Sanan Elaborates on Collapse of Industy Initiative
 

Satish Sanan spoke recently to Tom Lamarra of Bloodhorse and detailed the frustrations behind the collapse of the TOBA Steering Committee's Industry-wide Initiative. Sanan had been foreshadowingthe multi-point plan on ATR for nearly a year, trying to drive home the features and benefits of the program. It seemed to be very close to a positive outcome until about 6 weeks ago...

News Feature: Frying Plan - By Tom LaMarra

I urge people to read Lamarra's feature to gain an understanding of the challenges involved in getting meaningful progress against the industry's areas of opportunity...

(And below are the key elements of the plan Sanan was forwarding..)

Synopsis of Sanan’s Plan

Structure: Create a company with racetracks and other members that would generate revenue for functions related to marketing, technology, wagering, and product improvement.

Solution: Create an industry consortium of like-minded industry organizations that would retain autonomy but work in unison; develop an industry-owned end-to-end integrated, interactive wagering network technology platform; create a weekly televised racing series utilizing graded stakes; form an industry-wide strategic marketing plan to complement local and regional efforts.

Funding: Establish three levels of annual dues-payers; generate revenue from restructuring of the racing product and operation of an advance deposit wagering system and platform that could accommodate new wagers and interactive games; raise “seed capital” that would be refunded with interest after seven years.

Revenue distribution: Based on annual revenue of $200 million to $250 million a year, 70%, or $140 million to $175 million, would be split equally between racetracks and purses; 20%, or $40 million to $50 million, would be used for the wagering platform, marketing, integrity, equine health and welfare, and facility improvements; and 10% ($20 million to $25 million) would be earmarked for ontrack cash-back programs (effectively a reduction in pari-mutuel takeout) to drive ontrack attendance and wagering.

Not only a great article but you have to be fearful that the Sanans of the world are going to just throw up their hands and walk away.

Some will never, ever give up any control over their fiefdom.

Not really related, but the TB industry is about to receive tons of free publicity with the "Oscar-worthy buzz" movie about Secretariat being released next month. Anybody in the TB industry have a plan to capitalize on that during their fall racing dates?

related to the post title only, this video is also about a collapse of an industry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEyOt...layer_embedded

Most movies have Oscar buzz before they have been released. Most, also, have none a few days after they are released.

The thing has fiasco potential. A few on hand for the 'Secretariat' preview that unspooled in Saratoga called it beyond horrible and riddled with continuity errors to boot.

The problem is Steve, is that it's not a doucumentry. It's a Disney movie and they needed to put some "Hollywood Magic/storyline in".
Just like Seabiscuit in the end, most horse people know that he didn't come from 20 plus lengths out to finally win the Santa Anita Handicap, but him rating third the entire race wouldn't have had the same "Hollywood affect" as him looking hopeless and then finally getting up at the end.

I personally don't think that non horse people are going to pay good money to go watch a doucmentry on Secretariat (or any horse for that matter). So what you need is a little "Hollywood "fiction to make it marketable to other segments of the viewing public. Horse people who know the story will probably not like the movie, but hopefully the non horse people will really enjoy it. Maybe enough that a couple of them will be intrigued to visit/go back to a track in the near future.

They should have named it Cool Hand Secreteriet.

"What we have here, is a failure to thud..."

!!OOOOOOOOOO!!


=:>

They won't notice what a sissy they made Secretariat look like either.

A movie with the delightfully beautiful :{>:Diane Lane:{>: is simply impossible of being "beyond horrible." I refuse to hear of any such talk.

I don't know why they made a movie about Secretariat. I mean its not like he was undefeated or anything...

:$:

taking off the saddle boss.

.....great, i was looking foward to comming out of movie going retirement.

........maybe 15 years ago boss.

I agree. She's hot as hell.

She is only 45 and still incredibly stunning...boss