Freakonomics Radio
Thoroughbred auction prices keep setting records. But tracks are closing, gambling revenues are falling, and the sport is increasingly reliant on subsidies. Is that the kind of long shot anybody wants? (Part three of a series, “The Horse Is Us.”)
- SOURCES:
- Anne Archer Hinkle, owner and director of Hinkle Farms.
- Cormac Breathnach, senior director of sales operations at Keeneland.
- Emily Plant, thoroughbred researcher and statistician, associate professor of marketing at the University of Montana.
- Mark Taylor, president of Taylor Made Farm.
- Marshall Gramm, horse player, professor of economics at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Richard Migliore, head racing analyst for Fox Sports and New York Racing Association, retired jockey.
- Sean Feld, bloodstock agent.
- Scott Heider, managing principal of Chartwell Capital, thoroughbred investor.
- Thomas Lambert, economist at the University of Louisville.
- RESOURCES:
- Death of a Racehorse: An American Story, by Katie Bo Lillis (2025).
- “State of the States 2025: The AGA Analysis of the Commercial Casino Industry,” (American GamingAssociation, 2025).
- “An Empirical Analysis of Reputation Effects and Network Centrality in a Multi-Agency Context,” by Emily Plant (University of Kentucky, 2010).
- Calculated Bets: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win (Outlooks), by Steven Skiena (2001).
- Bill Oppenheim and Emily Plant’s Thoroughbred Market Reports.
- Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)
It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, we revisit an episode from 2019 to find out why. SOURCES: John List,…
643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?
They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still want tiny fires inside our homes? SOURCES: Tim Cooper, professor emeritus…
642. How to Wage Peace, According to Tony Blinken
The former secretary of state isn’t a flamethrower, but he certainly has strong opinions. In this wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Dubner, he gives them all: on Israel, Gaza, China, Iran, Russia, Biden, Trump — and…
Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone? (Update)
Until recently, Delaware was almost universally agreed to be the best place for companies to incorporate. Now, with Elon Musk leading a corporate stampede out of the First State, we revisit an episode from 2023…
641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?
For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating Stereophonic seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in common with Richard…
640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on Sports
The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball…
How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)
Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to…
639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”
Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference. SOURCES: Cory Booker, senior United States Senator from New Jersey. RESOURCES: “‘When Are More Americans Going…
638. Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?
In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck…
What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Common? (Update)
In this episode from 2013, we look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists. SOURCES: Benedikt Herrmann, research officer at the European Commission. Steve Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics and host of…