Maybe I Was Wrong?

I had written about Kentucky Downs going to a $5 win-place-show minimum. I always thought the bigger players ruled the roost and would be betting multi-race wagers with a 15% takeout. - I'm calling myself out for making a hasty decision and forgetting about the most important players in the game. The $2 bettors. You know, the ones who have kept the lights on since we had lights at the track? Yep, guilty as charged. I didn't think it would make a big impact, but after further review I was wrong. I guess I forgot what side of the tracks I started from?

My Dad is 83 years young and still loves to play the races. He doesn't make as many treks to the track and plays from his man cave online. - No harm in that, and like many others you wager where it is the easiest. - He used to take me out and give me a $4 limit for the night to make a few place wagers as it was our thing to do. Our boys nights out led me into a lifetime of working in racing and trying to keep the best interest of the players at heart. It served me well, and I used to use him as my personal sounding board. If he liked it, players in his range would enjoy it as well. - This was the greatest way for father and son to share a love for racing that grew into my working life. But, I overlooked the most important point.

I didn't make the decision or help the process, but I didn't disagree with it. I was pretty sure the game would enjoy the full fields, huge purses, and top notch connections. I was wrong. - I enjoy reading what others feel and how this will affect their choice of gambling venues. Players from around the country sounded off on player sites and had the same thing to say. - "I can't believe they forgot about the $2 player." They were right on every level.

My grandpa used to tell me stories of how tracks charged $2 admission back in the days when that was good money to get in the track. He used to tell me it kept out the riff-raff and as the tracks would be packed to the brim, you didn't need folks just coming in and setting up a makeshift camp watching the races and looking for players who would drop a winning ticket. - Back in the day they were called "stoopers" and could be seen kicking over tickets on the floor with the precision of a professional soccer star. But, I digress.

After conferring with a good friend who has a big voice in racing, I learned this wasn't the biggest handle meet. - Top brass blamed it on running against Saratoga and Del Mar, with six days overlapping Saratoga this year instead of the usual three. But, they cross paths every year, and if they ran at the same time or just off the heels of a meet, it would keep top-notch horses from making the trek to the undulating European track in Kentucky. Double the overlap or not, I think the problem is much simpler. They excluded the $2 player and that flies in the face of horse racing since its inception. The small players kept the lights on, paid for payroll, allowed for track renovations, boosted purses, and kept the interest from the biggest players to the folks who bet their last eight quarters on a race. - How did I overlook the most important people in the process? Hell, I began as one and on short bankroll days am still one of the many. I guess it was shortsighted on my part, and I believed the game would go on in fine fashion and set another handle record for the seven-day boutique meet. - It had plenty of horses, purses that all looked like stakes races, and the best riders and trainers in the game. - They forgot one thing. Do not exclude the people who made you what you are. The $2 player has been the backbone. - I watched firsthand as my Dad didn't make a bet at the meet he enjoyed. Yep, I overlooked a key element that made the game great. Never again will I forget...

Update: Kentucky Downs' wagering chief called the $5 minimum a success, and the track plans to keep it for next year's meet, even with handle down nearly $18 million (about 17%) from last year's record. The case for success is that win-place-show took a bigger slice of the pie. The pie still shrank. I hope the $2 players get heard before next year.