JC / Railbird - Alternate View

Alternate View

Perhaps not despite the fact, but because there were:

According to Equibase Company, the official statistician of horse racing, wagering on all races conducted in the United States through August is down 3.99% compared to last year, from $10,273,868,002 to $9,863,917,032.

This despite the fact that there were 29 more race days this year.

I point to numbers crunched earlier by Steven Crist.
John Pricci comes to a similar conclusion about market dilution, in a lot more words.
Re: Equibase, usually mild Blood-Horse editor Dan Liebman is outraged at the “preposterous decision” made by the industry’s data collector to stop providing meet-total handle figures. That is preposterous! And not only because such a ridiculous decision makes it harder to report on trends in the industry, but because the attitude behind it is so contrary to this era’s ethos of increasing access to information and data. Another reason for “the brash and the bold to take over,” as commenter JS put it elsewhere …
In happier news, Monograph Mile season kicks off: The Thoroughbred Times is taking nominations for its annual book award, won last year by T.D. Thornton of Suffolk Downs for “Not by a Longshot.”

Posted by JC in Data/IP, The Industry on 09/12/2008 @ 9:10 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter

3 Comments

Thanks for the reference or shout out or whatever you call it.
So, who, exactly, does Equibase answer to, if anyone? And if there is silence in response from the NTRA and Jockey Club, doesn’t that tell you even more than the decision to limit information that is a fundamental marker for the overall health of racing itself? I don’t know how the brash and bold take over, but this is another example why it is clearly time for new ideas in leadership. I can think of plenty recent examples of the problems caused when people who presume their own power and authority deem it unecessary to speak frankly and honestly with their own constituents. This news is very tired: Racing’s ills will not be solved by sweeping the numbers under the rug. Sunshine laws are an important part of healthy, transparent government and open books are required of publicly traded companies. Secrets are only kept by those with something to hide and something to lose. Confident leadership is conducted where it is plain for all to see. Everyone who loves horse racing deserves better than this.

Posted by John S. on September 12, 2008 @ 1:44 pm

The big thing to me when looking at those economic indicators is not the total handle but the average handle per racing date, which is WAY down.
I wish the horsemen would understand that more is less. There is no demand for January racing in Central Ohio, Northern Kentucky, the panhandle of West Virginia, and Chicago all at the same time.
Breeders need to breed fewer horses and the horsemen need to race less dates. In the end, this current system dilutes the product across the board.

Posted by EJXD2 on September 12, 2008 @ 8:01 pm

That’s the problem, isn’t it? No accountability, no transparency, no constituency to demand either. Fans and media can agitate, but it’ll take the blunt force of regulation or (better) the panic of inspired competition to force openness and change.

Posted by Jessica on September 13, 2008 @ 3:08 pm

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