Quote:
Originally Posted by Dahoss
I think you have made some fair points here. I don't really disagree with any of them, but there are other food options at Aqueduct and Belmont and not just burgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers.
The only thing I will say about the casual fan thing is that yes, racing should be trying to get them involved. But horse racing is different than say football or baseball. Those sports need the fan to come out because they depend on the profit from the overpriced beer, souvenirs, etc. Racing depends on gambling dollars.
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Absolutely racing depends on gambling dollars; no question. But if racing decides it just needs gambling dollars, there's no reason to worry about track attendance, because now that you can gamble from your living room, why even bother going to the track? If going to the track is to be promoted as a worthwhile way to spend the day, racing must work to attract more than just the serious bettors. Because handicapping a race is a lot harder than feeding quarters into a slot machine, and you don't get any of the satisfaction of blinking lights and pinging noises. (pause for sarcasm moment, as I hate slots)
The other food options take a while to find at Belmont and AQ, and they're still not very good. Well, okay, the buffet at AQ is pretty darn decent, but it's pricey and on the third floor and then it's not convenient to go back down to watch the races in the open air. Food and stuff to look at needs to be easy to find for the casual visitor.
You're right that racing is a different sport from any other in that it is based on gambling, and that is part of the image problem it faces- we're a Puritanical nation and vices makes us uncomfortable to talk about, much as we're all happily indulging in most of them when the minister isn't looking, so to speak. Casinos are thriving, yet I notice most of the ads for them on TV tout them as destinations, with dining, and shopping, and stuff to do besides feeding quarters into the one-armed bandits. To see an ad for them, you'd have no idea you were going there to gamble, and yet the casinos know that people, once there, are going to be gambling.
Racing used to have the gambling market to itself. Now that it doesn't, it needs to figure out a way to present itself as the most appealing gambling option to people, and that probably means expanding past "Go Baby, Go."