Comments on: KEEP IT SIMPLE AND THEY WILL COME

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:33 +0000

I have met professional horseplayers in New York who spent hours handicapping and came to the track often. Yet, they only bet once every few weeks or so. Drive-by bettors along with impatient, serial gamblers get creamed while some pros win big while betting only a few times each year. Such learning curve, discipline, dedication to their “job” and rare but substantial bets are not conducive to hooking newbies who contribute to the crucial handle by leaving the track with empty pockets. There are only so many pros around and those who get inside information. Some horsemen engineer betting coups without it qualifying as race fixing, just calculated deception for the profit of a few.

By: Tony Fontaine

Tony Fontaine — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:10:31 +0000

People gamble with an expectation of winning enough to have an enjoyable entertainment experience. Unfortuantely with horse racing, the betting process is so complicated and the learning curve so steep that most people give up after not having won anything. Evern the best handicappers have good days and bad days at the track; that’s why they call it gambling. But a team of good handicappers can prduce a postive ROI on a consistent basis. If you don’t believe it check out our website at http://www.propickracing.com, we post the result of every pick that gets made. Our handicapper picks are tied directly into the tote so all a person has to do is click on their pick (after opening an account). There’s no fees to the player and we average ~46% in the money; just like a slot machine. Winning is the best incentive to learn more about gambling. But until the the horse racing industry wakes up and makes it easier for people to win something on a consistent basis without having work hard at understanding the complexity of the sport, people will just play slots. It’s just easier.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:43:46 +0000

Clearly, our society prefers the mindless slots over playing the horses. But in slots, the outcome is totally random. If we offer a quick-pick bet, novice bettors quickly will begin to realize that there is some form to be considered when betting on horses and the outcome is not totally random. They will see the “smart money” cashing tickets while their random picks run up the track. This will lead to frustration that the “insiders” know something they don’t. We call it handicapping, and it’s what makes our game an intellectual challenge. Poker may be on the downside of its enormous popularity run, but it also takes a level of skill that attracted many new players. We can do the same if we embrace the concept that betting a horse race is a puzzle that can be put together. Puzzles are fun, right?

By: forex robot

forex robot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:28:24 +0000

Nice post & nice blog. I love both.

By: whobet

whobet — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:35:15 +0000

Let’s embrace the opportunity to bring new fans to the table even if they are brought in on training wheels. If you keep it simple, they will come.

Whobet’s been doin this for years, I give them my best picks for free,
and they appreciate it.

By: Vance

Vance — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:53:26 +0000

I have to agree again with Picksburg Phil. We are in the gambling business. It all started way long ago; My horse is faster than your filly. Really, I’ve got whatever, that says she’s not ! It really is that simple. Food for thought, Barry Sanders or Emmit Smith, Rachel or Zenyatta ? Who didn’t show up ?
I’ll take Emmit and Zenyatta !

By: Malcer

Malcer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:32:09 +0000

@bugweed: the action factor comes from the constant, highly addictive win/loss/gotta get my money back/next pull could be the big one, I’d be stupid not to pull - mind game. It’s basic psychology.

Gotta agree with PTP and Jeremy Jet, instead of spending effort on becoming the fifth-best option for pure gambling, racing should focus on what it is by nature - the greatest thinking man’s game in town.
Don’t always mention the lottery. The draw of the lottery is that even though the ticket isn’t worth the price, that if just once against all odds you hit it big, you hit it big for a lifetime. And even the largest superfecta pools don’t get up to lottery dimensions.

By: bugweed

bugweed — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:06:22 +0000

Slot players are action junkies? A pleasant ambiance? Where the hell is this Picksburg Phil? Maybe if you have chronic ADD. But if moving my finger to press a button (no one pulls a slot lever anymore) while staring at a jumbling, incomprehensible video screen, and not moving from my seat for hours because the walkers get in the way, is “action”, we need to redefine the word. Tell you what Phil, let’s head over to one of the many local Native Casinos in my area some time for some expensive and lousy food, watered down drinks, and enjoy the “ambiance” provided by the constantly jangling lights, buzzers and other electronic noise makers. Don’t forget the loud, thumping, eurotrash, soundtrack pumped in over the electronic cacophony for good measure. Love the tax free smoke that makes my eyes water and my nose run. Hey look at all those handsome and attractive meth addicts and old people playing the penny slot machines. My kind of people! Check out that 55 year old waitress with the belly roll, winking at you. Golly gee, Phil she didn’t look like that in the tv ads!

By: Jeremy Jet

Jeremy Jet — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:17:14 +0000

Picksburg Phil is essential correct, but there is another profoundly important point that, ironically, the author of the article above fails to appreciate. The point is that racing needs to market to its strengths, chief among which is that it is a game of SKILL. Those who put time and energy into learning how to gamble on Thoroughbreds can, if they know how to manage their money, succeed. So the idea of emphasizing the luck factor is precisely the WRONG way to go about marketing the game.

By: Picksburg Phil

Picksburg Phil — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:34:09 +0000

Many racing people mistakenly believe that they are in the horse industry when in reality they are in the gambling business. Without gambling, Zenyatta would be a circus pony. Without gambling, A P Indy’s stud fee would be about what mine is. A wink and a nod. And that’s negotiable.

Without an aggressive re-pricing campaign, racing will need to be restructured from the top down. Fewer horses running for smaller purses at fewer tracks. Ignore the market place at your own peril. Racing is no longer the only game in town. Competition for each gambling dollar is only going to get worse.

For those who think that slots are the answer, observe Mountainneer. A full scale gambling resort that wants to eliminate 4 months of racing from it’s current year-round schedule. That will happen more and more with the publicly operated tracks. Racing must compete with other gambling venues price-wise or it will wither on the vine.