Pari-mutuel horse racing meets are designed to be a partnership. The partners are the racetracks that provide the physical facilities where the racing occurs, the horse owners who provide the horses that compete in the races and the horseplayers who provide the betting capital.
The betting capital creates the handle that funds the takeout which becomes revenue to the state, the track (and their pari-mutuel betting outlets) and the horse owners. The money that remains after the takeout, is the net pool and most of that gets distributed back to the horseplayers in the form of winnings.
The racetracks need the horseplayers' money to survive. Some of the owners need the horseplayers' money to survive (some owners are independently wealthy and their involvement in horse racing is for reasons other than profit). Presumably, the horseplayers need their winnings in order to survive!
Over the years betting handle has been increasing even though other barometers of horse racing economics have been in decline. This means that the
funding engine for the tracks and the horse owners has continued purring along although it's been starting to stutter over the past year.
Numerous political and financial actions have resulted in more purse money and subsidies for horse owners and more income for racetrack owners. When slot machines are authorized and installed, the resulting revenue is split among the state, racetrack owners and horse owners. They all get more. What do the horseplayers get?
Do we see any attempts by any of the industry's controlling interests to share their good fortune with the horseplayers by a reduction in takeout?
Do we see any attempts by any of the industry's controlling interests to share their good fortune with the horseplayers by overhaul, indeed elimination, of that arcane practice of payoff breakage?
What we do see is an industry whose controlling interests take for granted and treat with general indifference their lifeblood: Their customers, the horseplayers. Take a look at this little gem:
All this fuss over horseplayers' money....and no mention of horseplayers!
HORSEPLAYERS'
PROTEST SITE
What does it mean when THG, an umbrella organization representing horse owners' groups all over the country, decides to withhold racetrack signals from selected ADW outlets and in doing so prevents customers from placing bets on selected tracks? To horseplayers it should mean that THG is willing to forego revenue from the targeted tracks/ADW's. And, to horseplayers it should be a catalyst to give THG what it wants: NO HANDLE. NO BETS.
If THG wants a BOYCOTT then that's what horseplayers should give it. Horseplayers should BOYCOTT Hollywood Park, Calder Race Course, Churchill Downs and in the future any racetrack where THG utilizes their punitive approach to getting more money. THG's actions show that it doesn't care about horseplayers. So, horseplayers should return the favor. After all, this is about horseplayers' money. It's our only bargaining chip so it's time that they have to earn it to get it.