I enjoyed the first day of March Madness, the NCAA men's basketball tournament, in the sports betting area of a southwest Indiana casino.
Many of my friends are also horse racing fans, so I was surprised to learn that while you can bet on that day's college basketball games, NBA games, and just about any other sport, horse racing is not available for betting. While our entire group was betting on the basketball game, a few people were huddled around their phones watching the race and placing bets. oaklawn park.
On this day, we put some of our bets into Thoroughbred horse racing, which was a missed opportunity for the horse racing fans in our group to bring in the basketball fans. And I've often advocated for fixed-odds betting on horse racing in this column, which is great, but in this case, pari-mutuel wagering and just having a TV or two dedicated to horse racing And that would have created a great opportunity for the sport.
As evidenced by the numbers in recent months and years, the number of racing days is decreasing. It's time for racetracks, jockeys, prepaid betting platforms, horse racing channels, tote companies and content managers to sit down and figure out how to market the horse racing we do to people. (And if this initiative is successful, it's also ultimately the best way to increase the number of race days.)
Bettors are primarily favoring available products, as the overall reduction in stakes is usually not as dramatic as the reduction in race dates. As a result, average wagers per race day actually ended in many recent quarters, including the first quarter of 2024, when average wagers per race day increased by 4.75% to $3,439,724. Did.
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The total number of races held in the United States in 2023 is 31,746, a 13% decrease from 2018. Compared to five years ago, the number of handles actually increased by 3.4%, but what is worrying is that the gains made in the years of COVID-19 appear to be eroding along with the number of handles. be. While the decline in handles is not as dramatic as the decline in races, finding ways for bettors to at least maintain the level of wagers on available products seems like a reasonable goal for the sport's leaders.
To achieve that goal, industry sectors will need to work together. Unfortunately, this kind of collaboration is not typically achieved in the racing world, but it is likely needed to make some of the ideas below a reality, and working together can lead to better ideas. Needless to say.
- As sports betting proliferates, it is important for horse racing to take advantage of new opportunities. While fixed-odds betting on horse racing through mobile platforms hasn't made much progress, it's encouraging to see big players like FanDuel and DraftKings offering synergies with pari-mutuel platforms to facilitate horse racing betting. is. The race needs to continue and develop further.
- As mentioned above, horse racing will also need to be migrated to all new brick-and-mortar locations that offer sports betting. The examples I have outlined above should be shocking to horse racing leaders. One of the benefits of having all these outlets on board is that the horse racing world has a chance to get noticed every time a bettor hits the market betting on the Super Bowl or the NCAA Tournament. Lace should be offered at all of these emerging retailers.
- While we all regret the loss of racing days, there is certainly an opportunity to bring this streamlined sport to market. With fewer race dates, it should be easier than ever to stagger race start times. As well as adjusting signals so races don't start at the same time, racetracks should also stagger dates to offer some action on different days of the week, and consider opportunities such as morning races and late-night races. Customers have different schedules and perhaps racing could provide a connection there.
- Think about how you can work with California and its key racing states through regional collaboration and beyond. There is a possibility of expanding the field size of the circuit. Research has proven that racing in a wider field increases steering.
- If the industry wants to increase the stakes on the tracks available, especially if it does not adopt fixed odds wagers, it will need to invest in its own totes and information technology again. The improved tote goes beyond improving completeness and reliability, offering features such as offering wagers that go beyond exers and doubles, including Pick 3, Trifecta, Pick 4, Superfecta and more. We are prepared. A larger track will likely allow the bettor to select his own Pick 3 or Pick 4, and the bettor's preferred card will allow him to play his 3 or his 4 race as a Pick 3. There will be more multi-track betting opportunities.
In other words, an improved tote bag could provide information that makes available racing more attractive to racers.
- Another idea, which I think would also require improved totes to make this happen, is to offer variable takeout. This may be based on race day. Bettors who place bets from Monday to Wednesday will likely see fewer bet cancellations. Or, based on the size of the field, a larger field will rake your bet higher, but a smaller field will rake you less. Bettors who value takeout will have opportunities on certain days of the week. A larger field size provides better stakes and allows for higher takeaways for players.
These are the kinds of innovations we need to make the races we do more appealing. Despite the decrease in race days, if overall wagering starts to improve, this will be a trend that could lead to an increase in race days. Change is needed to turn this situation around. It doesn't just happen.
