In Horse Racing it's Always Been About Doing the Doable

If you're on Horse Racing Twitter (or X, formerly known as twitter, or something) you've noticed big-time owner Mike Repole's new venture and quest to be Commissioner of All of Horse Racing. 

Being open and transparent is pretty cool, but reading the replies to his feed is a tremendous education into how much cat herding has to be done in this disparate, fractured sport. He's getting it from all sides. And probably 99% of what he hears is simply undoable.

From the horseplayer end, the cries to lower takeout are sincere, and certainly (in my view at least) just fine. Unless your parents let you drop math in grade three, you know the sport is priced indefatigably wrong. It's a complete mess. 

But Lowering Takeout in the Sport ™is one of those undoable non-starters, too. If they tried it in Russia, Putin probably couldn't make it happen, no matter how many people suddenly ate bad clams. 

The only avenue that's achievable in this realm that I see, is rebating. 

Twinspires, TVG/Fanduel, NYRA Bets and maybe a couple others who aren't already doing it, should be compelled to rebate action to any and all account holders. A 5% daily national blended rebate (they can go higher if they wish) is an immediate reduction in juice, but because this is done directly in ADW's it allows these companies to enhance their offerings, for those both inside and outside the sport. 

If there's ten million bet on a day, the next morning account holders have balances of $500,000 to play with, instead of zero dollars to play with. And if the sport tries to get on the lower takeout train, zero dollars to play with is exactly what will happen. 

I use the word "achievable" with little confidence, of course. These businesses could've done this 25 years ago and they haven't. However, if Repole does ever get some power, bringing a couple corporations aboard something that can be achieved at the flick of a switch seems a hell of a lot easier than committee meetings with dozens of state commissions, racetracks, and horsepeople groups until about 2045. 

Note --

Have we read anything funnier lately than Paulick's report that California wants purse subsidies from ..... Kentucky? It makes me wonder just how bad the horse racing lobby has been in the Golden State. California is a place that taxes anything that moves, and gives out the proceeds like it's a game show. And they're begging Kentucky for money?

It's about 12 years to the day where I read this quote from a California trainer after the takeout hike which he was for. "We have to get while the getting's good". If you're seeking cash from Kentucky, I suspect the getting is definitely not good anymore.