About 2,000 bettors went home happy after playing the mandatory-payout Rainbow 6 wager March 31 at Gulfstream Park. Thanks to new tax reporting and withholding rules put in place during the fall, the joy figures to spread through racing.
Well thought-out customer arguments opposing Keeneland's takeout increase ahead of the 2017 fall meet have made an impact. Keeneland officials said the Lexington track would reduce takeout on some wagers beginning with the upcoming spring meet.
When advocates of lowering takeout in horse racing speak at the upcoming Global Symposium on Racing, they'll have some fresh numbers to support their opinion.
In a Keeneland fall race meeting closely monitored by horseplayers and industry leaders following the track’s decision to increase takeout rates, the Lexington track reported an 8.4% all-sources handle decline on its races.
Kentucky Downs’ takeout rates of 14% on the Pick 5 and 16% on win, place, and show wagers are among the lowest in the country. No Thoroughbred track is lower than Kentucky Downs’ 18.25% takeout on exactas and 19% takeout on trifecta wagers.
In a move it hopes will help strengthen purse levels, Keeneland plans to increase takeout beginning with the upcoming 2017 fall meeting.
The new rate comes following approval and consent from the Charles Town HBPA and West Virginia Racing Commission given Nov. 15.
The Meadowlands all-turf Thoroughbred meet, which begins Sept. 28, will offer an across-the-board takeout rate of 15%, the lowest in the nation.
JACK Thistledown Racino will lower its takeout rate on multi-race pools for the remainder of the season, starting June 25, which is $500,000 Ohio Derby day.
While the success of its move to lower takeout across the board will be determined over time, bettors did support opening night of the low-takeout Canterbury Park meet May 20.
A national conversation over the legality and viability of daily fantasy sports was at the forefront of the California Horse Racing Board session Oct. 21 at Santa Anita Park.
Suffolk Downs has created a new stakes race, the $75,000 Suffolk Downs Distaff Turf, for the next festival day Oct. 3.
As the Maryland Jockey Club moves forward under new leadership, it will place an emphasis on improving the day-to-day racing product by lowering takeout to attract new bettors and improving regional cooperation.
A poll of Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA) members revealed that 90.2% of respondents will be withholding either some or all of their dollars from Churchill Downs Inc. racetracks and services.
The pari-mutuel model needs to be updated in order for horse racing to grow handle.
Kentucky horsemen expected backlash from Churchill Downs' decision to charge the maximum takeout rates allowed by state law, but they hope positives follow from increased purses that improve the racing product.
In what it says is an effort to maintain daily purses and its stakes schedule, Churchill Downs plans to increase its takeout rate on win, place, and show bets as well as exotic wagers in 2014.
Woodbine Entertainment Group has announced it is lowering the takeout on win wagers to 14.95% for the 133-day Thoroughbred meet at Woodbine that begins April 20.
Pete shines the spotlight on takeout rates.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have reached an accord on the temporary takeover of the New York Racing Association by the state government.
Charlie Hayward urged the state to investigate quickly and "get the facts." He said no deliberate action was taken to keep the pari-mutuel takeout at an illegally higher rate on exotics.
Lower pari-mutuel takeout rates can lead to more money for racetracks as well as bettors, according to a panel of experts gathered at the International Simulcast Conference Oct. 4 in Arizona.
The presidents of Santa Anita and Hollywood Park have asked the Thoroughbred Owners of California to reduce takout on Daily Double, exacta, quinella, and Pick 5 wagers.
Raising takeout is risky considering racing's place in the world of gambling.
New York lawmakers are rushing to halt a 1% takeout increase on out-of-state pari-mutuel wagers before a law kicks in next week authorizing the higher levels.
State lawmakers in New York have backed off on a looming law raising the takeout on bets made on out-of-state Thoroughbred races, a move the industry said would have put the state at a competitive disadvantage with other states.
In a program billed "Ten Days at 10 Percent -- Racing's Best Bet," pari-mutuel takeout on Maryland's live races will be cut in half during Laurel Park's 10-day summer meet that runs from Aug. 10-23.
The New York Racing Association will have to raise pari-mutuel takeout if it is to obtain a $20-million loan from the state of New York, according to language buried in state budget bills introduced the week of Jan. 16.
A state oversight panel is recommending the New York Racing Association boost takeout, defer dues to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and get a cash advance from its casino partner in order to cope with NYRA's worsening fiscal picture.
Legislation that would authorize a pari-mutuel takeout hike to defray workers' compensation costs passed the California Senate by a 31-6 vote April 22 and is headed to the state Assembly, where it is expected to be addressed the week of April 26.
As some lawmakers and off-track betting corporations push for an increase in pari-mutuel takeout, New York regulators March 30 agreed to lower the takeout on certain pick six wagers at New York Racing Association tracks.
Pari-mutuel takeout wars have begun in New York, where a state senator has introduced legislation to increase the amount the New York Racing Association keeps on wagers. Though the measure's sponsor said the takeout hike is needed to help stop NYRA's financial bleeding, NYRA chairman Barry Schwartz insists the legislation would turn off bettors and decrease purses.
A move by the New York Racing Association to lower the pari-mutuel takeout on pick six wagers is causing controversy even before NYRA formally proposes the plan to state regulators.
A bill that would raise the takeout on California exotic wagers by a half of a percentage point was passed unanimously by the California Assembly Monday.
The embattled New York Racing Association, currently fighting off blistering investigations by state authorities over its operations, discovered June 25 that nothing is a sure thing anymore.
Quickly taking advantage of a new pari-mutuel deregulation move by the state, the New York Racing Association has proposed reducing its takeout on certain bets at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga.
Woodbine Entertainment is set to give an estimated $1 million back to racing fans by reducing its takeout beginning Jan. 28.
A proposal to lift a 30% withholding tax on successful wagers made on races in the United States by foreign bettors has received broad support, but probably won't become law until next year.
Reduced takeout has been credited with attracting more than $200 million in commingled handle to the New York Racing Association's three racetracks so far this year.
California racing officials pondering what to do about a building workers' compensation insurance crisis are closer to submitting legislation that would increase pari-mutuel takeout in the state.
Representatives from the California Thoroughbred industry have scheduled an April 10 meeting at Santa Anita Park to discuss a proposal that would increase pari-mutuel takeout to help pay for spiraling workers' compensation insurance rates.
Keeneland, which last fall experimented with a reduced 16 percent pari-mutuel takeout, has made adjustments for its spring meet, which begins April 5. The takeout for win, place, and show wagers will remain 16 percent, but for exotic bets, it will go back up to 19 percent.
The betting public will receive larger payoffs when wagering at Woodbine. The Toronto-area track is reducing takeout by 1% for exactor and daily double wagers on foreign race betting.
The pros and cons of reduced pari-mutuel takeout were debated during the opening session of the International Simulcast Conference. The debate figures to continue for some time.
It won't be easy to gauge the results of Keeneland's pari-mutuel takeout reduction, and the decision by the Mid-Atlantic racetracks and New York off-track betting corporations to drop the Kentucky track's signal because of concerns over a drop in revenue.
Keeneland has announced that effective with the start of its autumn meeting Oct. 5 it will be lowering the takeout on exotic wagers from 19% to 16%. Bettors with winning tickets on daily doubles, exactas, trifectas, superfectas, and Pick Threes will see a higher percentage of money returned to them.
Saratoga attracted more than a million fans for the first time in its 137-year history. The crush of additional fans caused a slew of statistical records to fall.
Richard Bomze, president of the New York THA, said Wednesday the organization that represents horsemen at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga met the week of April 9 and decided to support the plan pushed by NYRA chairman Barry Schwartz.
While pushing to take over the New York City Off Track Betting Corp., Barry Schwartz has been busily pressing top state lawmakers at the Capitol in Albany to back him on what has become his other chief lobbying mission this year: lowering the takeout at New York racetracks.
With the blessing of Gov. Parris Glendening and the state General Assembly, the Maryland Jockey Club raised the pari-mutuel takeout on races at Laurel Park, effective July 1.
