Paulick Report – Economic Indicators: Wagering Down Seven Percent To Kick Off 2023
TDN – Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators: Purses Up, Wagering Down
Paulick Report – Voss – Going The Way Of The Greyhounds?
TDN – Fitzdares Set for Canada Launch
Sal says that the UCP should change their name to the Alberta Disadvantage.
Bloodhorse – Triple Crown Nominees in 2023 Rise 18% to 369
Bloodhorse – Byron King – Forte, Tapit Trice Give Pletcher Two Punches in ‘Dozen
TDN – Thornton – TDN Derby Top 12: The Strong Get Stronger
Bloodhorse – Thirteen New Interests in KY Derby Future Wager Pool 4
TDN – Champion Forte Made Early Favorite for Derby Pool 4
“Everything I do, I bet legally,” McIngvale told the Houston Chronicle. Driving to Louisiana for two hours is not that much of an inconvenience. … They’ve [leaders] got to look at it, because I’m concerned that the revenue estimates, as far as what’s going to come into the state, are overblown.
“My change of heart is that I know myself and I’ve seen the light as far as impulsiveness on me to sports gambling. Because I’ve got to drive to Louisiana, it limits those impulses by a factor of 1,000. So I’m not in favor of sports gambling in Texas.”
Sports Illustrated – Watson – Legendary Bettor Mattress Mack Opposes Sports Betting in Texas
Houston Chronicle – Smith: Let voters decide if Texas should legalize sports betting
Sal says that he had to do a double take on the calendar to be sure it didn’t read April 1.
Sal says that Mattress Mack may be right about the revenue estimates being overblown, but he’s one of the few who bets legally and when he does the tax revenue goes to another state. While Mattress Mack is driving to Louisiana or flying to Vegas the rest of Texas is betting offshore on their computer, laptop or smartphone with nary a nickel of tax revenue heading to any US state or the Feds.
Dead-end street
This year’s change in the points structure to reward horses running fifth in Road races is also a dead-end street. Why hand out points to horses who can’t even hit the board in a prep? That’s almost as bad as making the most prestigious Road races tantamount to win-and-you’re-in contests for the Derby, with their top-heavy payload of points allowing winners to gatecrash the established rankings at the last minute.
So here’s a new roadmap, to make the journey almost as compelling as the destination:
• A later start and fewer races, to inspire greater competition in the ones that remain
• No races run outside the US, and none run on synthetics
• Only the first three finishers in Road races to accrue qualifying points
• Less disparity between the 20 points on offer to the Holy Bull (say) winner and the 100 points granted to the Arkansas Derby (say) winner – if the Arkansas Derby (and the Florida Derby, Blue Grass etc) was worth 40, it would further encourage trainers and owners to run their horses with a little more frequency.All roads lead to Churchill Downs in May – they used to lead to Rome, but the Capannelle ain’t what it used to be – but there’s only one Road that really matters. The destination takes care of itself, but the journey needs some assistance.
The Atlantic – Maxwelll King – Mister Rogers Had a Simple Set of Rules for Talking to Children
So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
Dr. Seuss
TDN – Signator Off Derby Trail
MarketScreener – Betmakers Technology Group Ltd Board and Management Restructure
MarketScreener – BetMakers Technology Group Cancels Options, Rights Issued to Tripp Investment Trust
i Gaming Business – BetMakers issues earnings warning amid major tech investment
i Gaming Business – BetMakers defends $15m Tripp payment as ASX questions deal
Sal says that the media releases from Betmakers are filled with the same type of bullshit fluff that bamboozles the UCP Ministers when they read the Horse Racing Alberta Business Plans.
Horse Racing Nation – Flatter – Fixed odds hit stride in New Jersey; rest of America is next
DRF – Hegarty – Racing industry urged to embrace fixed-odds wagering
Sal says that fixed odds sound like a simple solution to the problem of the rebate whales late money destroying odds, but Avril knows it’s more Complicated. Sal says that a much better long term solution would be lowering the WPS takeout across the board and decreasing the rebates to the whales. You’re not going to attract sports bettors into racing when the racing takeout on WPS is double the vig on straight sports wagers. Sal says that the tracks need to take a lesson from the casinos and sportsbooks and hide their higher takeouts in multi race, multi horse and prop bets just like the sportsbooks hide the higher vig in props and parlays.
Sal says that if the sportsbooks can come up with over 2,000 prop bets for the Superbowl why are there none in horse racing. Start with something simple like – will the total of the first three horses numbers be over or under xx, will Prat or Pletcher win a race on today’s card, will Ortiz Jr. or Cox win more than 1 race on today’s card, etc.
Sports Illustrated – Beck – LeBron James Breaks NBA Record for Most Career Points
Los Angeles Times – Woike – How LeBron James claimed the NBA’s scoring crown, step by step
The Ringer – Kram – How LeBron James Broke the All-Time Scoring Record
The Ringer – Fader – LeBron, Kareem, and the Secrets to Greatness
The Ringer – Pina – Ranking the Best Moments of LeBron James’s Career
Garden and Gun – Liles – Leftovers for Lars
Sports Illustrated – Aaron Rodgers Going on ‘Darkness Retreat’ As He Mulls Football Future
TSN – AP sources: Marty Walsh to leave Biden Cabinet to run NHLPA
ESPN – Purdum – Survey: Record 50.4 million adults to bet $16B on Super Bowl
The Ringer – Princiotti – The Uncomfortable, Messy Truth of Watching This NFL Season
Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised.
ESPN – Holmes – NBA board of governors approves sale of Suns, Mercury to Mat Ishbia
Reviewed – Murphy and Khan – 17 things you need to host an awesome Super Bowl party
Sal says that they forgot Number one with a bullet.
Five Thirty Eight – Best – How Massive The NFL Really Is, In 4 Charts
Sal says that thoroughbred racing has a long way to go to even make an appearance on one of those charts.
Sports Business Journal – Bill King – SBJ Betting: Sportsbooks pump up Super Bowl plans
ESPN – Purdum – Super Bowl LVII notable bets: The making of a 2,000-prop betting menu
Sal says that with 2,000 props bets there’s no time left to watch the game.
Hawthorne Sal
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Mucka:
HRA also missed the most important reason for a possible failure of the business plan – Horse Racing Alberta.
HRA February Folllies
HRA regulatory powers are finally enforcing the valid coggins test requirements with 7 harness trainers getting $100 fines. MILLET stables also get $500/$250 fines for discussions about shipin rules, $100 for shipin slip.
USA thoroughbred betting has dropped from 16 billion to 11 billion in the last 12 years with 40 racetracks closed. Mile/Downs construction is a blessing.
HRA latest podcast 11min mark, has Clark Kent discussing the future of fixed odds betting and props (jockey wins card) as future new betting revenues.
CENTURY signed a agreement Feb 26/22 for exporting the live signals from the Mile/Downs through BETMAKERS to MONMOUTH Park to gain new racing revenue. HRA within 3hr of email receipt requesting information on the Century fixed odds betting replied: “Contact century we can’t comment on their activities” That is typical of this dysfunctional regulatory group.
Canadian Gaming Business – Canada’s Century racetracks to offer fixed-odds betting
Put this in thanks
MONMOUTH offered fixed odds betting for their 60 day meet for WPS only ontrack with limited windows only, and the CEO didn’t disclose fixed odds wagering totals. Their all source handle was 217.2 million (Century ~28 million) with 17.8 million ontrack and 17% of handle, high end 3mil bet. CEO hopes optimistically that within 5yrs, 50% of WPS will be fixed odds wagering.
“Monmouth Park Handle Increases, Drazin Pleased with Fixed Odds Debut”
HRA pg 16 has 14 reasons for their business plan to fail. Not positive about horse racing future? CLARK KENT missed Sink Hole factor, where 268/596 thoroughbreds with at least one start at the Mile in 2022 per equibase made less than 5k!!, 48%.