On Monday, December 16, 2013 industry representatives gathered at Flamboro Downs to exchange ideas on what the Ontario racing industry can do in the immediate to short term to better understand the racing customer and to grow revenues, attract fans and decrease costs.
Participants were invited to submit innovative ideas addressing these key areas for discussions throughout the day. The last portion of the day invited participants to provide input into which ideas they liked best and thought should be pursued further.
Below you will find a summary of those ideas along with the content from the various presentations made throughout the day.
Innovative Ideas Summary (PDF)
Presentation – Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation – “Understanding the Racing Customer and Jurisdictional Scanning” (PDF)
Presentation – Eric Poteck, “The Betting Customer” (PDF)
Presentation – Robin Dawson, “Real Racing” (PDF)
Presentation – Doug Matatall, “Innovation in a Customer-Centric World” (PDF)
(ORC)
"Half mile tracks are hard to
"Half mile tracks are hard to bet even for a seasoned handicapper."
- George Leber
Is that a fact? I've never had a problem with 1/2 mile tracks. You start by identifying the trip scenario and go from there. Give me a track like Western Fair that actually cares about the bettors and offers a 15% rake on W4s and SH5 any day, they deserve business because they cater to what players want.
In reply to "Half mile tracks are hard to by SAS
The folks at Western know how
The folks at Western know how I feel about them. They do a great job.
I think you know what my point was but for some reason you chose to be argumentative and imply that my statement was wrong. I referred to seasoned handicappers not experts who beat the races almost every night. Okay that was a bit argumentative.
To attract new customers, the game has to be easier to play. Slots for example is really easy. They will sit at a slot machine and play 25 cents every 15 seconds for an hour (60.00). They know that the slot machine will pay back at least some of the time. That same customer agonizes over a $2 bet on a race ($24 over 3 hours). I think most people are fascinated by horses but they don't know how to handicap and we make it even harder by not providing a consistent track size (as just one example).
Those of us in the business have to make it more attractive for newbies. Our old customers will die off or run out of money. Lowering takeout is attractive to big bettors (but won't exclude them).
Georg Leber-ICR Racing
Not sure where this group
Not sure where this group came from but it sounds like they were hand picked to agree with Transition Panel.
People fall in love with racing by seeing the horses. Fewer tracks equal fewer live spectators. On-line is great after they fall in love. By the way on-line and horse industry can't be used in the same sentence.
Georgian has to be a venue for more than 25 days. They don't even open the restaurant anymore. People love to go to the track and eat the buffet with a gang.
Half mile tracks are hard to bet even for a seasoned handicapper. Increase the length of all tracks to a standard one mile. The two 5/8 mile tracks (Georgian and KD) are not used.
Someone mentioned breeding. That is never going to work if you don't protect Ontario horses. WEG loves to give as much as possible to US horses. Transition panel hasnt figured that out yet. Maybe there is a real conflict of interest here and it is taboo to talk about it. How about a 50% allowance for every Canadian horse on all the conditions at all tracks, not just Grassroots. When you go the other way, the US protects their horses.
Close the slots while racing is on!!!!
Georg Leber-ICR Racing
In reply to Not sure where this group by Gleber
MR leber "Close the slots
MR leber
"Close the slots while racing is on".
1) this means less people at the track and will not gaurentee the slots players will play the horses
2) isnt this supposed to be about catering to the customer? How is forcing their hand fan friendly?
"Make all tracks a mile"
1) How is Woodbine or Western Fair gonna accomplish that?
2) flamboro and western fair managed this far and western fair is experiencing a rise in handle. Why close em?
"Fewer tracks equals fewer live spectators"
1) over saturation of a market and racing too often means supply has far exceeded demand. Not once this season did Sudbury or Hanover have enough spectators to have the handle to match the purses
2) woodbine runners, fort erie and meadowlands all raced less each and all three experience higher handle and more spectators.
"WEG loves to give as much as possible to the US horses"
1) WEG wants to put on the most competitive races possible because thats what the gamblers want. Strange how that idea has WEG with the biggest handles.
2) looking at tracks that feature mostly local horses are the tracks with the lowest handles as the races always feature horses less than even money.
None of your suggestions are bettor friendly but cater well to owners.
I just scanned quickly
I just scanned quickly through all these attachments. Did I miss the part where the real gamblers ask for a lower take out?