Do you feel that Polytrack is the reason for the big decline in Keeneland's handle this meet?

Question

https://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do?NID=93708&subs=0&arc=0

See also Steve Christ's article in todays DRF.

Answer 1

No.  The article makes a lot of really good points and I agree with almost all of them.  But I don't think the poor handle is because of the polytrack.  Synthetic surfaces have been around for a couple years now and until this Keeneland meet, the money has poured into the tracks in the same amounts that it had before.  I'd expect bettors to be cautious when the surface is first installed or when the surface has been shown to make really skewed results like at Del Mar last summer.  But that assumption simply wasn't true.  Bettors have tried to take it in stride and continue handicapping.  I don't think that bettors just now decided that they're not going to bet at the Keeneland meet because of the polytrack.

I think it has a lot more to do with 2 things.  (1) the group of 3 year old colts this year is far from spectacular [so there was nothing to really draw people to Keeneland on Blue Grass Stakes day... last year they had Street Sense and Great Hunter!  This year they did have Pyro, but the others in the field weren't consistently amazing].  (2) the economy is awful.  in order to bet on horses, you have to have money!  It's hard for anyone to part with their money at the moment.

I'm doing a paper on statutes requiring synthetic surfaces and this article will be great so thanks for posting it!

Answer 2

No... race surface's would effect the trainers not the attendence Now if the trainers and Jockeys refuse to run on the track and no one enters on Yes

But No is the answer do you think maybe that Americans are running out of money from gas prices and food etc going up ?

Answer 3

no...

Answer 4

No.