I will have a full report on the gaming summit and wagering conference once I get some time. But today one quote struck me, from Mark Davies, Managing Director of Betfair that I would like to share:
"Empirical evidence around the world undermines that argument (that operators will lose money by lowering takeout) quite dramatically," Davies responded emphatically. "Lower margin is where horse racing has to go in order to compete with all the other sports out there. Even if you are concerned about lower margin, what you should probably throw into the mix are the people who get involved at the margins because of the lower margins."
more
Yesterday, the quote with the most cajones was Moira Fanning, on a panel of industry insiders, speaking to industry insiders:
Moira Fanning, Director of Publicity for The Hambletonian Society, was a panelist in this session, and she admonished attendees to quit referring to harness racing as a sport.
“It’s a gaming product, so let’s call it what it is,” Fanning said. “It’s not a sport.”
Most Trafficked, Last 12 Months
-
There has been a lot of discussion of late via #simocon about racing, betting and signals and all the rest. The main theme is that racing ca...
-
Standardbred Canada has a poll up asking who is the greatest trotter who ever lived. These questions are fun, but really it is impossible t...
-
The news hit the wires today that TVG is in search of a new CEO. This news assures a shake-up in programming at the huge ADW, especially w... -
How do we differentiate ourselves from thoroughbred bettors? What are the pros and cons of being a harness bettor? In a recent article at R2...
-
I saw this tweet by Nick yesterday. Nick is the morning line maker at Keeneland. I promise I’m not being a smart ass. I clearly made a horr...
-
Harness racing is a unique bird when it comes to driving styles and driving colonies. Whereas in Thoroughbred racing, a jock does not race a...
-
In 1996, most know that the pari-mutuel tax on wagering was reduced from 7.5% to 0.5% as part of the slots at racetracks program. The indust...
-
Sitting outside, or in the grandstand at Greenwood brings back many memories. Racing was super-popular and we usually had a packed house and...
-
I had a look at the US Open results tonight to see Tiger Woods - on a bum knee - manage two eagles en route to the lead in the years second ...
3 comments:
re Fanning's remarks - Ooh, I bet that went down well!
Gaming implies that it is all luck, which is an insult to bettors. At the very least, it is a wagering product which requires skill to win at the betting part of it. But first and foremost, it is a sport.
I think she was right to use that language Scott. With slots, it is a gaming product because slots supply a ton of the purse money. Purse money comes only from two sources - betting and slots. Without either of them, we race for ribbons not money.
Biggest problem in racing? Horsemen caring only about Horsemen and Tracks caring only about Tracks. The latest salvo is the regisnation on Bill O'Donnell from the OHHA over the boards decision to side with the former President who led a failed boycott attempt and cause WEG to decide they will not negotiate with OHHA. With O'Donnell being out, there will never be an agreement with the OHHA and the horsemen will loose in the long run.
Post a Comment