Scott Finley Lectures on International Simulcasting
Tucson, AZ — The Race Track Industry Program recently hosted Scott Finley, Country Manager for the French PMU, who gave a guest lecture in the program’s Racing Business, Strategies, and Global Perspectives class. Scott’s long history in international simulcasting provided the students with real life insights into the opportunities and challenges when dealing with foreign countries.
In his lecture, Scott discussed how racing operates in jurisdictions around the world and compared international racing to North American racing. Among the differences discussed were medication rules, format of past performances, and types of wagering. Scott noted that customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland are hesitant to wager on racing held in the United States because they are used to wagering through bookmakers, not through a pari-mutuel system.
Scott also compared handle numbers around the world. Japan leads the world in both handle and purses, followed by Australia and the United Kingdom. Japan is unique in that it has been a closed simulcasting market until recently when they experimented bringing in a few international races with great success. In the spirit of the Breeders’ Cup, Scott concluded his talk by going over some of the foreign horses entered so students could evaluate the international horses and the quality of the races that they had been running in.