Earlier quoted context omitted.
The closer to the off the more accurate the price is (wisdom of the crowd) thus less value, you need to know something others don’t to win long term from taking the starting price! I assume you are American as everyone in the UK has a personal betting machine and it’s in their pocket.
Not sure how it works elsewhere but horse betting in the US is almost always parimutuel, meaning that everybody gets the post odds, regardless of when they bought their ticket. In other words, betting early doesn't give any advantage and in fact the later you can wait, the more accurate an idea you have of the actual payout odds of your bet. Thus, having access to a private betting machine, and not having to elbow ot…
Everyone in the US can bet using his or her smartphone, with the current odds shown up the second the gate is opened. There's no advantage in a private betting machine. Some online betting tools even let you set parameters that place your bet automatically if and only if certain odds are reached, so you don't have to stand there and watch it. Of course, for casual bettors, that's half the fun.