The Theodore Newsletter

September 1, 2026

“Scandal has ever been the doom of beauty”

Properties, Book I, Elegy I

“Oft expectation fails, and most oft these where most it promises”

Shakespeare, All’s Well that Ends Well

Saratoga Springs, NY. Saratoga Race Course. July 10, 2026. It’s a soccer jersey giveaway day. I’m in the grandstand betting horses. Parking $40. Admission: $10. Grandstand seat: $25. Program: $8. A fan arriving with $100 would therefore be left with $17 to wager. It is here that the New York Racing Association (NYRA) excels: gauging its patrons. No wonder the place is empty. Better than half the seats are unoccupied. The local farmers obviously have chosen to stand most of the racing card, rather than be bilked by NYRA, the organization granted a license to defraud the taxpaying public. The city of Saratoga has also joined the party. Nightly room rate: $630. Dinner: don’t ask. Drinks: even worse. I can’t wait to get away from this place. Mary, with the three teen grandkids who don’t bet, arrived just before the 5^th race. Another $40. Even worse, NYRA personnel refused to give them soccer jerseys despite packing them away…for another day? Incompetence reigns. It’s not only NYRA administrators – it’s also some of the help.

NYRA’s incompetence has long been a given. But, on to more important matters. No doubt you read that NYRA and state administrators (in their infinite wisdom) decided to tear down Beautiful Belmont Park (the most beautiful racetrack in the world) and replace it with a more modern facility. Ouch! Belmont had become my home away from home. Section X on the 3^rd floor (with a breathtaking panoramic view) housed my fellow patrons, including Nunzie, Otto, Joe the Cutter (he worked in the garment industry), One Punch Tony (he’d pop in on occasions, punch one straight $200 exacta ticket, and then disappear), Phil the Cabby, Marcus, Stretch, Mustache John, Danny Rat, and a host of other disreputable characters. I think I’m the only one who is still around. Certainly, BP is gone. Weekday attendance, as I had predicted in print numerous times in the past, had sunk to about 200.

Baseball attendance draws 20,000 per game. Tickets for pro basketball (the Knicks!*?!) and hockey are untouchable. College basketball fills up. College and pro football fill up. Soccer has suddenly come alive. But these incompetents at NYRA were having trouble drawing flies despite being bailed out early on by OTB, then casinos, and more recently limited partnerships. Attracting women has also failed miserably. None of these worked. So, what’s their solution? Scam our equally incompetent elected state officials into building a new Belmont that is more beautiful, more posh and, of course, more expensive. No, helliciously expensive! So come September 18, the new Belmont will open with great fanfare and within a year, business will be back to normal with significantly less than 500 patrons at the track. Total insanity, but that is what happens when you are dealing with NYRA and elected state officials. Virtually every individual I know who is close to this industry simply can’t figure out how these incompetent people ever got to run NYRA. The demise of this sport can be directly attributed to not only the raw incompetence discussed above but also economics. The “takeout,” i.e., the amount removed for taxes, administrative and operating costs and purses from the money wagered by the bettor is approximately 20%. This is essentially the same “takeout” (let us call it a charge) since the sport has been in existence. Now this may have been acceptable 50 or 100 years ago when horse race betting had no competition. However, compare this to other present-day betting/investing options.

1. The commission on the charge on straight sports betting is approximately 5%.
2. A prudent gambler at the dice tables can wager with an approximate charge of 0.5%.
3. A prudent gambler can wager at the blackjack table with a charge approaching 0%.
4. A stock market investor can purchase/wager $500,000 worth of issues for $8, for a takeout charge of 0.0016%.

The computer/technological revolution has changed the game for all bettors/investors. Imagine the imposition of a 20% charge on each stock market investment and a reasonably intelligent individual (not from NYRA) will arrive at some very simple conclusions regarding the merits of parimutuel betting. It is basically that simple. The game has run its course, and without change, it will die.

Only a change in the “takeout” will bail this industry out. But, don’t bet on it. No matter how you cut the cake, I can say with near certainty that the thoroughbred racing industry will have difficulty surviving for another decade. Why? Five reasons.

1. With a takeout of 20% intelligent bettors simply will not get involved with betting horses. As for me, it is in my blood. It has been a part of my life for nearly ¾ of a century. Not so much with those who came after me. Unfortunately, the industry has not moved swiftly or intelligently since earlier times to correct this exploitation and address competition.
2. One of the major concerns of capitalism is GREED. And boy, this industry oozes GREED. Why the $50,000 to $100,000 races and yet charge the patron a $10 entrance fee, a $40 parking fee, $25 for a grandstand seat, etc., etc.? As noted above, gouging the patron has become a way of life.
3. The thoroughbred industry is subsidized by the taxpayer, particularly here in NYS. They are selling horses at some of these auctions for amounts approaching $5,000,000! Why do they need subsidizing?? One of these days, we will get an honest politician elected who will put a stop to this gouging of the taxpayers.
4. Dog racing has been barred. They are completely out of business. Why? What basis? Look it up. The same reasons for closing down shops for dogs also apply to horses. In case you haven’t noticed, the thoroughbred industry is now spending a fortune informing an uninformed public how much they really care about these animals. It’s laughable. I believe every breeder should be assessed a “tax” for every foal to insure humane treatment later in a race horse’s career.
5. Last but not least is INCOMPETENCE. You want an example? Look no further than our own NYRA that is anything but the non-profit organization they profess it to be. The incompetents that man NYRA have yet to figure out how to attract new customers to the industry. (I predicted this in several articles a half a century ago. And, I also provided invited testimony on parimutuel wagering to a Presidential Crime Commission hearing in 1977.)

The signs are all there. More recently, and as expected, attendance at the recent Saratoga meet nosedived. It really nosedived! Here’s more on NYRA incompetence. NYRA had difficulty in showcasing its product (the races) –Saratoga Live–on TV. The program was repeatedly (even on weekends) blocked out, to be replaced by a speedway race from some unknown city, or some unheard of golf tournament, or a teenage girls intramural volleyball game from Saudi Arabia. Obviously, NYRA has been unable to attract viewers. To further compound problems, the races are often tape-delayed which creates immense problems for the betting public, something that NYRA is clueless about. Could there be more? Of course. Even the news media can’t get Saratoga Live programming time correct. Want more? Look for a massive betting scandal in the near future. I kid you not; it really is that bad. I’ll revisit this next Fall (if I’m still around) with a follow-up analysis.

Can the industry survive? I’ll provide my four-point program at a later date.

Maybe intelligent, responsible individuals will come along and save the day. But, once again, I wouldn’t bet on it.

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