Reviving our Grandfather’s Game
When inspiration strikes after I read something thought provoking from fellow members of the sports gambling industry, I get the itch to share my opinion. This week’s trigger came from a piece written by Micah Roberts on Vegasinsider.com (read the article here) following I’ll Have Another’s win at Pimlico. The article intimated how a triple crown winner in horse racing might be exactly what the doctor ordered to create renewed interest in a dying end of our business. As someone who approaches race and sports with his own developing perspective, I’ll readily admit horse racing is on life support in terms of relevance among my generation. Firing on the ponies doesn’t appeal to us the same way as the traditional sports where we know the players, teams, and coaches because 24/7 media coverage gives us full time access.
Let’s avoid naivete, betting on the ponies isn’t nearly as appealing as wagering on the NFL to the 21-45 year old demographic. To have continued success in horse racing, it takes years of studying and due diligence to understand lineage, jockeys, and track biases. No one can debate that combing through the daily racing form is a more cumbersome and daunting task than reviewing box scores and stat packages. In order to make horse racing viable as a gambling past time again, the sport needs to be more accessible for the masses and that doesn’t mean simply focusing on just the triple crown races and Breeders Cup. Speaking from the vantage point of someone who would love to see the industry rebound, I offer 3 suggestions that could be effective in stirring a slow revival for our grandfather’s game.
1) Make the Daily Racing Form easier to understand
Every time I pick up the publication I’m intimidated. I’ve had industry insiders and diehard horse bettors alike walk me through the charts and copious amounts of information contained within and I still end up more confused than when I started. I’m not saying revolutionizing the form is an easy task but there has to be a way to simplify content, a Cliffs Notes version for the beginner if you will. If novice horse bettors are to gain a better understanding of the information required to be successful, the industry can’t afford for such a high barrier to entry exist from the start.
2) Create bigger events throughout the year, treat “primetime races” at the big tracks as major happenings
Every NFL game is an event; every NCAA football game is an event; every NASCAR race is an event. Are we seeing an emerging theme here? Horse racing goes on every day around the country from tracks in rural Louisiana to major commercial centers without any fanfare. Ask the common sports fan to name more than 5 tracks and the look on his face will be one of total bewilderment. Each weekend there are meets across the country and unless you immerse yourself in the business, you’re none the wiser to what’s taking place in your own backyard. Not only should the biggest races get increased coverage but make an attempt to create events at tracks like Del Mar, Santa Anita, and Saratoga that draw fans into the sport
3) Find a way to get on network television for maximum exposure
Want to know what happens to a sport when it’s not part of mainstream cable programming? Just ask NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about his challenges getting the NHL to the forefront since it’s been relegated to NBC Sports. For people to fall in love with a product, they need to be exposed to it regularly. Right now the only time horse racing is available to the masses is during marquee events and frankly that’s not enough to revive the sport. TVG does a nice job with their coverage but if we polled a room of 100 people, they wouldn’t even know what time it aired on their regional fox sports affiliates or where to find the channel on DTV.
I’m definitely not saying it’s a quick fix nor am I implying that I can be the architect to bring it back from the abyss but without some major changes, horse racing will become extinct…much like our triple crown winners.
