Horse Racing: is it worth it?

Have you ever seen a horse race at a track or on T.V. Chances are that most of us have. I mean yea it can be entertaining but is it really worth all the money that goes into it. Especially all the money that goes into making VIP places and special places for coperate people to watch. This article goes into talking about all these luxary places being built at this track and the high costs of doing so. That in turn raises the price of going to see a race. Is it really necessary for this? I mean isnt there better things that the money could go into such as bettering the schools in the area or maybe towards fixing run down roads. I mean 35,000 dollars for a tent to sit under to keep rich and snobby people out of the sun. I just think thats not really a necessity.