Indiana vs. Kentucky, Part III
Here are the final tallies for Ellis Park and Hoosier Park when they raced on the same days. The information reading across is track, total handle, number of races, and average handle per race.
ElP -- $30,280,079 -- 185 -- $163,676
Hoo -- $10,298,427 -- 135 -- $60,225
Some quick thoughts:
*Hoosier's handle on Monday was a pathetic $379,787, their worst since we've been keeping score. What track does their worst business on a national holiday in a metropolitan area (Indianapolis) where virtually nothing else is going on? It's not like the Indy 500 was being run or the Colts were in town.
*With the possible exception of Fridays, when Hoosier had a twilight post, this was a fair fight between the two signals in the simulcast market. And despite the overwhelming advantage Hoosier had in giving away slots-subsidized purses, Ellis clobbered them by nearly 3-1 in average handle per race.
*Granted Ellis has a turf course, so the product they can offer is not so homogenous as Hoosier's. However, if we're to truly believe better purses attract better horses, which in turn attracts higher handle, why isn't Kentucky losing this battle? (Let's not forget that some of these slots-fueled purses are being given to lowly Indiana-breds).
*The argument that racinos don't have to care about handle (or even takeout) is complete rubbish. Shareholders will not put up with it in the long term, and they will have the influence to change the appropriate legislation. Some might argue, "By the time Indiana ends the subsidization of their racing product, Ellis and Turfway will be gone." Perhaps, but most likely not. Flushing money down the toilet gets old really quick.
*Even if Ellis and Turfway do fall by the wayside, would the vast majority of people in Kentucky really care? How many Kentuckians do you know who schedule a trip or two to Keeneland and/or Churchill every year but never think about going racing in Henderson or Florence? How many out-of-state folk plan trips around Keeneland and Churchill's race meets but not Ellis and Turfway? Answer to both: a lot.
*A year-round circuit is anachronistic now. Fifty years ago, in 1960, there were 147 days of racing in Kentucky. The longest meeting - 32 days - was held at Miles Park in Louisville. Turfway (then Latonia) raced 24 days, Ellis raced 29, Churchill had two 19-day meets, and Keeneland had a 13-day spring meet and an 11-day fall meet. That's just about as much racing as people in the Commonwealth wanted or needed. Seems like they've been saying the same thing over the past decade or so.
*I'm tempted to continue this project through the Turfway fall meet, and I suspect the results would be close to the same even taking into account Polytrack, which many bettors have shunned.
*Where am I wrong in all this? Where am I right? Let me know.
ElP -- $30,280,079 -- 185 -- $163,676
Hoo -- $10,298,427 -- 135 -- $60,225
Some quick thoughts:
*Hoosier's handle on Monday was a pathetic $379,787, their worst since we've been keeping score. What track does their worst business on a national holiday in a metropolitan area (Indianapolis) where virtually nothing else is going on? It's not like the Indy 500 was being run or the Colts were in town.
*With the possible exception of Fridays, when Hoosier had a twilight post, this was a fair fight between the two signals in the simulcast market. And despite the overwhelming advantage Hoosier had in giving away slots-subsidized purses, Ellis clobbered them by nearly 3-1 in average handle per race.
*Granted Ellis has a turf course, so the product they can offer is not so homogenous as Hoosier's. However, if we're to truly believe better purses attract better horses, which in turn attracts higher handle, why isn't Kentucky losing this battle? (Let's not forget that some of these slots-fueled purses are being given to lowly Indiana-breds).
*The argument that racinos don't have to care about handle (or even takeout) is complete rubbish. Shareholders will not put up with it in the long term, and they will have the influence to change the appropriate legislation. Some might argue, "By the time Indiana ends the subsidization of their racing product, Ellis and Turfway will be gone." Perhaps, but most likely not. Flushing money down the toilet gets old really quick.
*Even if Ellis and Turfway do fall by the wayside, would the vast majority of people in Kentucky really care? How many Kentuckians do you know who schedule a trip or two to Keeneland and/or Churchill every year but never think about going racing in Henderson or Florence? How many out-of-state folk plan trips around Keeneland and Churchill's race meets but not Ellis and Turfway? Answer to both: a lot.
*A year-round circuit is anachronistic now. Fifty years ago, in 1960, there were 147 days of racing in Kentucky. The longest meeting - 32 days - was held at Miles Park in Louisville. Turfway (then Latonia) raced 24 days, Ellis raced 29, Churchill had two 19-day meets, and Keeneland had a 13-day spring meet and an 11-day fall meet. That's just about as much racing as people in the Commonwealth wanted or needed. Seems like they've been saying the same thing over the past decade or so.
*I'm tempted to continue this project through the Turfway fall meet, and I suspect the results would be close to the same even taking into account Polytrack, which many bettors have shunned.
*Where am I wrong in all this? Where am I right? Let me know.
posted by Aidan Roark at 6:10 AM
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