Does racing know its audience?
But even while they can't be neglected, these potential fans aren't the sport's natural, or indigenous, audience. Because this is a pastoral and cerebral game that requires patience, horse racing's natural audience is an older one, and that's a reality the sport shouldn't evade. The nearly 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964, the so-called Baby Boomers, for example, would seem to be a much more receptive audience for the sport than the Twilight crowd.
In New Jersey, New Gamblers Being Sought
The average age of U.S. horse-racing fans is 51, compared to 43 for football and 35 for basketball, according to a 2011 industry study conducted by the McKinsey consulting firm. About 2% of fans die each year, and only 14% of those following the sport started in the last five years, the study showed.