Indiana vs. Kentucky
Indiana's racetracks have the slots and Kentucky's racetracks can't keep up. At least that's the conventional wisdom. What the CW misses, however, is how much more popular Kentucky racing, even the crappy stuff, continues to be relative to the stuff they run in Indiana.
What we're going to do over the next month or so is keep a running tally of the handle generated on Thoroughbred racing (only) at Ellis Park and Hoosier Park when they run head-to-head on the same days. We hypothesize that Ellis is going to kill Hoosier in the handle wars, which should count for something.
While Ellis may struggle to stay afloat with revenue only from pari-mutuel sources, the pathetic handle Hoosier generates will ultimately beg the question from shareholders as to why the more profitable casino side of Hoosier's business is subsidizing the weak-performing racing sector.
I trust that subsidies can not possibly last in the long term. Yes, there are statutory obligations that it be done now. But the dirty little secret people in Kentucky don't realize (or don't want to acknowledge) is that statutes can be changed. And they will. Just something for those in Kentucky to think about, but most won't.
I'm computing these figures using the information provided in Daily Racing Form charts. These are for Thoroughbred races only, and the number of races is denoted in parentheses following the handle.
August 1 - ELLIS: $1,626,915 (9); HOOSIER: $488,001 (9)
July 31 - ELLIS: $1,602,060 (10); HOOSIER: $435,577 (9)
July 30 - ELLIS: $1,562,017 (9); HOOSIER: $476,903 (9)
This is almost too embarrassing to continue until Labor Day. Ellis is absolutely swamping Hoosier. Neither has much of a presence on the two racing channels, so this is about as fair of a fight as you can get.
For those who say, "Who cares what Hoosier handles, they still have slots," remember that subsidies will not last forever with pathetic handle like this. No thinking businessman would allow it. At least some racinos, like Philadelphia Park, Mountaineer Park and Delaware Park, actually do a million a day on average. Hoosier, on the other hand, is in the same boat with Prairie Meadows, Remington Park and other bum tracks.
I'll continue to add to this post week-by-week, if only to prove my point again and again.
What we're going to do over the next month or so is keep a running tally of the handle generated on Thoroughbred racing (only) at Ellis Park and Hoosier Park when they run head-to-head on the same days. We hypothesize that Ellis is going to kill Hoosier in the handle wars, which should count for something.
While Ellis may struggle to stay afloat with revenue only from pari-mutuel sources, the pathetic handle Hoosier generates will ultimately beg the question from shareholders as to why the more profitable casino side of Hoosier's business is subsidizing the weak-performing racing sector.
I trust that subsidies can not possibly last in the long term. Yes, there are statutory obligations that it be done now. But the dirty little secret people in Kentucky don't realize (or don't want to acknowledge) is that statutes can be changed. And they will. Just something for those in Kentucky to think about, but most won't.
I'm computing these figures using the information provided in Daily Racing Form charts. These are for Thoroughbred races only, and the number of races is denoted in parentheses following the handle.
August 1 - ELLIS: $1,626,915 (9); HOOSIER: $488,001 (9)
July 31 - ELLIS: $1,602,060 (10); HOOSIER: $435,577 (9)
July 30 - ELLIS: $1,562,017 (9); HOOSIER: $476,903 (9)
This is almost too embarrassing to continue until Labor Day. Ellis is absolutely swamping Hoosier. Neither has much of a presence on the two racing channels, so this is about as fair of a fight as you can get.
For those who say, "Who cares what Hoosier handles, they still have slots," remember that subsidies will not last forever with pathetic handle like this. No thinking businessman would allow it. At least some racinos, like Philadelphia Park, Mountaineer Park and Delaware Park, actually do a million a day on average. Hoosier, on the other hand, is in the same boat with Prairie Meadows, Remington Park and other bum tracks.
I'll continue to add to this post week-by-week, if only to prove my point again and again.
posted by Aidan Roark at 8:22 PM
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