Not necessarily the news

Attendance is down, handle is up...maybe.

If we agree most people bet away from the track, then those bets have to take place somewhere. If ADW's are a source of most of the action, then most people aren't watching the broadcasts on HRTV/TVG(a TBA sponsor of the sprint division).

There are inefficiencies in the system and I would imagine that a large part of that is the cost of distribution. ESPN is not going to take up airspace they could devote to bowling, bass fishing or extreme basketweaving for horse racing; those other events draw a bigger crowd.

TVG won't carry certain signals and nobody wants to go with HRTV because very few distributors carry it. You can open up an account at Twinspires, owned by CDI and a sponsor of the TBA older horse division, but you can't bet on Churchill Downs. You could try and bounce your signal off a keyhole satellite and routing your account through the Isle of Man but the justice department might want to investigate your rectal vault.

What is one to do?

Next New Network.

For a fraction of the production cost of broadcast networks, and targeting an admittedly niche audience, the NTRA could buy out HRTV/TVG shut them down and set up their own ADW/broadcast channel. What better way to regulate gambling than to have the home office in control of distribution, where the friendly government agents and their rubber gloves are a phone call away?

Get some sort of dispensation from the government where takeout is reduced and then those proceeds are dumped into a superfund account that states can access based on their contribution to wagering handle. The NTRA can then mandate what requirements the tracks need to comply with in order to receive signal access and if they don't, they don't get their signal sent out. If the wagering platform is placed in the hands of those that don't seek to profit from it, the fees associated with the takeout can be reduced further.

If the NTRA wants to lead this sport, it needs to start acting like it cares.