The concept of Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup was trumpeted as innovative by the talking heads at TVG, the horse racing channel that merged last year with HRTV, the network owned by Frank Stronach, who had more than a passing interest in the event.
Stronach, who owns several North American racetracks, including Gulfstream, is credited with coming up with the idea of horse owners investing in horse racing to create an event fans would pay to see, not just bet on.
Twelve ownership groups anted up $1 million each to reserve a post in the gate for an entry in the race, which turned out to be a rematch of the Breeders Cup Classic three months earlier, with Arrogate and two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome going off as heavy favorites, along with 10 lesser-known entities.
Arrogate won in a runaway and collected the $7 million first prize from the all-time high $12 million purse, while California Chrome eased home ninth in his final race.
Second-place finisher Shaman Ghost, owned by Stronach, earned $1.75 million, show horse Neolithic brought back $1 million for his connections, and everybody else received $250,000 each.
The innovative part is that the owners who put up $1 million weren’t just investing in the race purse, but they will also split earnings from sponsorships and wagers, including multi-race bets that ended in the 12th race, the World Cup.
Daily Racing Form reported Sunday that the percentage that the slot holders are entitled to has not been made public, but estimated, with the help of racing officials, that a racetrack retains approximately 5 percent of all money bet on a race. Applying that to the Pegasus betting total, including all multi-race wagers ending in the race, Gulfstream retained approximately $784,000 from the race. Split 12 ways, that amounts to approximately $65,000 a share.
To make sure the race received big-time coverage, The Stronach Group bought all the commercial inventory for the race, which aired on NBC, doing so with the hopes that strong ratings will lead to competition for those TV rights in the future.
It all sounds good, except for one small detail.
The princes of the Sport of Kings segregated themselves — either intentionally or unintentionally — from the paupers of the sport, the fans.
To create the right environment, fancy people in fancy clothes, Gulfstream shooed away the riffraff otherwise known as the $2 bettor.
Admission at Gulfstream is normally free, but Saturday it cost $100 (the wagering budget for many fans) to get inside the track, $20 to park and lord knows how much for a hot dog, if they were selling any.
The $100 admission price is something Gulfstream might want to reconsider if there is a second running of this race, and Tim Ritvo, COO of Gulfstream, admitted as much while defending the idea.
“You try not to alienate your day-in and day-out fans, and really you are,” Ritvo said. “You didn’t want to have the place where it wouldn’t function. … If we could do it all over again we probably would have adjusted downward, maybe half of that.”
Ritvo pointed out the price isn’t outlandish for a championship sports event. A 100-level seat for next week’s Super Bowl in Houston is $1,700 at face value, but fans will pay several thousand on the resale market to watch the Patriots and Falcons.
Gulfstream announced Saturday’s attendance at 16,653, less than an average Saturday gathering in Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park, where admission and parking are free.
Don’t expect Oaklawn to follow Gulfstream’s lead anytime soon. Not as long as it has corned beef, competitive racing and a casino inside.
Quote of the day
“Against Rafa it’s always epic. This one means a lot to me because he’s caused me problems over the years.”
Roger Federer after beating Rafael Nadal for the Australian Open