Originally Posted by SentToStud

NO self-respecting gambler gives a rat's rear about pedigree outside of first-time starters or first-time turf. Once they hit the track it doesn't mean a thing if their sire was a Dynaformer or a Transformer. You want to impeove business, do this:

On-Track
1. Reduce the time between races. Get it done in three hours. Only golf takes as long as an afternoon at the track.
2. Add entertainment. See my prior post. Or see what Stronach is trying at Gulf.
3. Give away a decent program with simplified pp's. The novices won't buy a Racinng Form and the regulars still will.
4. Reduce takeout. The Meadowlands does it (15% takeout on pick-3's.... best bet in all of racing).
5. Atract the 25-35 yo single males. See my prior post.
6. Make it easy for the guy with a family. Ample picnic areas, allow food and non-alcohol beverages in. Hell, at Philly Park they have grills!
7. Do more to fill the suites on weekdays with corporate customers.. I've taken three groups of 50-75 each to Arlington for business-related events. It's incredibly expensive. $75/pp+. Find a way to make it work for $40/pp, which is more in line with a golf outing. I know for a fact this kind of event creates new fans. I also know for a fact that 80% of Arlington's suites were empty these days.
8. Speaking of suites... do a giveaway every weekend racing day for a small suite event on another day. Do t-shirts really bring the new fan back?

Do racetracks even have marketing staff? If they do, they're doing a lousy job.

Off-track
1. Have reps from the on-line companies set up booths at the tracks to demo their product, answer questions, and get new accounts. Hell, I go into Home Depot and there's always some HD-partnered vendor there doing the same thing. Why the heck can't a racetrack do this?
2. Cross-promo between tracks and online services. Bet $100 on Churchill in a month online? You get two clubhouse seats and a $10 voucher for your next visit to CD.