653. Does Horse Racing Have a Future?
This episode of Freakonomics Radio visits the Keeneland September yearling sale to explore how thoroughbred racehorses are bred, evaluated, and sold, and how record auction prices coexist with a shrinking foal crop and declining racing industry. Breeders, buyers, economists, and horseplayers explain the economics of stud fees, the risk-reward profile of buying unproven horses, and how simulcasting, legal sports betting, and computer-driven wagering have transformed the gambling side of the sport. The episode closes by examining racinos, historical horse racing machines, and regulation as key forces that may determine whether horse racing has a viable future in the United States.