Wagering Conference - Day One

Hi everyone, I am back for a bit of real work (i.e. one that pays me so I can bet:)) and just decided to whip up a quick post.

I had a nice meet and breakfast. Jamie and I sat with Mike Hamilton and Greg Blanchard from Woodbine, whom I had met before. It is always nice to chat with those fellas as they love racing - all forms - and it shows.

The morning session that I was on was well attended and there were (what I thought) some good exchanges about how far we have fallen. I hope Jamie Martin is paid a decent salary from Woodbine, as he took the brunt of the criticism, but handled it quite well. I do not know this for sure, but Jamie to me seems to be a gentleman that recognizes the need for some sort of change. The gentleman from the BC Standardbred Association was first class. I enjoyed speaking with him, and he too shows he has a love of the game. There are certainly some fine people in this sport.

Everyone will no doubt hear more when Roy and Jamie are on the betting panel on takeouts which goes off in about an hour. I am very interested in that session. For the very first time a bettor will be showing the panel how betfair works and why it grows. 99% of the people will be seeing this for the very first time.

The comments after the morning session were good. The crowd is mostly racetrack people. We take it for granted that we as bettors are understood by everyone. Just like you or I do not know how to put a snaffle bit or set of blinkers on a horse, we have to realize that many in the audience are hearing most of this for the first time.

I tried my best to speak to bigger player concerns and laying out a simple and known fact to us - we love this game and we want the environment laid out so we can play more. Many of us are horse owners, too, we need a strong sport. I spoke of ADW's like Premier Turf Club who are slugging away 24/7 to keep and grow their customer base. I tried to relay that ADW's like that can keep us playing, and racing should be more receptive to resellers who help give the customer what they want.

Anyway, so far it seems to be going well, and Daryl and Kathy at Standardbred Canada have things running quite smoothly.

The takeout session will be more than interesting. If I get back later I will let you know how it goes.