Abundance of storylines for NBC Preakness broadcast
 

NBC will not want for an encore in preparing a Preakness Stakes (G1) broadcast that comes on the heels of the Kentucky Derby (G1).

NBC will begin its Preakness broadcast at 4:30 p.m. EDT with an NBC News feature on Borel and Super Saver.

http://thoroughbredtimes.com/nationa...broadcast.aspx

I agree with pretty much everything you say here. The model has to change. Is it possible that racing could one day thrive where handle is just a portion of the revenue as opposed to nearly all of it? And if it can't, we need to look into new ways to generate handle.

It is gonna be milf central. I wasn't going to go but it might be too priceless not to go.

How exactly could it change? What other revenue sources could there be? TV revenue? That is a pipedream.

Your last sentence is the key. No doubt that is the best way for the game to survive and thrive. Betfair is a perfect example yet virtually no one is pushing for it within the game and there really hasnt been a groundswell from the people who put the money through the windows either. And the depressing part is that not only would incorporating Betfair style gambling be difficult in determining how to split the income but will almost assuredly be opposed by politicians.

While I do understand that there is a certain percentage of woman that gamble and follow horseracing I simply dont believe that there is some huge, secret group of women that are waiting to be coaxed into going to the track.

How do they even know to BET unless they are exposed to it?????? Do you think the Joe Camel adds were there because the character is cute????

ugh. The RTIP is filled with young adults / actual adults, who love horse racing and want to make a career in it. I dont know if its changed since I've been there.. but..

When I first started there were mostly men in the program, but a solid 30% women in the program.. by the time I left it was 50 / 50 because we got a ton of 18 year old girls one year (most people in the program dont start right after high school).

Not one of the girls gambled. They loved horse racing very much and followed it all the time... and a lot of them now have pretty good and influential jobs in the industry (not me of course).. as a group, including me, we probably put $300 total in the pools in a year.

On the other hand..

A lot of the guys in the program were in what they called "the Ramen Noodle Club". Because they bet constantly and bet their lunch money so all they could ever afford to eat was Ramen Noodle's.

Thank you Uncly or whatever your nickname is.

There aren't...yet. Again, we have to adjust our thinking to a changing world. The role of women in sports and commerce is changing. Surely you understand this. We are the first generation of women that have grown up with this level of empowerment. Do you think that is going to go backward somehow?

The sports that have embraced the female sports fan have thrived, the ones that haven't are in trouble. Gambling is the same way. Women in the past didn't have the independence financially or otherwise to make decisions on how money was spent. Now?

You check out the way Las Vegas has changed their approach to the female gambler. Racing has, for the most part, been stuck in the fifties.

How many women do you see at football games today as opposed to 20 years ago? Baseball? how about hockey? How many women do you know that fill out tournament brackets? Has that gone up?

And TV is NOT a pipedream. If networks pay millions to watch rednecks drive a chevy around an oval for 5 hours, Im sure racing can put together a product that would at least be equally appealling.

Those women at the football games are not betting on the games. We need bettors, not spectators. Racing would do better with whales at the track rather than 10k small players

I don't disagree that this was/is the case. I am not at all debating that women gamble less, much much less, than men....right now.

The point is that this will change. Not might change-will change. Its changing every day. This is irrefutable.

:tro::tro::tro:

Every whale starts out as a minnow.

A male minnow though.

We need limos to get whales to the track. Dinners, dancing, etc...Rewards points isn't cutting it. Look what casinos do for their big bettors. Why isn't racing doing the same?

Because state governments regulate them..

Well that needs to change.

While I pretty much agree with your reply to Chuck.. I just dont believe this change will occur in horse racing. IMO, racing has a much greater chance of going under completely than this change occuring. There are more than a few reasons I feel this way (ugh, I better not say "I" too much or SCUDS will get on me)

1) perceived cheating (drugs) keeps lots of people away from racing
2) breakdowns are a huge turn off
3) there's a perception out there that racing is cruel, and I believe women would buy into that easier (we have bigger hearts)
4) high take out keeps lots of people away
5) there are much easier forms of gambling out there that are more appealing
6) most importantly.. women will always be more responsible (or how did Math put it about his wife?) with their $

So your fix for racing is to send limos out for big players? You think that a person of means is going to go to Laurel park on a saturday afternoon because you sent a car to his house? Surely you jest.

Who says they will be betting on Laurel?...It works for AC and its a cess pool down there.....Limos are a start. I'm talking full court treatment.

It works for AC? Huh? AC is broke Randall. It is a dying town and the only viable casino there is far off the strip. What is that viable casino? Hmmmmm..

Would this casino have restaurants by celebrity chefs? Would it have a dance club that packs in beautiful people? Would it have concerts and shows? Would it have a nice spa??? Would it have a shopping arcade???

AC is broke b/c gambling is available everywhere. Pocono, Foxwoods indian casinos all over....Just more of a reason for racing to make itself a whales first option. Lowering WPS to 10% has to happen as well. Good luck trying to convince people of this.

Would it have a spa that has a vajazzle booth?

Dual vajazzle booths!!!:p

vajazzle is a great word..I love it

AC was broke long before that. The "whale" mentality is over Randall. That mentality is very 30 years ago. Look at Las Vegas if you want to see what Im talking about. I'm not saying a good player doesnt still get comped. My point is that the days of Steve Wynn having a shadow creek exclusively for whales at Mirage are OVER and they aren't coming back.

Where are casinos profits coming from? Do you really think its from whales? If you do, you really need to do some research. Harrah's has broken it down to a science. Why do you think every time you go back, there are more and more slot machines for less and less money (min play)? What about shops? The amount of money they spend in ancillary activities partially makes up for the difference. The vig they get from the dumber players makes up for part even if it is a fraction. Lastly, the rooms are filled with paying customers.

The current economy will not support that whale. Regardless of how loyal you can make a whale player, they still have far too many other options to keep your casino afloat. So how do they stay in business? las Vegas has this incredible way of staying ahead of the curve and reinventing itself. They change their product and they change their target market.

The new thing in Vegas right now is Non gaming hotels. Think about it- NON GAMING HOTELS in the middle of the strip no less! MGM bet 13 billion on city center and there is all of one casino in the whole place and it isnt very big. Go figure-Vegas, created as a gambling town, is actually making money on non-gaming ventures. What if you proposed this idea 20 years ago? People would have laughed. Some genius, namely Kirkorian, saw the forest through the trees. And you know what? 50 years from now, the rest of the strip will look a lot like the new City Center. Gaming will always be a part of the town but it won't be what the town is about.

Horse racing needs that type of vision.

We'll see what happens at Woodbine. They are the business model everyone in racing should live by.

I was going to say lets see what happens at Gulfstream.. but Magna is hopeless.

Venue is a part of it. Why did they install lights at Churchill downs? Hmmmmmmm. Racing is going to be a part of an entertainment package. It will attract more people. So who cares if most of the people that come initially won't bet? Is that somehow better than the empty stands on a thursday afternoon where lone golf claps are heard for a mile?

What if instead of 6000 people on a saturday, you get 30k? Does anybody really think that the extra 24k won't create SOME handle? Does anybody really think they won't eat, drink and buy souveniers? Will they pay for premium seats? All of this is revenue.

Stronach's ideas for gulfstream were on the money. The planning and execution just stunk.

as long as they eat carolina bbq Its all good.

Woodbine has by far the best venue out there.

It is a pipedream.

And what other sports do isnt that relevant. I do remember Las Vegas trying to promote the "other" aspects of vegas with poor results and they went back to what had worked before. And there is a huge difference between promoting slot machines and promoting handicapping races.

How many women show up at a baseball or football game isnt relevant because showing up and buying crap is the ultimate goal of those sports marketing teams. People showing up at the track and not betting (outside of the Derby or other big "event" days) simply arent much help. Probably one of the biggest barriers that horseracing faces is that so few of the people in positions of authority understand the handicapping/gambling dimension. And that includes the management of tracks like CDI which rarely hire anyone with any type of racetrack experience and tend to look down on gamblers in general despite being in the gambling business.

The City Center is a black hole

http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.co...articleID=2266

More cheery news from Vegas and its new found "makeover"

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/0...-news-8169.htm

Shouldn't racetracks figure out how to give their current customers the kind of treatment they deserve before trying to solve the elusive goal of creating a plentitude of new fans?

I wouldn't call it a black hole (although it's far from a success)... a ton of losses stem from their EXTREMELY over ambitious condo plan, designed and built at the top of the market. They are doing over 3X revenue from non-gaming sources than gaming. That is what Dalakhani was referring to.

Although I still like the idea of a Vajazzle booth at CD.

You are delusional to think that horseracing on a regular basis can market itself into 30000 fans. Honestly horseracing is pretty boring if you arent betting or have some sort of rooting interest.

And all of the fantasy revenue you just created goes directly into the pocket of the track, it doesnt help the grow the racing program or do a thing for those that actually do gamble except make things less conveinent.

Stronachs ideas for Gulfstream were ridiclous from the standpoint of the sport of horseracing. Perhaps for the bottom line of Magna they were great ideas but the idea that people are going to go to a mall, wander over to the track and become horseracing players is crazy.

Spin it how you want but there is a greater chance of the thing going bankrupt than being a success now that dubai world no longer has unlimited funds.

Happy birthday by the way, old man

Kill a third of the tracks and dates!

men bet because of pink shadow rolls?

Biggest red herring out there. If you eliminate Thistledown, River Downs, Mountaineer, presque isle, etc how does that help Belmont and Santa Anita? it is like saying that if MLB got rid of rookie league and single A leagues, MLB would be more popular. The problem isnt and never has been the size or scope of the sport. On the contrary according to many in this thread the 'exposure' to horseracing leads to a fever that the exposed masses catch which makes them become horseplayers.

oh geez phil. don't call him old, i'll be catching him again in a couple months...