Crist Article on TV Coverage
 

As usual Steve Crist says what I think most racing fans have been thinking for years... Where are the networks? They'll put some fool doing back flips with his motorcycle on TV and show reruns of poker tournaments, but can't make room to show Rachel take on the boys and Mind That Bird in the WV Derby...

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...7&subs=0&arc=0

some fool doing back flips outperforms horse racing, can you blame ESPN? TV stations dont really care what the programming is they want to make money, horse racing is expensive to produce compared to a rerun.

we get the wash. dc cbs feed here and they ddn't pick up the virginia derby. they replayed a golf tourny!:wf :wf

Racing fans don't seem to get this. To them, racing is as popular as the NFL. In reality, it's nothing. Enough of the people that want to see racing either have HRTV or TVG or are at a track/simulcast facility. The ones that aren't using one of those options just don't number enough to warrant a network going through the trouble of putting racing on. Also, with those other sports, you can promote with reasonable assurity who will be there. You can't do that with racing.

I know, thats why racing needs to attack from a gambling perspective and not from this horse is a star come watch. I agree racing needs stars but it needs gamblers a heck of a lot more. Lower takeout would go a lot further for the industry than one good horse.

I'm not convinced that its the fault of the networks why it is not on tv.

A little over three years ago, I was flipping through the channels and I decided to watch the Florida Derby. I didn't know anything about horse racing. Some horse name Barbaro was suppose to be pretty good...I had heard. Not sure why, but I happened to watch the tv coverage and race. Barbaro and Sharp Humor blew me away. It wouldn't be hyperbole to say it was a watershed event in my life.
Three years later, I care enough to post messages on a horse racing forum, I became a Dee Tee partner and I go to the track/OTB a few times a month. I love this game.
If I wouldn't have watched that race on that random day, I may not have discovered how wonderful this game is.
I'm an optimist and I think somehow it needs to get on TV so more people can have the opportunity to see how amazing this sport is.

This is exactly what happened to me and Smarty Jones.

The thing is, it doesn't happen to enough of you to justify what you want. You may also have HRTV or TVG on your cable package and don't know it if you aren't a racing fan and aren't looking for it.

espn can show the eddie read but not the haskell? that's just stupid.

I wish that were true, but I seriously doubt it. The 4% Pic4 takeout at Ellis Park caused only a small blip in handle. Bettors would rather try to beat a 20% takeout at the track they're used to than a 4% takeout elsewhere.

Likewise with the drop to 11% (?) at Pimlico. (I can't remember the details of the Pimlico takeout promo).

--Dunbar

Lower takeout would give the players more money. The Ellis and Pimlico deals are hardly representative of what an overall reduction in takeout could accomplish.

ESPN owns the backflipping motorcycle shows

yes, stars can attract fans but what keeps it in business is gambling, real gambling, and because its such a poor betting product, so poorly mismanaged, and overly taxed its tough to keep customers.

most young people think Horseracing is boring. If you look at it from their point of view, you can see why. The action isn't all that exciting. Once in a while a great stretch duel happens, but most finishes are dull, and the race itself is BOR-ING if you lack the nuances or a stake in the action.

the game of horseplaying is a lot more exciting than the sport of horseracing.
The future of TV coverage is to broadcast the game. The only time horseracing should be even possibly shown as a separate historical sport, is maybe a race like the Kentucky Derby that has established history.

Broadcasting the game of horseplaying includes tournament play where the audience buys in and plays along in Real Time, for something like a $10 buy in $20 bankroll over several races and competes live with on screen"experts" who play along and are "naked" with over the shoulder coverage/strategy explanations. Significant prizes and name-on-screen top rankings are a big part of that future. Night racing with prime time hours is a must.

These same young men who are bored to death with the sport of horseracing also have a poker account and have made wagers on pro football, boxing, or even UFC fights. They have played fantasy football or other sports with a buy-in fee. It's time to wake up and broadcast this awesome game and stop wasting resources broadcasting a niche sport.

Yea, I am sure you are right, racing just needs another Secretariat and all will be back to the way it was (I know you did not say that but it seems to be the prevailing opinion.

I put about 3k through Ellis Pick Four that summer, so on that take it was only about 150 bucks but it sure beat the nothing I would have wagered.

In 2005 I put 100k through the windows, last year I put about 5k, I assure you it had nothing to do with good horses in the sport, it only cost horseman around 17k by my not playing, no big deal, I am small time.

Believe me though they find the gambling very exciting. Last year I messed around playing pick fours in socal, I had three young guys at work chip in and made usually 2-3 plays a week. They could care less who was racing, the type of race it was, they just liked the excitement of getting alive to that last race with a chance at a score. Are they horse racing fans, yea I guess, but if it was not for the score they could have cared less. They all play poker as well. Racing is soooo missing the ship thats sailing right now.

TV coverage doesn't do much to attract fans. 99.9% of the casual fans that I work with watched MTB win the Derby and RA win the Preakness don't want to go to the track with me. But those that have never been to a track that have gone with me have shown more interest. In fact, the ones that went to the track come to me will go to Kentucky Downs at least once a month.

The same happened to me. I never really cared much for horse racing until I physically went to the track. The atmosphere (good and bad) was much better than sitting on my couch watching from afar.

agreed totally. I can get carried away on an idea, but it's good to see that others see this as well. I know I'm in the minority but i actually think their is room to grow if we could just tap into the market.

ESPN has no one to blame but itself if ratings on racing broadcasts have declined. The network's telecasts, particularly the actual races with camera cuts every 4-5 seconds, have made racing unwatchable. And I won't even address some of the talent, or lack thereof, issues. If the Breeders' Cup doesn't get out of its multi-year ESPN contract quickly, fans will need a search warrant to find those races on one of the network's branded channels within a year or two.