CRIST: Sets the NY facts straight

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

The very notion that promoting riders will revitalize the game is borderline insane. Don't get me wrong, I understand the riders have a certain amount of popularity, but they are simply not what either draws fans to the game or increases ( most importantly ) handle. If the game has stars it is most certainly the horses. But, even publicizing them isn't necessarily the way to increase the health of the game. I suppose that one could argue that at least jockeys stay around, and the supposed stars of our game are fleeting at best, but the simple fact is the people interested in racing because of either specific horses or riders do very little, at best, to aid the health of the game. Simply put, racing is driven by wagering, and really very little else. Sure it is wonderful to see enthusiast crowds at Saratoga and Del Mar, but unless they are wagering they do very little to add to the health of the game, except for appearance sake only.

Once again, the answer is to educate, and to do it intelligently. I would bet my last dollar that our Siros Seminars have added more revenue to the game than any interview with Edgar Prado or Jerry Bailey ever did.

I agree. I think the horses are definitely cabable of getting people in the door (eg. Smarty Jones) way more than a jockey ever will, but the product has to be built around both being friendly and informative to the people they draw in so the noise doesn't end when the star that brought them in retires. From being fairly new to the experience of wagering, one thing that I think could drastically help are not only the seminars on handicapping the actual races but an understanding of designing your bets and using the computer to make them. Windows aren't very friendly IMO.