If you asked me to predict who will be the most important person in
horse racing in 2012, I would say Charlie Hayward, CEO of the New York
Racing Association.
The game-changer for Hayward and the NYRA was
the opening of a casino at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack. Money finally
is pouring into their coffers after a decade of indebtedness.
Hayward
and the NYRA will be in a position to offer the best horse racing in
the country -- by far. How about $900,000 daily average purses at
Saratoga? New York horsemen must be giddy as we head into Christmas.
Hayward
now has a chance to be a game-changer for horseplayers, too. In past
years, we have seen one racetrack after another take revenue from slot
machines and raise their purses. That's fine. But I have not seen any of
these tracks lower their takeout, in essence growing their business
with bettors and creating new ones.
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