Re: trouble in paradise (406 Views)
Date: January 05, 2005 04:58PM
>What I do remember about the conversation was how resistant Andy was to the idea that spending money on improving information for the serious horseplayer was a good investment.<
Unfortunately he may actually be right.
Your points about serious players wanting information are certainly correct.
However, I don't think information availablity was ever an issue for me in whether or not I was attracted to the game and I was serious $2 better at one time. :-)
At some level I would prefer that there was less information out there. I would be more than willing to compile some of it myself if it was cost effective. These days you can get high quality speed figures for free in the DRF (assuming you know what goes into them and how to use them properly) and all kinds of supplemental pace, trip, bias, and trainer info for next to nothing per day.
If you are willing to pay more you can get even more (TG).
I think what is really needed is education on how to use the information and how to bet profitably (how to think). That's how you maximize the chances of more serious players (regardless of whether they bet big or not) winning or at least getting close. If you are at least getting close, it encourages you to keep playing and trying. If you have loads of information and are still playing 4-5 shots with a 50% chance of winning you are screwed and will eventually quit even if you know a lot and have a lot of info.
The real problem is the pace and difficulty of the game relative to others. It is very slow and tough . I can get more action in 15 minutes on the poker table than I can get in a weekend at the track. Both appeal to mathematically oriented puzzle solvers etc... and unfortunately for horseracing, poker is much easier to win at. It took me many years to be able to produce fairly consistent profits at the track. It took me a few months at poker.
IMHO, we need WAY fewer racetracks. They are often a monumental waste of good real estate and are very cost ineffective. Only a handful in the country make sense. They should have their signals sent everywhere else to simulcast outlets and online betting sites. Then the take could be reduced dramatically and give more players a shot at winning. The politics of it are a problem, but that's to be expected. Politicians are one notch above being intrinsically evil. It could be worked out eventually.