Good Bergman Article on Have's and Have Not's

Jay Bergman wrote an article in the DRF about rewarding and cultivating bettors more, especially with slots cash.

In it he explored what the Meadowlands is doing versus what Yonkers is doing. Ironically, Yonkers is funded by slots and the Meadowlands is not. What's wrong with that picture? Well, that should be pretty obvious.

• While horsemen's groups in New York and surrounding slot states remain aligned about a need to maintain revenue subsidies to support the industry, one group is continuously left out of the equation – the bettor. The argument we hear is how slots money has helped the horse businesses grow. Green space is preserved and will be devastated should any of this slots money disappear. Trainers will leave and owners will follow if purse money suffers any meaningful reduction.
  
  But the only group that could prove to politicians that the slots-for-purses program has achieved real success is the horseplayer. The green space in horseplayers' pockets needs to grow substantially to build this business.

It's similar in thoroughbred racing. Who has the best and lowest takeouts for bettors in North America? Kentucky racetracks. Who is probably the most proactive track in the hemisphere in trying to gain new fans and bettors? Keeneland. What don't they have? Slots.

It's something I've personally never quite understood.