Columnist Steve Carp: Technology could doom race books

Steve Carp is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4087. Regular sports columnist Dean Juipe is on vacation.

While on vacation recently, I took the opportunity to visit two of my favorite summer haunts -- the Jersey Shore and San Diego. For me, that means stopping at Monmouth Park and Del Mar, respectively.

You don't have to be a fan of horse racing to appreciate the beauty and serenity of Monmouth and Del Mar. Along with Saratoga, those tracks make playing the game a pleasurable experience.

But the problem is those racing palaces are only open a couple of months. What about the rest of the year? Going to Aqueduct in December or Laurel in January can make you want to follow jai alai.

The solution may be technology.

Here in Nevada, we've been spoiled for years with the opulent race books. But the rest of the country is catching on. And it won't be long before the race book patrons here catch on, too.

With the advent of two satellite networks devoted strictly to horse racing, going to the track and getting ripped off for parking, admission, a seat, warm beer and cold hot dogs is going to be just a distant, unpleasant memory.

There will be no need to spend a depressing day at Pimlico when you can sit in your living room, pick up your portable phone and make a bet. Actually, you can do that now. But once you have the satellite signal, you're all set.

There will be no need to buy the Daily Racing Form at the race book because you can download past performances on your computer.

And while the initial cost may be high (about $700 to be up and running), the regular racetrack goer will make it up in the long run.

No less an authority on the sport than Andrew Beyer (he of the Racing Form's Beyer Speed Figures) is sold on the idea of betting at home. He tried it and he loved it. And this is a guy who has been going to the track for almost 40 years!

If Andy Beyer can enjoy the races without going to the track, you and I can, too. In fact, I'll make a prediction that within 10 years, race books as we've come to know them in Las Vegas will be little more than a distant memory.

The cost of buying a dish drops with every year. Cox Communications probably has the capacity to offer The Racing Network, which features 40 signals from tracks across North America, right now. If it chose to offer it, it would be no different than ordering a pay-per-view movie.

The hotels can do the same thing -- install the signal in their television menus and you can bet from the comfort of your room. Not only will the hotel keep you on property, which is why the race book was created in the first place, but the customer will feel like he is getting more out of his room than just a place to sleep.

You'd be able to open an account when you check into the hotel and settle up when you check out. Convenient, isn't it? Meanwhile, the space devoted to the race books can be filled with slot machines and/or table games which have considerably less overhead than running a full service race book.

Going to the track is not the leisurely endeavor it used to be. With the advent of simulcasting you barely have time to digest the outcome of one race when it's time to focus on the next one.

Such was the case last week at Del Mar. I saw Jerry Tarkanian and we spent five minutes chatting before I had to cut our conversation short. It was close to post time for the sixth race and I had to place my bet.

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