Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Horse Racing Weighs Changes to Compete With Sports Gambling
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 1, 2019

Share

When Animal Kingdom romped to victory in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, he did so at odds of 21-1.

“If we don’t adjust, I personally think sports betting has a very good chance to destroy most of the horse racing gambling because the price, the familiarity that everyday people have with those sports that they grew up with, the free access to data and the type of bets allowed all favor sports betting over horse racing. We really need to innovate.” — Craig Bernick of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation

Anyone who bet on the horse when the initial morning line was set did so when Animal Kingdom was 30-1. Except they didn’t get those odds.

That’s just horse racing, and some say that needs to change because the industry — which is funded by gambling — is losing its betting monopoly.

The sport has a long tradition of pari-mutuel wagering where the odds fluctuate and nothing is set until the horses leave the starting gate. But with the legalization of sports gambling in the United States and its gradually expanding implementation around the country, adding fixed-odds wagering could be a way for the horse racing to adapt and compete in the changing landscape.

“When we had a monopoly, we certainly benefited from that, but it made us very lazy and it’s time to get moving,” said Craig Bernick of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation that recently raised the possibility of adding fixed-odds betting in horse racing. “If we don’t adjust, I personally think sports betting has a very good chance to destroy most of the horse racing gambling because the price, the familiarity that everyday people have with those sports that they grew up with, the free access to data and the type of bets allowed all favor sports betting over horse racing. We really need to innovate.”

Yet Another Threat to Horse Racing’s Very Existence

This isn’t the first time horse racing has needed to fend off challenges to its longstanding betting monopoly. There was the addition of lotteries across the United States, then came the proliferation of casino gambling that in some states partially funded horse racing and gave a boost to a fading business model.

The impact of legalized sports betting seems to be heading in the opposite direction.

Even though places like New Jersey’s Monmouth Park have championed the cause and embraced it, it’s not expected to be a financial windfall for horse racing.

The spread of legalized sports gambling since the Supreme Court’s May 2018 ruling is yet another threat to horse racing’s very existence. Unlike professional and amateur sports that can have bets placed on them but don’t directly benefit financially from those wagers, the horse racing industry counts on betting as the lifeblood that keeps everything up and running.

“Our sport is funded by gambling, so our participants have to share in any wagering that takes place,” said Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. “There may be some reluctance because the pricing model is very different for sports betting and horse racing. Sports betting does not generate pay for the product that it takes bets on. That product has other forms of revenue.”

In sports betting, any bet placed is locked in at the odds at the time. Anyone who wants to bet the New York Knicks will win the 2020 NBA title right now could get some pretty good odds.

Photo of track personnel trying to hold down a horse after the Kentucky Derby in 2008.
FILE – In this May 3, 2008, file photo, track personnel try to hold down Eight Belles after the 134th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Eight Belles was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. The alarming rate of horse deaths from races and training at Santa Anita Park, in California, plunged the industry into chaos as experts across the country wondered what went wrong and groups rushed to try to figure out solutions. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon, File)

The Risk Avid Fans and Bettors Understand They’re Accepting

Such an advantage doesn’t exist in horse racing, where lines move based on the money bet, which can make a perceived long shot a favorite and eliminate the benefit of being on the ground floor of a possible upset.

“The reason to do fixed odds is just so you can be competitive with other sports where you’ve got bettors coming in and they’ve quite a menu of opportunities to bet. We can’t be on the outside looking in. You have to be a part of it. You have to be a part of the choices for someone who wants to bet.” — Alan Foreman, chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association

“It’s very frustrating for the handicapper to bet on a horse and the horse goes to the gate at a certain odds, and then when they open the starting gate 30 seconds later the odds have dropped a point, a point and a half,” said trainer Tom Amoss, who graduated from LSU with a marketing degree. “In horse racing the way it works now is the odds are determined by how much is in the pools at the time the race goes off. So what you bet five minutes before the race goes off may not be the same odds as what you’re actually going to get when the race runs.”

That’s the tradition of horse racing and the risk avid fans and bettors understand they’re accepting when they go to the teller window or punch in their bet on their smartphones and computers. But it’s very different from the fixed-odds wagering that’s the standard in sports betting where a 50-1 bet on an unlikely outcome is worth the same when it’s placed and if the outcome occurs.

“The reason to do fixed odds is just so you can be competitive with other sports where you’ve got bettors coming in and they’ve quite a menu of opportunities to bet,” said Alan Foreman, chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association. “We can’t be on the outside looking in. You have to be a part of it. You have to be a part of the choices for someone who wants to bet.”

Australia Has Added Fixed-Odds Wagering in Horse Racing Successfully

Horse racing has fended off efforts to make its product available at sportsbooks as a way to protect itself. Bernick believes that is “shortsighted” and said the industry — from officials down to owners and trainers — have to understand how much of a threat legal sports betting in the United States is and that changes are needed.

One of the proposed changes is to make at least basic race stats — known as past performances — free and available to the public because that has traditionally been a pay-for service.

“If you’re an 18-year-old kid and gambling’s legal in your state, you can see who’s playing in European soccer today and have ton of information about that sport,” Bernick said. “If you want to know who’s racing at Belmont Park this afternoon or Keeneland, you have to pay. We aren’t going to transfer young people that want to gamble to horse racing now that all the other sports are legal.”

Australia has added fixed-odds wagering in horse racing successfully and given the U.S. the start of a blueprint on how to do it. But because the sport runs off the dollars wagered, there is still considerable debate about how to put together a price structure that keeps the industry profitable.

“That’s a work in progress,” Waldrop said. “There’s no question people do chafe sometimes at the way that odds move in horse racing, especially the late odds changes, so there’s a market out there. It’s up to someone to devise the proper way to access it and that might happen soon, it may not, but we certainly encourage operators to be creative and find ways to make it work because I know the horseplayers want it.”

DON'T MISS

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

DON'T MISS

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

DON'T MISS

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

DON'T MISS

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

UP NEXT

Seahawks Aim to Reignite Ground Game Against Rams After Recent Struggles

UP NEXT

Where Have the Top Transfers in College Basketball Landed?

UP NEXT

49ers Seek to Shake off the Super Bowl Hangover in the Second Half of the Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers Celebrate World Series Win, Look to Repeat With Ohtani’s Return to Pitching in 2025

UP NEXT

Bulldogs’ DB Cam Lockridge Is Ballin’ Out, Has Sights Set On NFL

UP NEXT

Rams Brace for Reunion With Former Star LB Ernest Jones as Seahawks Matchup Looms

UP NEXT

Cavaliers Blow Out Lakers as Bronny James Scores First NBA Points

UP NEXT

Yankees Star Shines and Stumbles in World Series Loss

UP NEXT

World Series: Freddie Freeman Wins MVP Award After Tying Record With 12 RBIs

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Sees Bus Burned, Store Thefts and Rowdy Crowds After Dodgers Win World Series

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

3 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

4 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

16 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

17 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

17 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

17 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

17 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

17 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

17 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

18 hours ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

Peanut butter is a childhood staple for many in the United States. Whether it’s a classic PB&J sandwich, a fluffernutter, cookies ...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

2 hours ago

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

2 hours ago

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

3 hours ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

4 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

16 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

17 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

17 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

Search

Send this to a friend