Pat Cummings

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley The announcement from Equibase that handle on U.S. racing in 2021 set a nine-year high with over $12 billion bet was understandably well received. During a year where an awful lot went wrong for the sport, at least the wagering numbers were healthy. But, and sorry to rain on the parade, we need more information before we can celebrate. How much was bet is only part of the story. We need to know where the bets were made and by whom. If the...

Mistakes aside, the Modern Games "scratch" and subsequent fiasco tells us plenty about the state of rule-making and pari-mutuel wagering technology. It might even offer signs into the future of betting on the Breeders' Cup and other big American racing events too. Disregarding a horse for "pari-mutuel purposes" and then running the race with that horse in it, as was done in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, is equivalent to disregarding the interests of betting customers altogether. The rules need to change. While many questions remain unanswered, and the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY-To hear some, the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is badly needed legislation that will right the ship for an industry that has gone badly off course when it comes to issues of horse safety, integrity and illegal drugs. To others, it is another example of big government wading into a sport where it doesn't belong, which will ultimately cause horse racing a lot more problems than it solves. There was little middle ground Monday as the HISA issue dominated day one of the Racing and...

After a two-year absence, the Racing and Gaming Conference is back. The two-day conference will kick off Aug. 16 and will be held in the 1863 Club on the grounds of Saratoga Race Course. With the goal of examining industry trends and challenges facing the sport, the conference was known for bringing together notable industry leaders from across a wide spectrum, including racing officials, regulators and politicians. This year, more than 40 gaming and racing industry professionals will participate in 14 sessions as speakers and panelists throughout the two days....

by Thoroughbred Idea Foundation The creation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is the most significant development in American racing at the federal level since the passage of the Interstate Horseracing Act in 1978. Questions now being rightly considered include how much HISA will cost and where will its funding originate from. Below, we offer some perspective on the costs. But as the greater industry determines where the funding will come from over time, racing should proactively adopt policies which seek to grow the wagering business. The industry...

Courtesy Thoroughbred Idea Foundation   Racing needs a long-term plan which will put the sport on a path to raise handle to nearly $50 billion annually with more than $5 billion held by the industry by 2040. Sound optimistic? Falling well short of that goal would still be a monumental accomplishment given we are on track for another year at just $11 billion in handle, and down nearly 50% in the last two decades, adjusted for inflation. So where are the plans from the industry to start thinking long-term about...

One day after Bill Finley wrote about inconsistencies in timing at a handful of racetracks in the U.S.--both big and small--in Wednesday's TDN, Pat Cummings, the Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, has penned a piece of his own, explaining why accuracy in timing is paramount to the game and offering a framework for how to move forward. "The state of race timing in America is not improving as the years pass. It is getting worse," writes Cummings, who served as the director of racing information for Trakus for...

The following is an open letter from the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: "Will this action foster increased participation and confidence from horseplayers and horse owners?" This should be the question considered by all decision-makers in horse racing. Strong storms cascaded through the area around Gulfstream Park on Saturday morning. Besides races on grass being shifted to the dirt and that course being downgraded to sloppy, there was another significant change on the day. The storm knocked-out several camera positions, including head-on views and a remote camera positioned to capture starts deep...

Michael Levy has been added to the Board of Directors of the The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF). Levy is the founder and president of Muirfield Insurance, a full-service equine insurance agency based in Lexington, Kentucky. Along with wife Meg, they own and operate Bluewater Farm and Bluewater Sales. Throughout his career, Levy has served on a variety of industry boards, including the American Graded Stakes Committee, Breeders' Cup and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. "Mike brings a lifetime of experience to our board, and with it, a willingness to think...

Amongst serious horseplayers, takeout rates in pari-mutuel pools are a frequent discussion. It should be a focus of breeders, owners, trainers and track operators. Unless they are serious bettors too, takeout rates rarely "get a run" from those constituencies, though. Our recent #FreeDataFriday piece highlighted the impact of various takeout rates on win pools at three different tracks. The higher the rate, the lower the return to winners--and thus, the less they would have to churn through the pools and start another cycle of betting. Recently, a few bettors lamented...

Our sport can, and should, always seek continuous improvement. Take last Saturday, [May 23]'s first race at Churchill Downs as an example. Trainer Thomas Drury Jr. had two starters in the race--Step Ten, making his career debut and Baby White Sox, who would make his first start for Drury, but his third start overall, having run twice for Joe Sharp in 2019, the last of those starts coming in mid-September. While Step Ten is shown as having five published works, one most recently at Churchill and four at the Skylight...

UNDERSTANDING TAKEOUT Ogden Mills Phipps, former chairman of both The Jockey Club and New York Racing Association and a legendary owner and breeder, heartily advocated for lower takeout nearly five decades ago. In December 1976, Blood-Horse outlined the Phipps plea, a source of great concern given the rising competition in the New York market. "With continuing declines in track attendance and mutuel handle, Thoroughbred racing is faced principally with twin threats, witnesses at an Aqueduct hearing stressed. There are the existing off-track betting structure, which has hurt track management and...