Action-Starved Horse Players Are Literally Going To The Dogs

I feel for the horse people on the down side of the thoroughbred contradiction.

The contradiction is this:

While our region’s horse racing industry is in decline, with owners and trainers scrambling to adjust to killer competition and a shortened season, the fan never had it so good.

The unlikely source of the action here is horse racing’s entrenched rival, the greyhound track.

It took a dog track in Idaho to give horse players in Washington what they want.

What everybody who plays horses wants is full-card simulcasting. Fullcard simulcasting brings racing’s big leagues to you.

Idaho offers it, Washington doesn’t.

It’s the law. Instead of protecting the thoroughbred industry, Washington law is retarding it.

The lineup of horse racing on TV from Wednesday through Monday at Greyhound Park is impressive - Calder Race Course at 10 a.m., Churchill Downs at noon, Hollywood Park at 1 and Golden Gate Fields at 1:15. Delta Downs, Atlantic City and Los Alamitos come on later.

If, say, the track is sloppy at Calder or your handicapping at Churchill is sloppier, you’ve got Hollywood Park, Golden Gate or both ahead to salvage your day.

Parking is free. So is admission. Greyhound Park has lots of table space. A television monitor is close by. The people who handle your money are friendly and competent.

But what makes Greyhound Park an especially attractive play is the co-mingling aspect of simulcasting. It means your betting buck is plugged into the host track.

Your $100 means something to you, but it’s a fraction of what goes down at Churchill Downs, where more money means more horses running on form. More formful horses and larger betting pools translates to a healthier return on a winning ticket.

Yet as good as it is, full-card simulcasting alone is not the power move the racing industry needs to carry into the next century.

Movers in the industry in Washington state, take note. Legislators, race commissioners, horse breeders, the HBPA you people who own and train horses. Nothing beats a big day at the races. You still have a product.

You just never knew how to market it.

You didn’t have to when your sport had a near-monopoly on legalized gambling. Now that it doesn’t, you’re lost.

The new track going up in King County comes on line in April. It may well be the salvation of the sport in Washington state, but plan now to combine live racing with fullcarding.

I think you’re going to need it. Even if you don’t, try something new.

Try giving the customers what they want.

Idaho legislation allows full-card simulcasting. It’s that way in Oregon, too. California. British Columbia. Ashtabula for all I know.

Washington horse people who make decisions still consider themselves guarded by geography. The population center is a long way from Portland or Vancouver, British Columbia, or here.

Well, geography as a defense has had its day. Borders may not outlast even the infancy of the computer age.

I have to say there are aspects of the simulcasts at Spokane’s Playfair and other Washington off-track betting outlets I like better than the multi-track presentation at Greyhound Park.

Sound, primarily.

Races at Greyhound Park come off in a vacuum. To cut the confusion of running four tracks at a time, the sound is off.

At Playfair, even watching TV you still get some of the thunder of racing. Track announcer Gary Henson adds to the excitement. If you show up early you’ll hear Joe Withee take a stab at picking winners, which I’ve learned to respect.

Information is easier to track. The people who handle your dough are likewise courteous and professional.

And Playfair is one off-track shop that never runs out of “Daily Racing Forms” or programs. Greyhound Park does its best to anticipate need, but you might show up for the first at Churchill only to find the Racing Form is sold out.

Still, as spring turns to summer and live, on-site horse racing here is more than two months away, the horse player is drawn to the dog track.

Idaho is a length up on Washington. The loser in the race for your business is Washington state, its economy and its horse people.

The winner - and I almost feel guilty admitting this - is the Spokane fan who knows the way to Greyhound Park.

, DataTimes