While several tracks have experimented with lowering the takeout, none has gone as far as what Delta Downs has planned for two daytime cards, Nov. 25-26.On those days, the takeout will be 10% on all wagers, in all pools. Some tracks have slashed the takeout on certain wagers and Hawthorne offered an industry low takeout at its 2025 meet of 12% on all win wagers. But never before has a track lowered takeout on all pools or to anything near 10%.“Our Director of Racing Ops John Simon came up with the idea,” said Delta's Vice President and General Manager Steve Kuypers. “We are hoping to have more people watch Delta and get them excited about wagering on horse racing. We are hoping the bettors appreciate what we are trying to do and will enjoy the two days.”Delta normally runs at night and players might not watch a daytime card at the Vinton, Louisiana track, but the Delta team is hoping the 10% takeout gets their attention.Bettors will notice a significant increase in the winning prices. While the traditional takeout on Win, Place and Show bets is 17% at Delta, the takeout on the Trifecta, Superfecta, Pick Three, Pick Four and Pick Five is 25%. A winning Pick Four under the traditional takeout structure that would have paid $750 would now pay $900.None of this was accomplished without a great deal of effort. The takeout reduction had to be approved by both the horsemen and the Louisiana Racing Commission.Delta Downs grandstand | CoadyOriginally, Delta had planned to offer the promotion on six days of racing, all of the daytime cards run around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. But it recently cut back to just the two days. A possible reason is that the ADWs were not thrilled with such low takeouts, which will cut into their profit margins. But Kuypers said that isn't the case.“We wanted to try this for two days instead of six days to see how the bettors reacted,” Kuypers said. “The ADWs all thought it was a good idea.”It will be interesting to see how the CAW players will react. They tend to make up a much larger percentage of the pool at smaller tracks like Delta than they do at places like Keeneland, Del Mar and Saratoga. But they like bigger takeouts, because the bigger the takeout the larger their rebate is. It's not inconceivable that, if there is a significant drop in CAW play, the experiment could backfire.“We do not think so [that the CAW players will cut back on their handle],” Kuypers said. “Hopefully, they will realize we are trying to get more people to bet which will increase the pool sizes.”Just two days of reduced takeout at Delta should provide the entire industry with some much needed answers. Do horseplayers really respond to lower takeouts and will CAW play decline when a track lowers the takeout while trying to give a break to the everyday player?What can Delta learn and what can the racing industry learn from this?“We want to see if lowering the takeout will actually get more people watching and wagering on Delta,” Kupyers said.Fair enough. On Nov. 25 and 26, Delta Downs will offer the lowest takeouts in modern horse racing industry. It will be up to the horseplayers to show that they get it, that the lower the takeout the better chance they have of winning.The post Delta Downs Offering Early Holiday Present For Horseplayers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.