Less or more... which do you want to see?

[my miss storm cat]

What do you think of this? In a general sense do we need less or more?

Do these kinds of things bring in new revenue / fans etc. or are they just a silly waste of time?

For those of you who go to the track (I know some people just don't bother anymore) are these days a turn-off or fun or what?


At Oaklawn Park, there will never be a Cougar Day, a Mike vs. Chantal match race, or an advertising campaign featuring exotic dancers; there will never be night racing, or camel racing or ostrich racing. At Oaklawn Park, horses and racing matter.

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/stor...-possibilities

[jms62]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

What do you think of this? In a general sense do we need less or more?

Do these kinds of things bring in new revenue / fans etc. or are they just a silly waste of time?

For those of you who go to the track (I know some people just don't bother anymore) are these days a turn-off or fun or what?


At Oaklawn Park, there will never be a Cougar Day, a Mike vs. Chantal match race, or an advertising campaign featuring exotic dancers; there will never be night racing, or camel racing or ostrich racing. At Oaklawn Park, horses and racing matter.

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/stor...-possibilities

Fiday Night Happy Hour racing in warm weather is a HUGE opportunity .

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by jms62

Fiday Night Happy Hour racing in warm weather is a HUGE opportunity .

Okay, makes sense.

Taking it all a step further what do you think of the family day events or the beer gardens or - like this piece stated - the camel races?

Are they all a plus? Do you attend any? Are they stupid? Do they bring in new bettors or mainly serve to irritate the old ones?

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Okay, makes sense.

Taking it all a step further what do you think of the family day events or the beer gardens or - like this piece stated - the camel races?

Are they all a plus? Do you attend any? Are they stupid? Do they bring in new bettors or mainly serve to irritate the old ones?

if people aren't interested in horses, not sure why camels would draw them in.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Okay, makes sense.

Taking it all a step further what do you think of the family day events or the beer gardens or - like this piece stated - the camel races?

Are they all a plus? Do you attend any? Are they stupid? Do they bring in new bettors or mainly serve to irritate the old ones?

If you think that fannies in the seats at the racetrack is important you are bound to be disappointed. Saratoga, Delmar, Santa Anita are a few tracks that still get a crowd. I attend the races only at Saratoga and a couple trips to Monmouth usually on a Sat when they have some sort of event (Concert, Food Truck competition). You are pissing against the wind if you are looking for racetrack attendance to be what it was. ADW wagering has killed attendance and it NEVER will recover.

[herkhorse]

Originally Posted by jms62

If you think that fannies in the seats at the racetrack is important you are bound to be disappointed. Saratoga, Delmar, Santa Anita are a few tracks that still get a crowd. I attend the races only at Saratoga and a couple trips to Monmouth usually on a Sat when they have some sort of event (Concert, Food Truck competition). You are pissing against the wind if you are looking for racetrack attendance to be what it was. ADW wagering has killed attendance and it NEVER will recover.

Oaklawn has great crowds.

[booner]

Originally Posted by jms62

If you think that fannies in the seats at the racetrack is important you are bound to be disappointed. Saratoga, Delmar, Santa Anita are a few tracks that still get a crowd. I attend the races only at Saratoga and a couple trips to Monmouth usually on a Sat when they have some sort of event (Concert, Food Truck competition). You are pissing against the wind if you are looking for racetrack attendance to be what it was. ADW wagering has killed attendance and it NEVER will recover.

As does Keeneland. Usually over 20k every day. And there aren't really any promotions. College Scholarship Day draws the same number as any other race day.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Okay, makes sense.

Taking it all a step further what do you think of the family day events or the beer gardens or - like this piece stated - the camel races?

Are they all a plus? Do you attend any? Are they stupid? Do they bring in new bettors or mainly serve to irritate the old ones?

On track racing is still a regional sport. What works in some markets wont fly in others. Of course a track should try to different ways to increase attendance though some things are more general attractions that might help the tracks bottom line for that day more than "create" new fans. That being said I dont believe that you can grow the game without first getting most potential fans to the track 1st. I believe it is difficult to create bettors simply via simulcasting especially ones who are completely green.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

On track racing is still a regional sport. What works in some markets wont fly in others. Of course a track should try to different ways to increase attendance though some things are more general attractions that might help the tracks bottom line for that day more than "create" new fans. That being said I dont believe that you can grow the game without first getting most potential fans to the track 1st. I believe it is difficult to create bettors simply via simulcasting especially ones who are completely green.

Looking forward to So Cal's handle exploding as all the fans that Zenyatta, the slowish wundermare, brought to Ballywood to beat 50k claimers

[Travis Stone]

The wiener dog races at LAD draws tons of people. They're run in the morning, well before racing, and each time a large chunk of them stick around. To say that promos, unique marketing angles etc. do not work on a high level is simply false.

[travelling_vic]

Originally Posted by jms62

Fiday Night Happy Hour racing in warm weather is a HUGE opportunity .

To entice a bunch of clueless twenty somethings to get drunk cheaply

An opportunity MISSED because the tracks do NOTHING to get them interested in anything other but cheap booze.

ATTEMPTS TO ATTRACT MORE AND DIFFERENT GAMBLERS. Gambling industry analysts say that there is a relatively
small hard-core group of horse-racing attendees, most of whom are older people. The horse-racing industry is
trying to attract a larger and younger fan base (twenty-five to forty-five years old) with more disposable income.
Some racetracks have tried to become entertainment venues by offering food courts, malls, and music concerts.
Although these gimmicks attract visitors, those visitors do not necessarily gamble. Devoted race fans complain
that such promotions are too distracting and draw attention away from the racing.

http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/16...-GAMBLING.html

[DerbyCat]

Dollar Sundays at Golden Gate Fields are pretty popular, $1 for parking, admission, program, beer, soda and hot dog along with bounce houses and other things for the kids draw a good size crowd. Even if these folks only bet $20 it's still $$$ that otherwise wouldn't be there. Most of these folks won't become regular patrons and gamblers but even if a few each time decide to do it again and maybe again, isn't that better than the same old faces?

Seven years ago I was looking for something to do on a Saturday and both local baseball teams were out of town. Bay Meadows has the El Camino Real Derby that day so I went to the track for the first time in my life when I was in my late 30's. Since that day, I've become a degenerate gambler , a horse owner, a donor to horse rescue groups and a loyal fan of this sport. We need anything that draws fans in, even one at a time... Any little thing helpS, even dollar days

[travelling_vic]

If my first visit to a track was old Bay Meadows, after I rode the train to the track, where I used to get box E-9 every Saturday during the fair meet so we could leisurely SIT and still see the races after all the grandstand crowd stood up, the home of Tod Creed, Hap Logue (the poor man's Secretariat), Mel Lewis, and the inside paddock, I would have been sold on the GAME as well. San Mateo's best locale......I went to school in S.F. and would usually wind up there.

If I had gone there to see this ridiculous crap, I may not have come back.

[DerbyCat]

Originally Posted by travelling_vic

If my first visit to a track was old Bay Meadows, after I rode the train to the track, where I used to get box E-9 every Saturday during the fair meet so we could leisurely SIT and still see the races after all the grandstand crowd stood up, the home of Tod Creed, Hap Logue (the poor man's Secretariat), Mel Lewis, and the inside paddock, I would have been sold on the GAME as well. San Mateo's best locale......I went to school in S.F. and would usually wind up there.

If I had gone there to see this ridiculous crap, I may not have come back.

TV - you are very wise, Bay Meadows was a magical place. I took Caltrain from San Carlos regularly. I too used to sit in a clubhouse box and knew that it was a special time... Was Jeanette the box usher when you were attending races? That woman could scare off drunk fans like nobodies business ;-)

[travelling_vic]

What did Einstein say? The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I rest my case as regards these moronic ploys to get people out to the track