Horseplayers
Conflict of Interest
Will dirt’s return trump horseplayers’ takeout rage when Santa Anita opens?
Bill Finley, writing in support of an organized players’ boycott, notes:
Santa Anita might actually get off to a good start. A lot of bettors are excited about the return to dirt and that might yield an increase in handle at the outset. But what will eventually happen is what always happens when racetracks raise the take.
Via Bill Christine, Bruno de Julio certainly thinks dirt will win out:
“Dirt is in,” he says, “the track is doing massive marketing on the return to dirt, and do y’ll [sic] think this is going to deter the player from sending [money] in with both hands on opening day? … This boycott is a delusional cause. It won’t happen.”
Steve Davidowitz believes boycotters are making a tactical mistake:
[The boycott] will not work. Because the handle may not be negatively impacted by anything anytime soon given that southern California players have wanted to handicap and play races on dirt for too long to suddenly abandon such plans.
For Davidowitz, the problem is timing; I see it as one of focus. Instead of a single, easily promoted action that harnesses bettor enthusiasm for California dirt and demonstrates price sensitivity, the Players’ Boycott site offers several ways to show support for the cause, ranging from total withdrawal to offshore wagering (?!) — which will add up to no measurable impact.
The Alternatives
An NYC OTB bettor tells WNYC what he’ll do without his favorite parlor:
Now that he has more free time, Lopez says he’ll probably read more books and occasionally make a visit to the racetrack.
Note that he didn’t say he’d take up slots, scratch-off tickets, poker …
Unsurprisingly, OTB customers are cleaning out their accounts. “[S]ources say the accounts have been sharply draining down 48 hours now since the OTB closed its doors,” reports the Blood-Horse.
A Horseplayer
… in the Preakness infield. I love that he has binoculars.
… crosses paths with Hemingway. Mark Cramer, on an “alternative Tour de France” to raise money for thoroughbred retirement, visits Auteuil.
… interviewed (as long as we’re mentioning Hemingway). “Then you read the Racing Form…. There you have the true art of fiction.”
Quick Hits
– Following up on his Letter to the Editor in the New York Times, Alex Waldrop presses his response to Joe Drape’s drugs-in-racing commentary of last week with a Blood-Horse column and a short blog post, both of which amp up the defensiveness of the original reaction to little effect, other than to make the NTRA and the Safety Alliance appear as irrelevant as critics charge and to expose the limits of industry self-regulation. (It doesn’t help that Waldrop outlandishly claims in the Blood-Horse, “Race-day medications have been virtually eliminated nationwide,” when Lasix remains legal everywhere and phenylbutazone is widely used in California and elsewhere.) That’s unfortunate, especially as racing heads into a season of increased scrutiny.
– Yesterday’s news: David Lanzman sells 50% of I Want Revenge to IEAH. Today’s news: IEAH sells 25% of Stardom Bound to David Lanzman. Foolish Pleasure questions if the deal — which, according to one report, was for $2 million + the share in Stardom Bound + bonuses — is a sign that IEAH is struggling to muster capital. I wondered if Joe Talamo would really retain the mount on the Gotham winner, as the press release announcing the deal stated. Asked during the Tuesday NTRA teleconference about just that point, Lanzman vehemently replied, “It’s Joe’s horse … I can’t imagine taking the kid off.” Note to Talamo: Don’t screw up in the Wood.
– The first HANA sponsored buy-cott was a success, with total handle on the selected race up nearly 100%. Well done, horseplayers.
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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