Takeout increase means Californian racing going downhill fast

Californian racing authorities, in their infinite wisdom, decided that to fix all their funding issues they should screw the punter for even more money by increasing margins on most exotic bet types. A basic understanding of economics will tell you that increasing price will reduce turnover and thus players will have less to bet with next time. But, to get into the hierarchy of Californian racing and the government bodies who approved this staggering concept, an understanding of economic theory won't get you a job - you might actually be able to talk sense.

HANA (Horseplayers Association of North America) and others called for a boycott of West Coast racing once the increase was implemented on January 1. Here are the figures for the first ten weeks or so of the year.

California Horse Racing Boycott - Handle Losses Exceed $100 Million

Follow the link for the full data, but from selected stats...

Santa Anita - Handle (turnover) per race down 11.9%

Golden Gate - Handle per race down 15.7%

Meanwhile on the East Coast, Tampa Bay Downs decided to cut takeout on Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 6 bet types. The net result - those bet types are up 14.0, 40.2 and 21.0 %, and the overall wagering revenue for the track is up 3.9%.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work these things out, just someone who understands maths and isn't so impossibly arrogant to think gamblers will put up with such crap....

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