Why they slowly turned horse racing into a 450lbs lady with no tattoos or herpes...?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

I never understood how and why the trend of constant takeout increases over time came to be.


Reading old DRF columns ... it was strongly suggested that takeout in NY be no higher than 5% when pari-mutuel wagering was about to come to be...



In Southern California in the late 1930's Santa Anita voluntarily cut takeout when law makers passed a bill to bump up their share of the takeout.

The takeout has crept up everywhere from 10% or 11% to the levels of today... but why? I think the following old-time quote gives a possible explanation regarding why that march upward started in the first place ...



The ultimate result is horse racing becoming a horribly unattractive game for its casual bettors and new fans... more and more so overtime. It's really developed quite the stigma as a "suckers game" with the general public.

How is this reversed? How does a 450lbs clean lady with a wonderful personality and brilliant cooking ability become attractive again? Yeah, it's a long painfully slow process of reduction. Tampa Bay Downs figured this out like 8 years ago - props to them. At the rate of their reductions - from extremely draconian starting levels - they should be able to pass for "cute" by the time the 2038 meet comes along. By the 2096 meet, they could be a full-fledged hottie.