IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jospec/v1y2000i3p219-235.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Utility of Sport and Returns to Ownership

Author

Listed:
  • Frank A. Gamrat

    (Allegheny Institute)

  • Raymond D. Sauer

    (Clemson University, sauerr@clemson.edu)

Abstract

The rate of return to investment in thoroughbred racehorses is widely believed to be negative on average. In a world of fully informed market participants, this implies that ownership of a racehorse is motivated in part by nonfinancial attributes, perhaps a taste for sport. This article presents simple models of the utility derived from sporting competition. The models differ in their implications for the rate of return to racehorse ownership and its variation with the level of talent. Evidence from thoroughbred auctions and racing earnings are used to test between the models.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank A. Gamrat & Raymond D. Sauer, 2000. "The Utility of Sport and Returns to Ownership," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 1(3), pages 219-235, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:1:y:2000:i:3:p:219-235
    DOI: 10.1177/152700250000100302
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/152700250000100302
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/152700250000100302?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yoram Barzel, 1997. "Measurement Cost and the Organization of Markets," Chapters, in: Svetozar Pejovich (ed.), The Economic Foundations of Property Rights, chapter 13, pages 171-192, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Brian Chezum & Brad Wimmer, 2000. "Roses or Lemons: Adverse Selection in the Market for Thoroughbred Yearlings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(3), pages 521-526, August.
    3. Neibergs, J. Shannon & Thalheimer, Richard, 1997. "Price Expectations And Supply Response In The Thoroughbred Yearling Market," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 29(2), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Whitney, James D, 1988. "Winning Games versus Winning Championships: The Economics of Fan Interest and Team Performance," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 26(4), pages 703-724, October.
    5. Rodney Fort & James Quirk, 1995. "Cross-subsidization, Incentives, and Outcomes in Professional Team Sports Leagues," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 1265-1299, September.
    6. Schofield, J A, 1982. "The Development of First-Class Cricket in England: An Economic Analysis," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 337-360, June.
    7. Neibergs, J. Shannon & Thalheimer, Richard, 1997. "Price Expectations and Supply Response in the Thoroughbred Yearling Market," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(2), pages 419-435, December.
    8. Sloane, Peter J, 1971. "The Economics of Professional Football: The Football Club as a Utility Maximiser," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 18(2), pages 121-146, June.
    9. Whitney, James D, 1993. "Bidding Till Bankrupt: Destructive Competition in Professional Team Sports," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(1), pages 100-115, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paul Madden, 2012. "Welfare Economics of "Financial Fair Play" in a Sports League With Benefactor Owners," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1221, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    2. Alexander D. Binder & Paul W. Grimes & Russell G. Winterbotham, 2021. "In the Money: Gender and Jockey Success on the Thoroughbred Racetrack," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(3), pages 295-328, April.
    3. Conor Parsons & Ian Smith, 2008. "The Price of Thoroughbred Yearlings in Britain," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(1), pages 43-66, February.
    4. David Butler & Robert Butler & Robert Simmons, 2022. "Contracts, pay and performance in the sport of kings: Evidence from horse racing," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 152-175, March.
    5. Brad R. Humphreys & Jane E. Ruseski, 2010. "Problems With Data on the Sport Industry," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(1), pages 60-76, February.
    6. Hartmann, Laura & Spiller, Achim, 2015. "Luxusaffinität deutscher Reitsportler: Implikationen für das Marketing im Reitsportsegment," DARE Discussion Papers 1501, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    7. Margaret A. Ray, 2001. "“The Utility of Sport and Returns to Ownership: Evidence From the Thoroughbred Marketâ€," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 2(2), pages 201-203, May.
    8. Emily J. Plant & C. Jill Stowe, 2019. "Is Moneyball Relevant on the Racetrack? A New Approach to Evaluating Future Racehorses," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 428-447, April.
    9. Paul Madden, 2015. "Welfare Economics of “Financial Fair Play†in a Sports League With Benefactor Owners," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(2), pages 159-184, February.
    10. Rodney Fort, 2015. "Managerial Objectives: A Retrospective on Utility Maximization in Pro Team Sports," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 62(1), pages 75-89, February.
    11. Ramon P. DeGennaro, 2003. "The Utility of Sport and Returns to Ownership," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 4(2), pages 145-153, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Young Lee & Rodney Fort, 2008. "Attendance and the Uncertainty-of-Outcome Hypothesis in Baseball," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 33(4), pages 281-295, December.
    2. Stefan Szymanski, 2010. "The Economic Design of Sporting Contests," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Comparative Economics of Sport, chapter 1, pages 1-78, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Cyrenne, Philippe, 2001. "A Quality-of-Play Model of a Professional Sports League," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 444-452, July.
    4. Helmut Dietl, 2010. "Besonderheiten des Sports ‐ Was rechtfertigt eine "eigene Ökonomik"?," Working Papers 0137, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU).
    5. Rodríguez Guerrero, Plácido, 2012. "La economía del deporte/The Economics of Sport," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 30, pages 387-418, Agosto.
    6. Roberto Burguet & József Sákovics, 2019. "Bidding For Talent In Sport," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(1), pages 85-102, January.
    7. Conor Parsons & Ian Smith, 2008. "The Price of Thoroughbred Yearlings in Britain," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(1), pages 43-66, February.
    8. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Simone N. Tuor, 2010. "Avoiding Labor Shortages by Employer Signaling: On the Importance of Good Work Climate and Labor Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(2), pages 271-286, January.
    9. Dietl Helmut M & Lang Markus & Rathke Alexander, 2009. "The Effect of Salary Caps in Professional Team Sports on Social Welfare," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, April.
    10. Wladimir Andreff, 2009. "Équilibre compétitif et contrainte budgétaire dans une ligue de sport professionnel," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 60(3), pages 591-633.
    11. Andrew Zimbalist, 2003. "Sport as Business," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 503-511, Winter.
    12. Wladimir Andreff & Nicolas Scelles, 2015. "Walter C. Neale 50 Years After," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(8), pages 819-834, December.
    13. Helmut M. Dietl & Egon Franck & Markus Lang & Alexander Rathke, 2012. "Salary Cap Regulation In Professional Team Sports," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(3), pages 307-319, July.
    14. Markus LANG & Alexander RATHKE & Marco RUNKEL, 2010. "The Economic Consequences Of Foreigner Rules In National Sports Leagues," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 31, pages 47-64.
    15. Poerwanto, Devie A. & Stowe, C. Jill, 2010. "The Relationship Between Sire Representation and Average Yearling Prices in the Thoroughbred Industry," Journal of Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia, vol. 28(1), pages 1-14.
    16. Kelly Goossens, 2006. "Competitive balance in european football: comparison by adapting measures: national measure of seasonal imbalance and Top 3," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 2(2), pages 77-122, Dicembre.
    17. Hansen, Charlotte R. & Stowe, C. Jill, 2018. "Determinants Of Weanling Thoroughbred Auction Prices," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 48-63, February.
    18. Dorian Owen, 2014. "Measurement of competitive balance and uncertainty of outcome," Chapters, in: John Goddard & Peter Sloane (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Professional Football, chapter 3, pages 41-59, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Raul Caruso & Francesco Addesa & Marco Di Domizio, 2019. "The Determinants of the TV Demand for Soccer: Empirical Evidence on Italian Serie A for the Period 2008-2015," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 25-49, January.
    20. Helmut M. Dietl & Martin Grossmann & Markus Lang, 2011. "Competitive Balance and Revenue Sharing in Sports Leagues With Utility-Maximizing Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 284-308, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:1:y:2000:i:3:p:219-235. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.