Delaware Gambling may be in place by The Chase
By MIKE FINNEY The News Journal
DOVER -- Imagine being able to stroll up to a betting window in the Dover Downs casino adjacent to Dover International Speedway and being able to say, "I'd like to take the Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards trifecta ... Oh, and box it.'"
That might be the case by September after Gov. Jack Markell signed sports betting into law earlier this month.
While Delaware's sports betting operation will not be up and running for next weekend's NASCAR races at Dover, it could be in full swing by the September race weekend. Those races culminate with a Sprint Cup event that happens to be the second stop in the chase for the championship playoff system.
While the framework and specifics of Delaware's sports betting operation are still being decided, the prospects appear limitless to Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports.
If McGlynn has his way, race fans will be able to place bets on Dover's NASCAR races in the casino at Dover Downs.
That would be a first for a race track on the NASCAR circuit.
The News Journal sat down with Mc- Glynn on Friday morning to see just what impact sports betting could have on NASCAR weekends at Dover International Speedway.
Dover Downs is obviously pleased that sports betting has been passed in Delaware. Would you like to see race fans be able to bet on NASCAR races trackside, kind of like harness racing?
"Sure, we would like to see anything that could enhance the entertainment value of the NASCAR races.
"I don't think they'll be able to do it trackside, so to speak, on the grandstand side of the race track. But down in the casino they would be able to do it. And I think it has the potential for success, but it's really hard to quantify it.
"We've been talking to some people who are familiar with betting on NASCAR out in Las Vegas. At this time of year, for example, with the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, and baseball, NASCAR would rank fourth in interest on betting with the other three being higher, and none of them being anywhere near what the NCAA Final Four basketball is or the NFL.
"How you quantify it? I'm not sure you can at this point. I think we're all going to be learning a lot once this gets up and running."
Based on your understanding of the sports betting bill, will it be possible to bet in Delaware on NASCAR races at Dover?
"I don't see why not. There's been no exclusions that I'm aware of.
"It would be totally unique in that we would have a sports-betting facility right adjacent to the speedway, albeit owned by a different company and not on speedway property. It's still, as you can tell, here adjacent to it.
"The closest thing would be Las Vegas, and the speedway there is probably 10 miles outside of town. I've never been there, but it's certainly not adjacent to a casino.
"So this would make us totally unique, just as the horse track did back in its day [the only one located inside of a NASCAR track]."
Has NASCAR itself provided any input to the race track on how it feels about betting on its races?
"Not a word."
Do you know of any other auto racing facility that offers any kind of betting on its races?
"I don't know. I've never heard of any. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of betting that goes on, it's just not sanctioned. I guess you can bet [Formula 1] races in Monaco, but I don't know whether they have sports betting or not, though."
Would the ability to offer betting increase the value of the track, especially considering Dover is one of the few tracks not owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation or Speedway Motorsports?
"I would think so. I would hope so anyway."
How would you envision a NASCAR betting format at Dover?
"I think there could be a lot of different ways. We were talking about this just the other day.
"You could have side bets on how many cautions, how long the race is going to take, what manufacturer wins, whether it's Toyota or Chevrolet or whatever, in addition to the drivers.
"And there may be a whole lot of other variables that can emerge once we get the oddsmaker contracted. That person I'm sure would have a lot more insight from a marketing standpoint at what might be appealing to the betting public."
So it wouldn't just be like horse racing, where you're betting on a win, place and show, exacta, trifecta and things like that?
"No, but I wouldn't rule it out, either. I think a lot will be determined by the [Delaware] Supreme Court opinion that still needs to be rendered on what the general parameters are going to be for the betting formats."
Would you envision having betting windows for NASCAR or placing bets on automated machines, or both?
"Both. The technology is there for self-service machines so we would both have manned windows and automatic self-serve machines."
If you could, who would you bet on to win the Autism Speaks 400 coming up at Dover on May 31?
"Everybody always asks me for favorites. All I know is there's probably 20 guys out there who are capable of winning on any given day, and I'm always surprised who the winner is.
"Fords have been strong [at Dover] lately, so has Kyle Busch and so has Jimmie Johnson.
"So obviously, I can't tell."
By MIKE FINNEY The News Journal
DOVER -- Imagine being able to stroll up to a betting window in the Dover Downs casino adjacent to Dover International Speedway and being able to say, "I'd like to take the Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards trifecta ... Oh, and box it.'"
That might be the case by September after Gov. Jack Markell signed sports betting into law earlier this month.
While Delaware's sports betting operation will not be up and running for next weekend's NASCAR races at Dover, it could be in full swing by the September race weekend. Those races culminate with a Sprint Cup event that happens to be the second stop in the chase for the championship playoff system.
While the framework and specifics of Delaware's sports betting operation are still being decided, the prospects appear limitless to Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports.
If McGlynn has his way, race fans will be able to place bets on Dover's NASCAR races in the casino at Dover Downs.
That would be a first for a race track on the NASCAR circuit.
The News Journal sat down with Mc- Glynn on Friday morning to see just what impact sports betting could have on NASCAR weekends at Dover International Speedway.
Dover Downs is obviously pleased that sports betting has been passed in Delaware. Would you like to see race fans be able to bet on NASCAR races trackside, kind of like harness racing?
"Sure, we would like to see anything that could enhance the entertainment value of the NASCAR races.
"I don't think they'll be able to do it trackside, so to speak, on the grandstand side of the race track. But down in the casino they would be able to do it. And I think it has the potential for success, but it's really hard to quantify it.
"We've been talking to some people who are familiar with betting on NASCAR out in Las Vegas. At this time of year, for example, with the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, and baseball, NASCAR would rank fourth in interest on betting with the other three being higher, and none of them being anywhere near what the NCAA Final Four basketball is or the NFL.
"How you quantify it? I'm not sure you can at this point. I think we're all going to be learning a lot once this gets up and running."
Based on your understanding of the sports betting bill, will it be possible to bet in Delaware on NASCAR races at Dover?
"I don't see why not. There's been no exclusions that I'm aware of.
"It would be totally unique in that we would have a sports-betting facility right adjacent to the speedway, albeit owned by a different company and not on speedway property. It's still, as you can tell, here adjacent to it.
"The closest thing would be Las Vegas, and the speedway there is probably 10 miles outside of town. I've never been there, but it's certainly not adjacent to a casino.
"So this would make us totally unique, just as the horse track did back in its day [the only one located inside of a NASCAR track]."
Has NASCAR itself provided any input to the race track on how it feels about betting on its races?
"Not a word."
Do you know of any other auto racing facility that offers any kind of betting on its races?
"I don't know. I've never heard of any. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of betting that goes on, it's just not sanctioned. I guess you can bet [Formula 1] races in Monaco, but I don't know whether they have sports betting or not, though."
Would the ability to offer betting increase the value of the track, especially considering Dover is one of the few tracks not owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation or Speedway Motorsports?
"I would think so. I would hope so anyway."
How would you envision a NASCAR betting format at Dover?
"I think there could be a lot of different ways. We were talking about this just the other day.
"You could have side bets on how many cautions, how long the race is going to take, what manufacturer wins, whether it's Toyota or Chevrolet or whatever, in addition to the drivers.
"And there may be a whole lot of other variables that can emerge once we get the oddsmaker contracted. That person I'm sure would have a lot more insight from a marketing standpoint at what might be appealing to the betting public."
So it wouldn't just be like horse racing, where you're betting on a win, place and show, exacta, trifecta and things like that?
"No, but I wouldn't rule it out, either. I think a lot will be determined by the [Delaware] Supreme Court opinion that still needs to be rendered on what the general parameters are going to be for the betting formats."
Would you envision having betting windows for NASCAR or placing bets on automated machines, or both?
"Both. The technology is there for self-service machines so we would both have manned windows and automatic self-serve machines."
If you could, who would you bet on to win the Autism Speaks 400 coming up at Dover on May 31?
"Everybody always asks me for favorites. All I know is there's probably 20 guys out there who are capable of winning on any given day, and I'm always surprised who the winner is.
"Fords have been strong [at Dover] lately, so has Kyle Busch and so has Jimmie Johnson.
"So obviously, I can't tell."
