Montana Horse Racing Path Forward (Part 2 of 2)

Following up from Part 1, this post describes what Montana racing can do given its current fiscal predicament.  To recap, the Montana Board of Horse Racing has a large debt to service and currently two paltry revenue streams.  Simulcast has been shut down and it will take capital to infuse into that option in order to restart.  Even after that is done, the revenue generated will likely be smaller than what had existed before due to the lack of tracks to wager, to include lack of all the Triple Crown races.

Lots of debt and mediocre income or even income potential - what to do?  Well the Board as well as its Advisory Council had great ideas!  Here they are:

The Business Advisory Council's final recommendation (of three) was "maximize funding sources."  (the other two recommendations were in essence to set a budget and pay their debt)

The Board of Horse Racing's recent minutes had this item, "look at other income sources that will bring in income without large setup costs."

All I can say is...wow.  If they keep going the way they are, in my opinion Montana racing is toast.  That would be a shame.

But there is something that is a new income source and doesn't have large setup costs!  What is it?  Really simple.  Implement pari-mutuel fantasy sports wagering in alignment with what was authorized under HB 616.  It can use the existing tote equipment and there isn't a requirement of an upfront payment that the various tracks are demanding for their signal.  It is a game based on professional sports, so what can/can't be done with regard to horse betting is irrelevant to this revenue stream.  It meets exactly what the Business Advisory Council and the Board of Horse Racing identified as an income source.

There are two issues - the game authorized under HB 616 is covered by patent and the revenue breakouts per HB 616 may not be aligned right to keep all stakeholders happy.  There's an easy fix.  The stakeholders (Board of Horse Racing, patent holder, pari-mutuel provider and retail outlets) need to agree on the takeout for each entity, and then the parties by contract will adapt the HB 616 takeout.  Again, easy fix.  With approximately a 26% takeout in total per HB 616, there's enough of the takeout pie to go around.

By implementing HB 616-compliant pari-mutuel fantasy sports, the Board of Horse Racing will get additional revenue which it can use to pay debt and get simulcast restarted, adding that revenue stream.  These new combined revenues should put the Board on a more solid footing to dig themselves out of their financial hole as well as begin to revive live racing in the state.

If they don't follow this approach, do not be surprised if racing in Montana will be put out of its misery to the anguish of those that put their faith in the Board of Horse Racing to do the right thing.