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.

[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 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.

I have seen this dynamic over and over. They COME OUT, but never STAY or return as they are drawn out by a gimmick that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACING. No one is there to introduce them to the game that is being offered RACING.

These microcephalically motivated goon proposals draw out the very crowd that MIGHT be long range fans but the powers that be sit passively and never follow up.

Most gimmicks have a welcoming bunch to follow up with the REAL reason

Get them out to see HORSES, not wiener dogs.

Woodbine does it right: they have a special program called Bet Night Live where they follow a group, to which they give a FREE betting voucher, through the night along with another group which he/she competes with, all the time the hosts, HELP with betting ideas. They promote what is actually going on at the track: betting on horses, not some peripheral malarkey.

A group of us took it on ourselves to show how it should be done. A young couple came out to one of the drinking fests (lower priced booze and a bunch of loud obnoxious drunks was the result, AGAIN they missed the point), and they came down to the winner's circle and asked, politely, if they could take a shot of the winner from that perspective along side of the track photographer. The security guard there, a nice ex-cop, agreed. Once the race ran, I knew the trainer and asked if these people could stay and be part of the winner's circle photo. She said; "the more the merrier," and they hopped into the winner's circle, met the owners, and had a photo. They comments? "That was great. We will be back next week."

Introduce the GAME to them not this hogwash.

[travelling_vic]

Another "promotion" is the Friday night drunk fest:cheap booze and crappy loud music. Many's the time it was so loud we had to get security out to force them to shut it down as we could not hear the paddock speakers and many a young horse, inexperienced to crowd noise anyway, almost flipped in the paddock. MOST of the stable regulars, upset that their repeated complaints regarding obnoxious cacophony went unheeded, made sure that Friday's were no longer part of their racing experience. THIS IS THE GROUP THAT HAS THE MONEY,as steadily the handle went down all Summer, YET the clowns at the helm called the experiment "positive." The 29 year old general manger who is often heard yelling OUT LOUD, things like "we need to get rid of all these old people," hailed it as a positive step. This man is clueless and the whore of the casino company that owns the track.

The marketing manager (who had ZERO experience in horse racing) and I had a conversation about this in the winner's circle. I asked; "Once you get them out here, what is your plan to make them fans?" Her response? "That's not my problem." With geniuses like that at the helm can the demise of the game be far at hand? CLUELESS CLUELESS OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY.

[travelling_vic]

Studies of handle show that the influx of these new people do not bet. They do not come back as there was a missed opportunity on what the venue is all about.

If your experience at a place is limited to a gimmick, what associations to that place do you recall?

What is the purpose of marketing? to promote a product totally and with follow up. TO PROMOTE THE PRODUCT THE VENUE PRODUCES.

Example: a car dealer has a famous band come to their dealership. They get extra sales people in the crowd to promote the product that the gimmick brought out: CARS.

If you do not follow up on the gimmick, you have wasted everyone's time.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by travelling_vic

I have seen this dynamic over and over. They COME OUT, but never STAY or return as they are drawn out by a gimmick that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACING. No one is there to introduce them to the game that is being offered RACING.

These microcephalically motivated goon proposals draw out the very crowd that MIGHT be long range fans but the powers that be sit passively and never follow up.

Most gimmicks have a welcoming bunch to follow up with the REAL reason

Get them out to see HORSES, not wiener dogs.

Woodbine does it right: they have a special program called Bet Night Live where they follow a group, to which they give a FREE betting voucher, through the night along with another group which he/she competes with, all the time the hosts, HELP with betting ideas. They promote what is actually going on at the track: betting on horses, not some peripheral malarkey.

A group of us took it on ourselves to show how it should be done. A young couple came out to one of the drinking fests (lower priced booze and a bunch of loud obnoxious drunks was the result, AGAIN they missed the point), and they came down to the winner's circle and asked, politely, if they could take a shot of the winner from that perspective along side of the track photographer. The security guard there, a nice ex-cop, agreed. Once the race ran, I knew the trainer and asked if these people could stay and be part of the winner's circle photo. She said; "the more the merrier," and they hopped into the winner's circle, met the owners, and had a photo. They comments? "That was great. We will be back next week."

Introduce the GAME to them not this hogwash.

he said a large chunk of them stick around.

[travelling_vic]

Originally Posted by Danzig

he said a large chunk of them stick around.

That might have been the experience at a SINGLE venue, but it is far from the experiences (PLURAL) that many of my friends at multiple tracks have related to me.
Also they hung around and did what? watched because they certainly don't wager in relation to the per capita.

They usually stand around confused, get frustrated and never come back.

The track should FLOOD the grandstands and tarmac with people to help them out. Make them interested in what the track is providing BETTING.

A track should hire you. You'll be so busy revolutionizing the sport that you probably won't have time to post here any longer. It will be tough but we'll find a way to go on without your presence.

[tiggerv]

More slot machines is always the right answer

[PeteMugg]

Originally Posted by tiggerv

More slot machines is always the right answer

Sounds like another gimmick. Wasn't it already decided, these people will only play slots, nothing more.

[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.