Wow. It's About All You Can Say

Gamblers were completely puzzled (and more) when Woodbine Entertainment raised their Pick 4 rakes a few years ago, right in the face of a declining customer base.

In 2008, with tracks hearing more and more from players annoyed with high rakes, and being treated poorly this news is just in. Hold on to your hat, Calder Race Course has raised takeouts.

The big news to specialty gamblers Monday was that Calder raised its takeout percentage on a few wagering options. The track will now take 27 percent out of Pick 3, 4 and 5 wagering (up 3 percentage points) and 21 percent from the Daily Double and Exacta bets (up 1 percentage point).

Folks, this is absolutely unbelievable.

Some reaction from gamblers, courtesy of Pace Advantage:

Seriously, are the people who run Calder (Churchill Downs) insane ?

Goodbye Calder! Goodbye Turf Paradise!

Hello Keeneland! Hello Hawthorne!

Boycott Calder
Yesterday's first race pools:
First @ Philly 38K wps pool.
First @ Calder 7K wps pool.
Let the low pools at Calder teach them a lesson.
A takeout increase is not enough...
Whoever is to blame.....I just don't care.
I'm through with Calder.
If only we would stick together and boycott Calder and any other track that pulls stunts like this, how soon things would change.

There is a poll out on Standardbredcanada.com asking this and here are the results so far:

On April 29 and April 30, stakeholders from all segments of the harness racing industry will meet for the Standardbred Wagering Conference in Montreal to address the steepest betting decline in recorded racing history. Do you expect any real change to come from these meetings?

Yes 97 votes 17.6%
No 453 votes 82.4%
Total Votes: 550

Now we know why people are so negative. Even in 2008, some track people have sit around a table, looked at each other and said "ya, our game is fading, wagering is down, we have fierce competition from other forms of gambling........ hey, I have an idea, let's raise prices!"

Something tells me you have never heard these comments throughout world business history:

"I am not selling any cars, I think I should make them more expensive"
Henry Ford

"I only sold ten lawn chairs last week, to get people to buy them I think I will raise their price"
Sam Walton

I do not blame anyone one bit for voting no in the above survey.

For a real quote or two from these two fine businessmen:

It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.
Henry Ford

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
Sam Walton