Short summary of Canterbury results 39 days in to their meet. I'm no accountant but these numbers have to be in the ballpark based on their reported daily handle and attendance.
Their stated goal in the newspaper was "5% on track , 30% off track increase" in handle off last years marks. It is not happening yet, and by all accounts with anyone who is looking to play there the recurring echo seems to be the product day to day is not appealing enough to make the leap to bet there regularly - to many short fields with huge favorites, plus 2-3 quarter horse races per day that attract small pools. Thisledowns, Sufolk, and Evangeline have all followed Cby's takeout cut with some form of reduction of their own.

Close as I can tell -
Overall handle is up 7.9%
Off-track is up 11.8%
On-track up only .5% (but per capita remains in the $30 range)
Attendance is up 5.2% (Their high attendance was 21,000 on July 3)

The blended take out rates of both this vs last years rates would make the takeout reduction alone a substantial loser at this point even with the added $100k of increased income from admissions increase as compared to last year. Tougher to measure is the value of the added exposure they have gotten from many sources (Byk type shows, wagering account spots etc) - they have most certainly gained here. Plus other Midwest tracks are not showing gains - Arlington is down to 7-8 races some days, and Prairie Meadows handle is less than Cby's.

So is takeout helping? Who knows. As mentioned the current product is not super and the signal is apparently tough for some to get. By comparison Indiana Downs or Hoosier Park regularly swamp the handle of Cby, often racing on weekday afternoons. The takeout question is a tough task to take on that seems at least to be a recipe that includes as MJ said, better product with guaranteed pools, more accessible signal, and some time to let that value of the changes set in so as to allow gamblers to take appreciable note. Cby is one of the few given their current casino pact that seems to be in a position to see if our premise of lower takeout = higher handle works. And just because it works or doesn't work at a small Midwest venue does that translate successfully to other parts of the country?

bb