[quote=ateamstupid]Tell me what will create a horseplayer besides creating a fan first.QUOTE]

This, my friend, is the $100 billion question that all marketers within the industry are furiously searching for an answer to....this industry has a mountian of challenges and this is the biggest one....In the 21st century, there are so many alternative entertainment options or ways to spend your past time....time is also becoming more and more important and most people have less of it now days than ever before...it is a fast world and when people get a chance to slow down a little they are very selective in their hobbies and horse racing is usually down on the list from most....Also, there are so many other wagering opportunities for the more serious gamers, and the popularity of games like Texas Hold 'Em has basically stolen the spotlight when it comes to the young generation of gamblers....they want non-stop action and don't want to wait 30 minutes between races...Also, Poker is easier to understand for them and they see that as a huge comfortable....horse racing is such a hard sport to learn from a gaming standpoint and that is alos a deterent...there is just so much info and unknowns, and if you are not passionate to learn about it then you won't....the younger generation of gamblers aren't patient enough...they want to have action all the time with something they understand....

This game has a mountain of challenges, and unfortunately, it is just setup to derail itself in a lot of ways....

Here is my idea:

I have thought for years now that some track should attempt to run all of it's 9-10 races on a particular card in 2-2 1/2 hours so that they could shorten it up and treat it like a sporting event like going to a football game....people just don't have all day to sit around an OTB anymore or go to the races for 6 hours on a given afternoon....

You could have action going all the time....when it is 20 minutes to post for the 1st race it is 25 minutes to post for the 2nd and 30 minutes to post for the 3rd...then you take a small intermission to allow people to eat and use the rest room for 30 minutes and then start with the next 3 races in the same fashion and then have another short intermission and then finish strong with the last 3 races of the day and then the card is over for the day (you will have certain setbacks when horses breakdown, etc. that would delay time a little)..

I'm sure there would be opperational issues to iron out...you'd need two or three paddocks, you'd probably have to alternate between the garss and dirt courses each race so the other could get serviced while the other was racing, etc., you may need multiple gate crews and track crews (maybe), and I'm not sure if the jockeys would go for having to race three times in 15-20 minutes without much rest, but who knows...just thinking outside the box and throwing out ideas that could potentially help tracks save on-track attendance and handle...we need to make it more appealing to come to the track....the idea here would be to market going to the races like you would any other sporting event because essentially that is what you'd be doing...it would be like going to a football or basketball game time-wise and alos from the perspective that you would get non-stop action for the most part instead of having to wait for a half hour in between races (which is the biggest complaint I hear about attending teh races)...Also, the track would still get it's alotted amount of time to wager on all races without worrying about time to bet...you'd just teach the customer how to react and wager faster to get down and you would also have to bring the tellers to the bettors by foot or make it easiuer for them to wager so that they would not get shut out.....think about how cool it would be t bet a Pick 3 and be able to get the results from start to finish of three races in 15-20 minutes!!!...Pretty cool concept, huh?

I know this is 'out there' and really bucking tradition, but I really could see this working in certain markets.....it makes a lot of sense...

Anyway, I went off on a rant here, but I think about ways to improve this game ALL day long and it is a serious challenge...