Horse Racing is a world of its own, from the hats women wear on race day to the roots the
industry has in history. It’s safe to say Racing is an old sport, with a history dating the origins of modern race tracks to the beginning of the 1600’s in Great Britain. The origins of those tracks in Great Britain date back to chariot racing and mounted racing much earlier in the ancient Roman Empire as a form of public entertainment and game in the Olympics from 700 B.C to 394 A.D. The British got the idea after the Crusades in the Middle East and Northern Africa for racing was common there, and brought back many horses. Racing came to America with the first settlers, who had brought at least seven by 1610. Early on in America, horse races were consisted mostly of Steeple chases, or races between a few horses at four mile lengths. Racing became more popular in the South in states like West Virginia, with Virginia becoming the horse center of America. By 1840 there were 63 operating racetracks in the South. Races held between the North and South Champions became annual events. The civil war devastated the Horse Racing industry in the south, therefore shifting the center of racing to New York. Saratoga opened in 1863, followed by Jerome Park located in New York City in 1866. The Kentucky Derby was started in 1875, The Preakness in 1873, and The Belmont in 1867. From then on until around the late 1980’s horse racing had its height, tracks were bringing in profit as well as people. Since around 1980 the racing world has been caught up in a decline in which track after track gets shut down when they were not bringing in enough money to survive, a lot like the drive in movie theaters across America. As America matured economically it left these older industries in the dust. Since then the racing world has been struggling to make ends meet, both breeders and tracks are feeling the pressure to find a way to survive.
How does an old industry such as Horse Racing get by? This is a conversation that is ongoing. Tracks want to know how to bring more people out to the track during the three days a week the races are held, as well as how to bring in more profit and produce larger purses for the races. As a solution to this problem since around 1985 tracks have tried to introduce another form of gambling to their facilities, slot machines. These tracks have now been renamed Racinos, a Race Track and a Casino and there is a lot of controversy over this concept; a few include the feud between the two types of gamblers it attracts, and how this affects the integrity of the industry and the effect it has upon the economic aspect of the industry.
Ever since the introduction of slots to Louisiana Downs, in 1993 in the form of being scattered about the three floors of their Grand Stands, a feud has been born between gamblers who play slots and gamblers who bet on horses. They simply do not like each other; bettors don’t like the slot players because they feel as though they have intruded upon their grounds and are unwelcomed. Also the fact that the way they gamble is completely different in comparison. There is so much that goes into betting on horses, beginning about two days or longer before the actual race. The Bettor must examine the line up of the race then determine which horse is the best by a list of criteria, many come up with on their own. They compare an endless flow of data specific to each horse, and sift through seemingly irrelevant factors, such as how much the horse ate last week to how many times they poo a day. Keep in mind this is all before race day. Then once race day comes around many Bettors will actually watch the warm up of each horse, possibly even look into how the jockey feels, before they place their bets. This is all for a single bet in one race. This isn’t the end though, most Bettors will bet on a horse per race at the track they are at. On top of that they will also bet on races at other tracks that they keep track of via satellite feeds. A Bettor can look into about 10 races a day at the track they are at and an additional possible 60 via satellite. So that’s 70 races a day and about 560 horses they will study. Compare this to the process of preparation to play slots. Get change from a change machine and pull a lever. Seems pretty simple. Many horse Bettors regard slots as a “mindless pure game of chance” and that the addition of slots have affected the integrity of the racing industry by changing the environment of the track and how they gain business.
These differences in addition to how the slots are commonly mixed about the Grand Stand, lead the two gamblers to not get along. This feud alone can cause effects on the success of the Track by causing fewer people to attend events at the track due to the changed environment. Many argue that despite the unhappiness between the two sides the addition of slot machines have increased the Tracks profits, in most cases barely increasing profits, allowing them to survive. But is it really worth it? Making two groups of people so unhappy and changing the world of racing, is that worth the small help that slots have given the industry?
Racing has been forgotten left behind here in America, it used to be such a great part of the economy by affecting the money flow from races to the areas around tracks. But the reality is that now slot machines alone bring $163.8 million into the economy annually while racing now only brings $4.6 million. And despite the fact that the people gambling don’t really like each other, many tracks have embraced the introduction of slot machines gaining the status of Racino. Also, that Racinos are more economically beneficial to the American economy by bringing in more revenue annually. Tracks have tried to change the idea that slots affect the integrity of racing by designating slot parlors in the grandstands separating patrons of the building. This concept, although with limited proof of success, of adding slot machines may end up leading to just attaching Casinos to Tracks, which is a whole other paper to write, but something to think about.
