Tampa Bay Downs Takeout News

In my e-mail box today I received my newsletter from Tampa Bay Downs. Nothing unusual so far. I glanced at it knowing that racing is starting up there in a few days and that we'll be claiming out of this meet so I wanted to check it out a bit. What really jumped out at me was the following:

"The 2009-2010 race meeting will see a decrease in takeout for exacta, Pick 3, Pick 4, Super Hi-5 and Pick Six wagering. New this year, too, are 50¢ Trifecta and Pick 4's. The decrease in takeout has been an ongoing trend at Tampa Bay Downs for the past several years, as the Oldsmar oval continues to reward the players that that support the Tampa Bay Downs product. Tampa Bay Downs will continue to build upon large field sizes, with goals to increase upon last season's average field size of 9.32 horses per race, once again enhancing the horseplayers' experience."

Wow. They're trying to grow field size, lowering their consumer pricing (in this case, takeout) and adding new wagers that have proven popular with players. Imagine that? A racetrack actually operating like a business! The track has also added some amenities including a bakery for the fans that attend the races. The Horseplayer's Association of North America's blog has a great interview with Tampa Bay Down's Peter Berube on their site. It certainly makes me proud to be a participant, however small, in their show in Oldsmar.

"Owning Racehorses" on Blog Talk Radio

My thanks to Emily Shields, writer for the California Thoroughbred Breeder's Association and owner of www.simhorseracing.com for being my guest last night on Blog Talk Radio. You can hear the podcast by clicking the player above left. Please push through the little delay about 10 minutes in as , due to Skype difficulties, I was disconnected from my own show. Thankfully Emily was able to make her point and the delay was minimal. I'll be back on the air in two weeks with my (and I hope some of your) wishes for the New Year.