The sport of horse racing was deeply ingrained in American culture long before the American Revolution.   The first race course was established in 1665 on Long Island in Hempstead Plains and was called Newmarket after the original site in England. Immigrants from Great Britain brought their appreciation for horse racing with them to America.   Colonial [...]

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Racing needs Jobs…Steve Jobs, that is.  The staid industry could benefit from a creative genius.  Most of the people in charge of racetracks and other industry organizations are buttoned-down analytical types.  The sport could use a heavy injection of intuitive thinking, some right-brained ideas. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 when he was 21-years-old.  The company’s [...]

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by Eugene Martin Christiansen Editor’s Note:  This article was published in November 2004 in Insight — The Journal of the North American Gambling Industry. It is reprinted (with permission) in light of its relevance after the acquisition of TV Games Network by Betfair Group Ltd. from Macrovision for $50 million–which was announced on January 27, [...]

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