Laurel Park’s noble experiment: “Ten Days at 10 Percent”
The Maryland Jockey Club has been accused many times—sometimes even in this magazine—of doing too little to entice fans to bet on its racing product.
It may be time for the criticism to stop.

At Laurel Park in August, the MJC rolled out a truly innovative plan designed to woo customers and focus attention on its live races. The takeout on all races conducted at Laurel was cut nearly in half (to a blended rate of 11.4 percent) for the 10-day mini-meet run at Laurel from August 10 through August 23.
Only a few August racing cards (one of them dampened by rain) had been run when this magazine went to press, so the handle figures were not available for comparison. But early responses were positive, and the track definitely succeeded in grabbing the attention of horseplayers.

Lower takeout theoretically leads to higher mutuel handle, as more money is returned to bettors, who then “churn” it back through the mutuel machines. Of course, decreasing the takeout also means that the track, horsemen’s purse account and breeders’ fund receive a smaller portion of each dollar that is wagered. Like any business, race tracks face a balancing act when deciding how much to charge for their product. The picture has become much more complicated due to account wagering services offering rebates.

With a few exceptions, tracks everywhere in the country historically have sought to raise takeout at every possible opportunity. Laurel’s “Ten Days at 10 Percent” was a short-term experiment that defies conventional tactics. It was carried out with the blessing of the state’s breeders’ and horsemen’s associations, marking yet another encouraging example of newfound unity within Maryland’s Thoroughbred industry.