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Originally Posted by mikekay
I'm no genius, but am a cable/racing junkie who likes to gamble. If they really want to boost interest in the 'Sport of Kings' they should show the horse racing channels for free. Whenever they show an hour or so of free horse racing (it happens sometimes on my system), i always think, "Damn, I want to get in on that sort of action, I would have had that winner". I don't subscribe 'cause I would be too consumed to lead a normal life, but other channel surfers my get intrigued and begin to follow the sport. I'm I being naive, or am I on to something?
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Fifty years later and we are still having this same debate: is it better for horse racing to lose a few bucks but gain much more exposure by giving the product away for free? Or should the industry squeeze every last penny out of its existing fan base and HOPE that a new generation will somehow become rabid about a sport it has largely been denied access to?
Fifty years ago, major league baseball and the NFL decided to "give their product away" and the short-term revenue they "lost" was made up by a massive increase in their sports' fan bases. It's crazy to think that the horse racing industry refuses to learn this lesson of history. The industry is making the same bad decision it made back in the 1950s despite all the proof that it was a bad decision
