John Avello, director of race and sports at Wynn Las Vegas, shows off the hotel-casino's race book. Avello joined Wynn this year after 10 years of being in charge of Bally's race and sports operation. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

For Nevada race books, today is their Super Bowl.

The Breeders' Cup, which in its 21-year history has become thoroughbred horse racing's biggest day, is upon us and Nevada's race books will celebrate the 22nd running from Belmont Park with parties, giveaways and packed rooms.

On a day like the Breeders' Cup or the Kentucky Derby, running a race book is a no-brainer. Turn on the television screens, open the betting windows and watch the cash pour through. But what happens the rest of the year? What are the race books doing to generate business and excitement?

That is the biggest challenge facing the books. There have never been more tracks to bet on. There have never been more people to cater to. The technology is allowing players to make a bet from their seat in the book, from a telephone in their house or from a laptop computer anywhere in the world.

So why are Nevada race books not doing bigger numbers? Why has the industry, as one person put it, "flatlined" over the last decade or so?

"I definitely think it's been stagnant," said Brad Bryant, who runs the race and sports book at the Aladdin. "There's not much glamor on the race side. What would you rather have, a guy making a $50,000 bet on a football game or a guy grinding it out in the race book betting $5,000?"

In 2004, the state's race books took in $536.3 million and had a win of 16.96 percent compared with the sports side, which generated $2.08 billion yet posted a win percentage of just 5.39 percent. But while that was an increase for the second straight year for racing, it's well behind 1998 when the books generated $736.6 million.

What happened? In a word, rebates.

In 1998, the books had rebate programs which kicked back a certain percentage of a big player's action to him. But rebates were outlawed that year and many big hitters took their action elsewhere, primarily to off-shore books that were more than happy to rebate part of their play.

"We did lose some big players," said John Avello, director of race and sports at Wynn Las Vegas. "But while we'd fallen off a little bit, we're starting to build back."

Part of the upswing is due to new hotels such as Wynn, which has state-of-the-art facilities to cater to horse players. Another facet in the surge is the growing population in Southern Nevada. Some of the new residents enjoy horse racing and are patronizing the local books.

The other factor is the sport itself. Racing has done a better job of marketing its product in recent years, and through national television exposure on NBC and ESPN and the advent of horse racing networks such as TVG, the sport has more opportunities to showcase itself.

In Nevada, the books have no control over the product. All they do is disseminate the signal. But the reality is, a day at a Nevada race book is no different than a day at the track. You're still betting. You're still trying to pick winners and you're still trying to have a pleasurable experience while doing so.

That's where the Nevada books have a big edge over the tracks. Not only can the book provide amenities such as seating, handicapping tools and food and beverage for free, they can also provide player perks that the tracks can't or won't.

"I may not be able to rebate some of your play, but I can get you a room, a nice meal, tickets to a show and make you feel like you're special," said Bryant, who refuses to charge his players a fee for a Daily Racing Form, which can cost $5 at the track. "You're going to have a seat in our place, you're going to be able to get your bets down and you're going to be treated with respect. I don't think that's too much to ask of a book."

Every race book subscribes to the same customer service theories. Not nickel-and-diming a customer is a given in Las Vegas, and little things like making sure patrons can hear the call of the race, having enough tellers on hand so no bettor gets shut out at the windows and being able to get a drink in a reasonable amount of time are the biggest things players seem to want, according to those who run the race books.

Ralph Siraco, who hosts a daily talk show on racing on KSHP-AM (1400), said it doesn't take a lot to keep a horse player happy, but the books need to pay attention to the small details.

"The biggest concern for a guy is getting his bet down," Siraco said. "He doesn't want to get shut out. If I ran a race book, my No. 1 goal would be never to have someone locked out of making a bet."

Avello, who ran a promotion-friendly book at Bally's for 10 years before moving to Wynn this summer, said: "It's all about providing good customer service, having good people working for you who are friendly, courteous and knowledgeable. You can have the best TVs, the best sound system, but without good people, it doesn't matter."

But for all of the race books' efforts in customer service, business is not exactly booming, especially when compared to sports betting and poker, the two hot gambling activities for the age-21-to-35 male demographic.

Part of the problem is that betting on horse racing is different than other sports. In football, basketball and baseball, seasons have a distinct beginning and end when a gambler can take time off and regroup. In horse racing, it's a year-round grind that can put a tremendous strain on a bankroll of those who sit in the race book several days a week.

Given horse players' loyalty, it can be easy to take them for granted. Those who run the books say it's a constant challenge, particularly given the fact they can't rebate a person's play and can only do so much for their regulars.

"How do you make your regulars feel special?" Bryant said. "You try to reach out to your customers."

Bryant, who has deep ties to horse racing (he once worked as a mutuel clerk at Lone Star Park) has tried some unique promotions. He has forged an alliance with West Point Thoroughbreds Inc., which provides his property access to that company's clients while also giving the Aladdin's customers a chance to be owners of a race horse through West Point.

"What horse player doesn't want to own a horse?" Bryant said.

He also developed a relationship with the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, bringing some of the San Diego-area track's best customers to Las Vegas for Kentucky Derby weekend, then having some of the Aladdin's prized customers trek to Del Mar for a day at the track in the summer.

"It was a nice cross-promotion," Bryant said. "It helped generate new players for us."

Stations Casinos did a promotion with Del Mar as well. Players at the eight Stations properties were able to enter a free drawing that gave lucky winners a free trip to Del Mar.

"We got a very positive response," said Art Manteris, the vice president of race and sports operations for Stations.

Joe Harper, president, Chief Executive Officer and general manager of Del Mar, said it makes sense to partner with Nevada's race books rather than be an adversary.

"You've got to work together," he said. "We're in the same industry (horse racing). We've got to help each other."

When asked why other tracks don't follow Del Mar's lead, Harper said, "I've given up trying to answer that question. Maybe what works for us doesn't work for other tracks. I don't know. All I know is we've been working with the casinos in Nevada for years and we're very pleased with the arrangement. I see more and more people from Vegas at the track every year and our customers enjoy going there when our season is over."

The books are also trying to generate interest in the sport through handicapping contests. In addition to sponsoring several of the biggest handicapping tournaments in the country, Coast Casinos also offers contests a couple of times a week in which for as little as $5, a player can win a few thousand dollars in the "Pick 5." For years, Stations Casinos have offered a daily "Twin Q" contest in which a person who picks two separate quinellas can potentially win thousands with a minimum $2 investment.

But the overall number of contests has dwindled and each property has had to decide how much it wants to pump into race book promotions. That's especially true on the Strip, where most of the race books are dealing primarily with tourists who are spending a couple of hours or a couple of days in their room, compared to locals-based books such as Sam's Town and the Coast and Stations properties.

"I think there's more pressure here when it comes to guest relations than the Strip," Stations' Manteris said. "This is a whole different environment. You don't want to lose your steady customers."

The local books, many of which offer house quinellas, find themselves walking a fine line with big players. A house quinella is a bet in which the property assumes all the risk on the wager, which pays off if the horses finish first and second either way. Some sharp bettors zero in on the "House Q" rather than bet the pari-mutuel way, in which the book is merely a middleman between the bettor and the track and assumes no risk.

Manteris admits he has had to limit how much his big players can bet on the house quinella and it has cost him some customers.

"There are thresholds we have," he said. "We can only expose ourselves so much."

Avello said, "This isn't a candy store where we're giving things away."

The big bettors say "fine" and take their action elsewhere, usually to off-shore houses or racing Internet sites, which provide rebates and allow higher limits. The book operators are hoping the recent law allowing the casinos to conduct phone betting outside Nevada will help generate revenue. But the big carrot looming is Internet wagering across state lines.

"That has the potential to be huge," Avello said of on-line betting. "I see more and more people bringing their lap tops into the book and handicapping with computer programs. It's the future wave of handicappers and if we give them a chance to bet with us from outside the state on-line, it could be big."

Given the often glacial pace of change by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, that could be years away. In the meantime, race books hope to continue their climb and boost profits. Two new properties for locals, the South Coast and Red Rock Station, are set to open in January and March, respectively, and both will have first-class race books.

Siraco said regardless of technological advances, Nevada race books are not going away anytime soon, so he'd like to see books be a bigger player with customers and within their own properties.

"There'll always be a place for it," Siraco said of the race book. "It's more of a positive reflection of the industry than the racetracks that are providing the product.

"That said, the race book industry needs some new energy. Whether it's more handicapping contests and tournaments, more giveaways, seminars to get more people into the books, it needs something."