Don't Bet on It

It seems that thoroughbred racing may be getting the message that all is not well in the sport of kings, since the public is starting to hit them where it hurts--the pocketbook. According to Bloodhorse, wagering has dropped 11% on North American racing since the Triple Crown series.

Of course, there could be many reasons for this decline, not the least of which is the overall dismal state of the economy. But I think I remember hearing that when the economy is in the dumps, gambling seems to take off--you know, the theory of hitting it big to pay off some bills. Apparently that is not the case at the moment because, according to Chris Scherf, executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Association, "There is a significant drop in the casino industry, if you look at the Atlantic City numbers from around here."

Once again, those Atlantic City numbers may have more to do with increased competition from Pennsylvania than overall decline, so its hard to tell. But I do think that there is some dissatisfaction with the racing industry on the part of the general public and it seems that fewer and fewer of them are paying attention to the ponies. "When handle is down, that is not a good sign," says Scherf. "There is less interest."

Or there are less and less discretionary gambling dollars to be spent. Or there is more competition for those dollars. Or the public just doesn't care to place bets on races in which too many "outside influences" may play a role in determining the winner. Let's be honest: drugs don't show up in past performances so until the playing field is leveled and they are eliminated across the board, its hard to convince the casual gambler to take a chance on races where there are too many unknown factors.

"Betting at the recently concluded Churchill Downs meet was down 11.5% and day handle at Del Mar was off 9%--including a 14% drop in on-track wagering despite a record crows of more than 43,000 on hand," notes Bloodhorse. Let's see what happens at Saratoga before making any grand conclusions but it would be nice to think that the court of public opinion is beginning to count.