"Fiction or non, the idea that gamblers have a soft spot for the horses who get them home is not necessarily an outrageous concept. Rare, but not outrageous."

"Why U.S. bettors have not had the same experience as their British counterparts is a mystery to me. The fact is that serious punters in Britain and Hong Kong or wherever bet more adventurously than Americans. It is arguable that form on synthetics is generally closer to turf form than to dirt, so anyone who can handicap grass races and bet on them successfully should have no fears about betting on synthetics."

"Attendees were asked to list the issues they felt were the most important. Topping the list was the horse shortage in California, followed by the takeout rates. California increased the takeout on exotic wagers beginning in 2011 to bolster purses. Horseplayers have protested vociferously, many in the form of boycotting the current meetings at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita."

"The assumption was that an increase in purses would reverse a dismal decline in field sizes, which would boost handle and benefit the tracks as well as the owners, who foresaw a 25% increase in purses. In addition, optimism was high going into the Santa Anita meet with the return to a dirt main track, replacing the synthetic surface that was reviled by some handicappers. Two months into the season, though, those trends have failed to materialize. While purses are up by $1.3 million due to the increase, field size has remained static and is even down slightly. Through Jan. 31, according to figures provided by the California Horse Racing Management Systems, all-sources wagering at Santa Anita has dipped 10.81% from last year, and Golden Gate has experienced a 19.92% decline. Those figures were calculated on the basis of daily averages rather than gross handle."

"Ideally, everybody would play against the same takeout, and it would be much, much lower than today's takes."

"The California takeout increase was touted as a way to increase the money from handle that went to purses, but all of the increase only goes to purses when the money is wagered in California. As Scott Daruty said at the California Horse Racing Board meeting on January 20, some outlets (e.g. TwinSpires) accepting wagers from outside California are paying as little as 50% of the increase to California purses. If those outlets (e.g. TwinSpires) are keeping the balance of the increase, then they very easily could pass that savings on to its biggest bettors in the form of a rebate."

"If we were at the tracks taking customers away, I could see why tracks would have a problem with it. It makes no sense they'd want to eliminate us. On top of that, as opposed to the TVGs and Youbets of the world, we pay a premium for the signal. I think we have the support of the big players in the industry. The ones signing contracts with us must see a benefit to it." See also, Barry Schwartz quote: "I don't think rebate shops are the problem. The problem is our structure -- what we're charging for signals, and the takeout. If takeout rates were more reasonable, places wouldn't need rebates." [From 2004]

Bill Christine tells a story: "Milt's total bets, every time he goes racing, are conservatively three times the average daily per capita at this track. Milt bets with both hands, and on occasion I've seen him shovel in a bet or two with his feet. But if the track knows this, they've never given him a pass for free admission. The general manager of the track barely knows him; he says hello to him some of the time, other times acts like he's never seen him. Milt pays to get through the turnstiles every time, but lately he hasn't been going as much as he used to. He's been making more trips to Las Vegas, where he can bet a lot of other things besides horses and where they keep track of his play and throw hotel rooms and meals and drinks at him with endless abandon."

"Hey, I'm not saying the owners don't risk a lot of money and I'm not blind to the fact it costs a lot of dough to keep a horse in training, but last time I checked it took two to tango, and while the sport would not exist without owners, it also wouldn't be around without the bettors, either."

"What needs to happen, and quickly, is the CHRB and TOC need to quit playing games, sit down and meet with Platt and other members of the organization's board and try to find common ground for the good of an industry that is spiraling downward at an alarming rate."

A few relevant stats: "Purses averaged $424,276 at Santa Anita from Jan. 1-12 (six days of racing) versus $353,348 from Jan. 1-12, 2010 (eight days of racing). The track is racing four days a week instead of five, which it did last year. In 2010 for the first eight days of the meet, purses totaled $2,826,782. This year, for six days, $2,545,658 in purses has been paid. But with one fewer day of racing per week, field size is averaging 7.69 horses per race, down from 7.91 from the same period last year, according to TJCIS."

"So now that Howard has died, how do we look back on his life? Was he the paranoid that some of his former followers allege? I don’t care. For me, he was a truly creative human being who produced something unique."