Pinnacle: No More Wagering On N.A. Horse Racing

Published: December 19, 2008 11:16 am EST

According to a story on casinocitytimes, offshore bookmaker Pinnacle Sports had made the decision to cease offering wagering on North American horse racing.

The report states that the company uploaded a statement to the 'Horse Betting' section of its website saying that it, "finds itself in a position where we are unable to offer horse racing to our satisfaction."

The Pinnacle statement also noted that the, "declining interest of clients in racing in general has prompted us to discontinue wagering on daily North American horse racing with immediate effect."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

(With files from casinocitytimes)

Tags

Comments

I am a canuck living in the states,who would love to bet the weg product but am not able too, perhaps resolving taking bet's from all possible customers would help resolve their problem, turning away customer's is not the way to go.

When it came to the horse wagering at pinnacle they at least showed that they get it and understood that the track take outs were way to high and to attract customers they offered a 5 to 7% rebate. In this day and age race tracks have to catch on that a 15 to 25%
take out is unacceptable to new players when they know they can wager on sports, blackjack and so on in a much fairer game, with a lot less of a house take out.

Also the excessive track take out is slowly chasing people out of the sport who has
supported it for years. The powers to be have their head buried in the sand when it comes to excessive track take outs, they don't get it and probably never will. They may catch on some day and hopefully when that day comes it will not be to late to reverse a sport that may or may not be around in 50 years.

I wonder if it is time for horse racing to refocus and zero in on become more entertaining and interactive with fans, like other sports such as hockey, NASCAR, and others have done? Hockey doesn't rely on the sports lotteries for its income because if it did, skaters would be playing for $25,000 per year instead of $3-4 million. Take in a hockey games or another sport that is on the rise and see first-hand the things they do to make the sport more entertaining. What track has the same level of entertainment? Cheer music, Coneheads, sponge #1's, fan picks and prizes, and other entertainment.
After a game, the players sign autographs. They're encouraged to work with kids. They do a job of entertaining.
What can we learn from them?

europe has a great plan to generate interest in the public.
why not work something out with the government , create a new lottery put a super pick 7 or something like that , just like they do in france, buisness aint bad over there!

If they would open internet betting to everybody in Canada,you would have more better's and would not have to be concerned about off shore betting.
Right now no one can bet on Canadian tracks from Quebec,Manitoba,or any place in northern Ontario

Even with a 20 percent rebate on every 100 dollars for the horse bettor at Pinnacle Sports,they still couldn't generate enough interest to make it feasible.

Does this mean this industry will have to look for another bogeyman to explain declines in wagering? All i've heard is offshore (illegal) wagering is killing us.
Seems as though there is no interest in the sport from gamblers period

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The reason most of my friends have quit going is the expenses. Almost $100 (one Ontario track) for a meal & one beer ( NO DESSERT ). Most expensive in (the city) to get a beer. 3 or 4 years back the Boston Red Sox were having trubble putting butts in the seats, they cut the price of beer & tube steaks in half, now they sellout each game.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The Red Sox have sold out for many years starting before 04 World Series win. It has always been a tough ticket to get. Beer $7.00 now, which has never been cut in price. Tube steak what is that? Food prices at Fenway are expensive.

Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.