A quote I thought you all would like

[smithkent]

From the DRF today, talking about the upcoming Zenyatta/Rachel showdown, Crist talks about horseracing pretty frankly:

 \"Most owners lose money, spending $2 billion a year on horseflesh in search of $1.2 billion in purses. Customers wager $13 billion annually and get back about $10 billion after takeout. Most of them think they\'re so much smarter than the competition that they\'ll be among the few winners at year\'s end, but most of them are wrong year after year and keep playing.\"

\"In other words, if you\'re playing this game - as a bettor, a horse owner, or as the guy putting up an extra $4.5 million for the Apple Blossom - you better be enjoying yourself, because you\'re probably going to lose money at it. Fortunately, Charles Cella sounds like a man enjoying himself these days.\"

Exactly my feelings- I play for the love of the game.  BTW-Santa Anita was absolutely stunningly beautiful today.  Why not put the Breeders Cup there every year?

The DOC

[mjellish]

Here\'s a quote I think most of us will like more:

“Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.”

[Boscar Obarra]

\"Customers wager $13 billion annually and get back about $10 billion after takeout. \"


 Hmmmm. I suspect the damage is a lot harsher than that.

 Most of that 13 billion is churn. So while the loss may be 3 billion or a little less, its on an original bankroll of what, something WAY less than 13 billion.