Quote:
Originally Posted by Poindexter
Regarding leaches, aren't whales leaches? They bet 2 Billion a year supposedly(maybe more) and if they are extracting 5% out of this game (and I suspect they are and perhaps more) they are extracting 100 million from this game each year. Racing has unwittingly made them a fairly big partner (and in the eyes of racing too important to lose) causing extreme detriment to their regular customers.. Some argue there is a tradeoff. I don't see the tradeoff. I think you are all (anyone who sees it as a tradeoff ) drinking the Kool Aid. Whatever they bring to the game in volume they take away from the game in sustainability and growth. Long term numbers show that. Common sense shows that (does it take Einstein to realize that when hedge fund types are investing millions before they make their first bet, that rebates are leaving a huge slice of the pie for the taking?).
So to put it bluntly, racing has two options adapt or die (where did I come up with that one?). You see PA, a lot of adapting can be done to the detriment of racing . Regular horseplayers can limit their play to carryover, off site tournament and low takeout situations. Horseplayers can make their bets offshore and get up to 8% rebates and racing won't see a dime of it. Or horseplayers can just decide it isn't worth the effort and just flee the game. Many horseplayers are adapting (just not your way) and racing will ultimately die unless it adapts to the current marketplace.
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When I said leaches, I meant those that don't contribute to the pools. The whales are leaches, and every bit as dangerous, but of a different stripe.
