Making Betting More Friendly: Lucas Marquardt

With racing's temporary opportunity as the only game in town, the TDN's Katie Ritz took a poll of some industry insiders known to like a good bet and asked them: what is one simple way that tracks could make betting more friendly for existing horseplayers and/or more effective at bringing in new players? As you'll see, none of them could stop at just one.

LUCAS MARQUARDT, Thorostride

I worry we sometimes miss the forest for the trees in this industry. I am on board with free data and lower takeout–racing's Laffer Curve debate–and the usual points, though maybe prefer rebates for big players.

But for drawing in new fans, we miss some basics. How many of your non-racing friends know that you can legally bet horse racing online? That you can link your betting account to a bank account, deposit some cash, and watch racing for free either online or on a dedicated horse racing TV channel that shows only horse racing and catheter commercials? Ask them. You might be surprised.

We also don't make it very easy to learn the basics of handicapping. What do people mean when they talk about class? What's a fast first quarter in a sprint race and how will that shape the race's outcome? How do you use pedigree and published sale results to aid your betting process? I'd love to see one of the major tracks, industry organizations or betting outlets produce a series of, say, 10 how-to videos with a Randy Moss or an Eddie Olczyk that guide beginners through the process. Maybe someone has made some and I've just missed it. But if you search “How to bet on horse racing?” on YouTube, you'll get a series of amateurish one-offs, including one by someone calling themself ChoppoDong. Really.

Last, and most importantly, we need to conduct safe racing. We've made progress, but our sport flat-out won't survive if we don't dramatically lower fatality rates. A 2018 McKinsey survey found that just 22% of the general public had a positive impression of the sport. That's a tremendous handicap to overcome, and I suspect that women–really a huge untapped market of would-be horseplayers–are even less tolerant than men. We can do much better.