E-Business: Perfectas by Personal Computer --- Online Betting on the Horses, Now Lawful in 41 States, Lifts the Racing Industry
LOOKING INTO the stands at their racetracks, horse-racing executives see two things that bother them: thinning crowds and thinning hair.</br></br>They are counting on the Internet to remedy both.</br></br>The sport's total "handle" -- the amount bettors wagered -- was about $14.2 billion last year, up from $8.3 billion a decade earlier. But competition from casinos and an aging fan base have slowed horse racing's growth in the past two years, and the industry is scrambling to put the sport online in hopes of attracting a young and growing Web-savvy market.</br></br>In the past few years, track owners, gambling companies and entrepreneurs have launched a half-dozen major horse-racing Web sites. With names like YouBet.com, eBetUSA.com and WinTicket.com, the sites offer the chance to wager on races at dozens of tracks around the country and watch the races via live video feeds. Some feature prerace commentary from professional handicappers and, for an extra fee, more sophisticated betting advice.</br></br>The heyday of horse racing was in the 1950s; since then, the industry periodically has had to find new ways to lure fans and bettors. Off-track betting, on-track simulcasting of races from other venues, and telephone betting all have met with some success. But racing executives have even higher hopes for the Internet.