os, 4-Stars, Reactor bikes, and a slew of others. Just to give you an idea as to how many sulkies are legal for racing in the United States, you may check this list.
One has to wonder if the sulky arms race is doing more harm than good in the long run. In some aspects, harness racing is becoming like NASCAR, races are often being won in the labs of race bike manufacturers, who develop new generations of bikes that are more aerodynamic and faster than their predecessors. The manufacturers get their bikes approved and wait for the orders to come in from drivers and trainers. With some of these bikes costing as much as $5,000 each, what happens?
The leading drivers and stables go out and buy the new bike. They start winning a higher percentage of races forcing the other drivers and stables to buy a new bike if they can afford it with the cost of the new bike passed on to the owners. Can’t afford the new bike? Continue to struggle and eventually you will see an owner leaving the sport and a driver/trainer searching for a new career. Then a newer revolutionary bike gets introduced and the same thing occurs again. The end result is while harness racing wants to attract new owners; we make it tougher for the small time horsemen and owners to stay in the business.
Recognizing new bikes will continue to be developed, racing needs to take some steps to slow down the influx of new race bikes. While the USTA will continue to approve race bikes as applications are made, race commissions should only allow sulkies which were available to the public at the start of the first race meet in the state; any new bikes released mid season would not be allowed to be used until the following race season. This will level the playing field somewhat between the larger and smaller stables; at least for the current year.
We want new owners, yet we stack the cards against them. Let's slow down the introduction of race bikes and give potential owners a fighting chance against the stables with deep pockets.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Lebanon Aftermath - Ways to Help
For anyone who would like to help out the victims impacted by the tragic fire at Lebanon Raceway this past Saturday, there are a couple of funds you may contribute to:
A fund organized by the OHHA. You may make a check payable to "Lebanon Horsemen's Disaster Relief Fund" and mail it to the Lebanon Horsemen’s Relief Fund, National City Bank, Attn: Larry Elovitz, Branch Manager, 763 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43215.
A fund organized by Lebanon Raceway. You may make a contribution to the "Barn 16 Donation Account" and mail it to LCNB National Bank, 2N. Broadway, Lebanon, OH 45036.
Others are finding other ways to help the victims. You may read about some of these efforts, including more details about these two funds here.
A fund organized by the OHHA. You may make a check payable to "Lebanon Horsemen's Disaster Relief Fund" and mail it to the Lebanon Horsemen’s Relief Fund, National City Bank, Attn: Larry Elovitz, Branch Manager, 763 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43215.
A fund organized by Lebanon Raceway. You may make a contribution to the "Barn 16 Donation Account" and mail it to LCNB National Bank, 2N. Broadway, Lebanon, OH 45036.
Others are finding other ways to help the victims. You may read about some of these efforts, including more details about these two funds here.
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