Thursday Notes

Just a few things while passing time here, sick as a dog and avoiding work at all costs.

When are we ever going to learn that we are the problem?

Ray Paulick has a post up about horse slaughter. It is amazing that there are so many organizations and all of them refuse to take a stand.

EPO testing is going on for the Breeders Cup. If anyone is using EPO, don't use it in that window.

I watched some thoroughbred racing on Saturday. At race 5 or 6 at Woodbine, about four tracks with stakes were going off at exactly the same post time. In the UK for oh, about the last sixty years, their central organization has made it that races go off every ten minutes.

A horseplayer at Paceadvantage.com, who is a semi-professional, believes that it might be time for him to leave the game.

* I currently need 3 accounts to bet MOST, not all, tracks onshore.
* I'm sick of odds being all over the place after the race starts.
* Information is poor and about 30 years behind modern technology.
* Takeout is not getting any lower, and probably will go higher.
* Field sizes stink
* Pools are too small

For most of us who are businessmen we would be attacking these issues. Three accounts? Well how about updating the Donna Summer 1978 Horseracing Act to say that "if you offer wagering across state lines you have to offer it to everyone who wants it at the same price". Odds all over the place? Well, let's get fixed odds betting instituted. Pool technology out of date? Well since I can buy a put option on the Nikkei exchange from my laptop in the middle of the night, gotta figure there is something for us to do there. Takeouts? Well my business knows that when wagering is down, we should not be hiking prices. Heck my 11 year old nephew knows that when he is not selling lemonade, he should not raise his price. Seemingly simple, but in our game it is like splitting an atom, while simultaneously writing a best-seller while on a date with my wife Carmen Electra.

Standardbredcanada has begun their new web design. The site most certainly needed it. Whenever you change something you will see resistance, however this is much better than the old one. It was behind the times.

Woodbine Bloggers are having some fun. Some good stuff there. Not too many comments, however, except from a guy who says "Hey, howdy" a lot. Since people usually address me in the comments section as "Hey Wiener", they are doing ok.