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1. Lots of rah rah and self congratulatory stories about handle growth in racing these last few months. No question the racing coverage on TV is a huge benefit for our industry, the talent and production is first class and I believe everyone involved should be commended.
2. As there are no customers at the racetracks or OTB’s, practically all of the handle is coming from ADW’s. There needs to be way more understanding industry wide of how this all works, what the contribution to purses are, and what the rate charged is to certain bettors.
3. @racingideas has been advocating, in our public literature and privately to horsemen groups to demand a full accounting of on-track betting handle, off-track facilities totals, casino totals, ADW retail and rebate player totals, not to mention computer robotic or CAW totals.
4. With full transparency of these figures, accompanied by the average takeout charged to betting customers in each division and the actual contribution to purses from each division, racing as a whole can start making better decisions on behalf of our industry.
5. As it stands today, Stronach Group owns Amtote, Xpressbet, and other ADW’s. Churchill owns Autotote and Twinspires. Small tracks have an almost impossible time making money because of the “big ADW’s.” And innovative ADW’s don’t get contracts with the “big tracks.”
6. Jackpot bets are mass marketed with fancy carryovers and there eye opening handle totals, but they defy normal handicapping logic. It’s cost prohibitive for educated horseplayers to chase them, and most people we know don’t play them with regularity.
7. So the question begs: who is playing them, and what do we get, as horsemen, from all that handle?
