I live very close to Belmont. It literally takes me 5 minutes to get there. It's my 3rd favorite track in the world to go to (behind Del Mar and Saratoga). Yet, I almost never go. When I do go, it's usually to see a specific horse or race that is so compelling I want to be part of the event. When I'm going to gamble I want to be home with all my information, placing my bets via internet, getting rebates, and going about my business during races where I have no interest etc...

I think to a large extent that's true of a lot of people.

Serious players are typically better off at home. It's cheaper, there are rebates, they have more info at their disposal, and it's more convenient.

The casual fan wants great races, great horses, or an "event". Those are few and far between these days.

IMO, the economics and management of the sport are both very distorted.

First off, all the great horses retire early, can easily avoid each other, or only race 4-5 times a year.

What would attendance be like at other sports if as soon as a player showed potential greatness he was benched or retired immediately?

Plus, there is no compelling reason for serious players to go to the track.

To me, there are way too many racetracks in America in the internet/simulcast era. Many should be closed and the land used more effectively. They should not be salvaged with slots etc... Who needs a racetrack when the slots make all the money and can be combined with simulcasting into much smaller facilities? It's a huge waste.

IMO, the goal should be to have a handful of racetracks around the country in high population and/or vacation spots. They would generate huge handles because there would be way fewer tracks diluting the betting dollar. They could then offer purses that might keep great horses racing longer. The industry should also be organized at a high level so the tracks are not competing with each other for the best horses. There needs to be an incentive for the best horses to race against each other. It might also be easier to operate and offer rebates for on track attendance because the handles would be so huge.

I'm not saying this is the perfect plan or that I've given this a real lot of thought, but I think we should at least trying to use the assets effectively, making the sport more exciting, and drawing fans to the track.