Horse Racing is DEAD

This is a point I've tried making for many years. Handles are highly price-elastic. I think the papers - gosh this has to be 20+ years ago - I've read suggest that decreasing WPS takeout from 17% to 12% would double handles. [QUOTE=bigrobbie;43766]When the tracks give you an honest chance to win, then you might see the handle go up. With a takeout of 15-30% (depending on the pool), it's a total ripoff.[/QUOTE]

The handle is only going down pari mutuel. Offshore I'd bet that it's stable or going up - but there's no way to know. My $2000-$3000 per week never goes thru the system. That's $100k-$150k per year in handle. There are probably thousands of guys just like me. Remember, the bigger the bettor, the more likely they are to look for value. The racing industry is driving these people away with those high takeouts.