Word about town is that Keirin racing was made legal in ABQ. Others say it’s just legal on Native American rez’s. Wish this was clearer. Where is Dave Porter? His blog has no contact info.
Word about town is that Keirin racing was made legal in ABQ. Others say it’s just legal on Native American rez’s. Wish this was clearer. Where is Dave Porter? His blog has no contact info.
July 20, 2010 at 9:37 am |
I’m no lawyer, based on the Domenici thing at http://www.abqkeirin.com/colloquy.htm
Not only would it be legal to bet on Keirin in Albuquerque – it would be legal in L.A, San Francisco, Portland, Denver, Austin…
Keirin, like horse racing, is based on “parimutuel” form of gambling. Domenici even clarifies this for us with the other authors of the legislation.
While this is interesting since I really enjoy this form of racing, and fixed is definitely “in” at the moment, a lot of hurdles remain for Keirin racing to take off in the US. Most people don’t know what Keirin is but would likely enjoy it if they saw it – would they gamble on it? Maybe. The people who do know about Keirin in the States probably do not have much money to gamble on it with. With that said, a popular local brewery opens up a velodrome/pub in the “University” area with Keirin events? That could take off in a big way in “cycle” towns – more for entertainment to draw crowds in order to sell beer and food than making a huge gambling revenue. Unfortunately, considering the costs, it could also fall flat on its face.
Velodromes are not cheap. We are lacking a demographic of people addicted to gambling on this form of racing since the 50′s as it is in Japan.
July 20, 2010 at 3:47 pm |
parimutuel applies to dog, horse, jai alai, etc. I think officials might be afraid to open states up to all of these. Horse racing seems more accepted and is part of the economy in some places. I guess it’s all about popularity.