The National Football League draft is well known for its surprises. A future Hall-of-Fame quarterback like Tom Brady is drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patroits, while some absolute busts have gone at the top of the first round. The same hit and miss process also characterizes the dicey business of selecting future racehorses. [...]

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In “The Balmoral Park Takeout-Rate Experiment” of May 11, 2012, I wrote that the inordinately high average or blended takeout rate in pari-mutuel wagering was, in my judgment, the principal reason that handle on horse racing has plummeted in the last decade. (Certainly, however, it is not the only reason.) Today, May 14, the Horseshoe [...]

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Pari-mutuel wagering in North America (USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico) has been in trouble for nearly a decade. The amount wagered on horse racing peaked in 2003 at $15.2 billion and declined to $10.8 billion in 2011. Factor in inflation and the drop off is even worse than it looks. Multiple causes contribute to this malaise. My [...]

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