Triple Crown Not Great For Horse Racing....

[knickslions2]

Originally Posted by munster705

Before you jump all over me on this one....please hear me out....

I am as happy as anyone the AP got it done on Saturday (historically as well as financially for myself :0)). But I would argue against this being so great for horse racing in a long term sense. Consider this. The people on this forum....the people that truly care about horse racing like you and I will always be fans. The triple crown races draw in the bandwagon fans for 5 weeks a year. In the short term, this is great for racing. Horse racing is the lead story on Sportscenter. It is being talked about on the local radio stations. That's today. What happens a month from now? Nobody outside of the usual passionate fans will care anymore. That is the sad truth of it all. Next year when another 3 year old wins the Kentucky Derby, there will not be the same buzz about the Triple Crown because it only happened a year ago.

I can make the comparison to my favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox in 2004. After 86 years, we finally won the World Series. Boston partied like crazy. We nmever thought we would see the day. And now, there simply is not the same passion as it used to be. I fear that this will be true for Horse Racing.

Originally Posted by munster705

Are the Milwaukee Bucks being contracted out of the league? Making the comparison between the NBA and Horse Racing is a bit absurd. One is a big 4 sport and the other most people don't even consider a sport. My main point is that I think (and I really hope I am wrong) that Horse Racing is on a slow but certain decline. I remember not too long ago when I would attend MassCap day at Suffolk Downs and it would be standing room only. I got to see Cigar in person. And now the place is about to be boarded up....no live racing anymore. I would imagine that this problem is the same around the country...not at the big tracks but at the little ones where the money is running dry. The sport is not thriving enough to keep the little guys alive. So as we all baske in the glory of AP, the fact of the matter is that it really does not make a difference to the sport long term.

Funny cause reading your two posts you say two different things. Saying this isn't good for horse racing is really is crazy.

[10 pnt move up]

Its good for racing but it doesnt really make any long term difference....and one could argue it definitely will take away from the Triple Crown in the future.

[King Glorious]

The key lies in what they do next with AP. If he runs again, it will be a big event and fringe fans will tune in. If he doesn't, this will end up being a blip on the non racing fan radar. We'll remember it forever. Non racing fans won't.

You look at other sports like the Olympics and the World Cup. These events draw on the popularity gained during their signature events. People will tune in to watch a track meet featuring Usain Bolt but if they find out he's not running, they are tuning out.

Sponsors caught on big with the Belmont Stakes.Draft Kings, Burger King, Monster Energy etc.

NAASCAR is a bunch of cars repeadetdly going in circles with no betting involved but thier events are huge and sponsors pour in the big money. If Horse racing can continue getting real sponsors (not Pat's Horse Pellets), it can be bigger than NAASCAR.

[Arletta]

Originally Posted by helicopter11

Sponsors caught on big with the Belmont Stakes.Draft Kings, Burger King, Monster Energy etc.

NAASCAR is a bunch of cars repeadetdly going in circles with no betting involved but thier events are huge and sponsors pour in the big money. If Horse racing can continue getting real sponsors (not Pat's Horse Pellets), it can be bigger than NAASCAR.

No way

[dellinger63]

I can only speak on my personal experience and say numerous people I know who were completely indifferent to horse racing tuned in and became fans albeit, not sure whether permanent, all because of AP and the Triple Crown. More than a few plan to visit Arlington this year, which can't be bad for the sport. My entire collection of racing/handicapping books are out on loan and I've taught about a dozen on how to read a racing form, leading into the Belmont. A few have even signed up for Derbywars and some are now tuning into ATRAB daily.

Point is if other's have had a similar experience to what I have, AP winning the triple crown was undoubtedly good for the sport and may have slowed the decline just a bit.

[CheekyBird]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

I can only speak on my personal experience and say numerous people I know who were completely indifferent to horse racing tuned in and became fans albeit, not sure whether permanent, all because of AP and the Triple Crown. More than a few plan to visit Arlington this year, which can't be bad for the sport. My entire collection of racing/handicapping books are out on loan and I've taught about a dozen on how to read a racing form, leading into the Belmont. A few have even signed up for Derbywars and some are now tuning into ATRAB daily.

Point is if other's have had a similar experience to what I have, AP winning the triple crown was undoubtedly good for the sport and may have slowed the decline just a bit.

This is a topic of conversation that interests me tremendously. Not only because I have come to love the game/sport, but I am also a marketing consultant.

I have been following horse racing since 2011. I am a 30-something (read: desired/targeted demographic). I was first introduced to the Triple Crown at a Preakness fundraising event some 10 years ago, and have held or attended Triple Crown parties off and on through the years.

I had no idea what went on in the horse racing world between the Derby, Preakness and Belmont. I wasn't curious, and I didn't care. As a 20-30 something year old, other activities occupied my interest. But I loved the pomp and circumstance of horse racing when those three events occurred, and the events helped me raise a lot of money for my charitable organization.

I had "for fun" wagering opportunities at the parties (which was basically picking who we thought was going to win). However, the first fundraising event I mentioned above was at Pimlico, but I don't recall wagering on anything, and there certainly wasn't anyone in our group who knew anything about how to bet.

Fast forward to 2011 where, at a casino that was showing the Derby in the "sportsbook" lounge, my hubby and I, on a whim, decided to bet the Derby. We were given a quick primer by one of the cashiers on how to bet: Win, Place, Show, Trifecta & Superfecta. We were flush with slot machine money, so we bet a ridiculous amount of money on to win, and a trifecta box. We scored! Big time!! Beginners/dumb luck, but I thought... Geez, what an easy and fun way to make a lot of money. Ha!

For brevity's sake, here's the reason for my post. In the hopes of attracting my peers to the game, and with the excitement of the triple crown hopes this year, I held a Derby, Preakness and Belmont party. Here's what I observed:

1. While our buddies were interested in the Triple Crown chase, they knew nothing about the rest of the field in any of the races, except for the favorite. I did do some explaining of the points system.

2. There was very little interest in the wagering aspect, even when shown how much these races had paid in the past, and provided little cheat sheets that I had put together on how to wager.

3. They found the NBC coverage very enjoyable, especially the food/drink traditions, and seeing sports celebrities (particularly) at the Derby.

4. My Belmont party this past Saturday was held at the casino. We reserved several tables and it was extremely festive. The only drawback was that we had NYRA coverage on the TVs, not NBC coverage. So, I could sense some boredom since there was no "pomp and circumstance" to be seen. F/more, the coverage was not in HD. Very disappointing. Also, wagering lines were extremely long with "regulars" betting on other races.

5. Hubby and I had to field a lot of questions like "What is MTP?"

6. I can tell you that the atmosphere in the casino was electric once the race began. People abandoned their slot machines to find a TV. And then the applause at the end of the race. WOW!!! Just WOW!!!

7. And then it was over. Our friends expressed no further interest in the rest of the card, nor did they express curiosity about the races on at other tracks being displayed on other monitors. Off they went to the slots and the table games while remarking how fantastic it was to witness history.

8. Of our group, there was one couple that stuck around with hubby and I for the remainder of the card. It was a couple that had won the $2 superfecta in the big race.

Moral of this story? Win and you're "in!"

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by helicopter11

Sponsors caught on big with the Belmont Stakes.Draft Kings, Burger King, Monster Energy etc.

NAASCAR is a bunch of cars repeadetdly going in circles with no betting involved but thier events are huge and sponsors pour in the big money. If Horse racing can continue getting real sponsors (not Pat's Horse Pellets), it can be bigger than NAASCAR.

maybe eventually. nascar keeps going south...so anything could happen. between the two, i'd rather get my ass beaten than have to watch a nascar race.
did watch the f-1 from montreal the other day tho...but 70 laps is a lot easier to stick to.

[GenuineRisk]

All I know is that I'm mentoring a STEM teaching thing this week, and when I asked the kids if they'd seen the Belmont, a third of the hands went up and they were excited to talk about it. These are 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders.