Tracks closing

[Papillon]

the only reason Kentucky has been thriving(Oak Ridge, Cumberland)and all their Tbred tracks is due to "historical racing machines"--a type of slot machine where a large part of the profits are allocated to the purses.

if you havent noticed, the purses at Churchill, Keeneland, Turfway,  Ellis and Kentucky Downs have skyrocketed the last few years--allowing tracks such as Oak Ridge and Cumberland to even exist.

That is also why Kentucky has "penny breakage", returning more cash back to the bettors.

Other states seem to be mentally slow in passing the same type of legislation.

[seen2much]

The "new" tracks are typically just replacements.  Kentucky had Thunder Ridge and Bluegrass Downs.  Ohio had Lebanon and Raceway.  Virginia had Colonial. 

Sure, purses at the "new" tracks are better, but that is just because of the supplement they receive.  Handle and interest has only gone down.  (OK, Bluegrass, maybe it is up from there!   )

Hell, Illinois once had close to 600 cards of racing a year, between Quad City Downs, Fairmount, Balmoral, Maywood, Sportsmens, etc.   California had Los and Cal and 4 times the racing opportunities.  It is on one way street. 

This is about my 40th year being a huge fan.  Harness racing has provided so much for me, truly!  I once thought I could not live without it.  I lived for the next card.  I loved it and made life moves based on track location.  As crazy as that sounds, it is true. 

Now, however, when I hear of a track closing, my first response is a great deal of sadness, but that quickly fades, as the sport I once loved is just not the same.  I'm still here, basically every day, and will be until it or I end.  But, with each passing year, it takes up a little less time in my life.  Hell, I was with TRN back in the 90's and of course switched to Dish when RTN went there (up to 6 decoders, split, and so many recording devices).  Tomorrow, I will only have the signal online, and, that is about all I need now.  It just isn't the same.

The bold I highlighted sums it up well. 100%

[whiptherabbit]

Hard to believe that Georgian Downs used to be mobbed, inside grandstand full, restaurant mobbed, outside mobbed 20 years ago. Place is a complete afterthought, short fields 8-9 races. They’ll be the next to close in Canada 100% and like another person posted, relatively soon. Smaller tracks like Clinton, Hanover etc have a strong community involvement so they’ll probably continue on. Rideau getting rid of the backstretch is a precursor to races going away there soon enough as well. Kawartha still gets decent crowds on Saturday nights. When these grassroots tracks close, it has a big effect on the industry.