SUN: Racing's media makeover paying off

[slotdirt]

The B-more Sun still has some of the better racing coverage around. While the Washington Post has just about completely removed horse racing coverage from their paper - save the occasional Andy Beyer piece - the Sun continues to provide solid accounts of not only the Preakness, but the overall fragile nature of Maryland racing. In fact, on big racing days such as the Derby and Preakness and Breeders Cup, the Washington Post actually runs Baltimore Sun coverage in their sports page.

[Cannon Shell]

I simply dont believe that people who are interested in Bravo's coverage are wired the same as people who become gamblers. There is a huge difference between getting a certain segment of the population to tune into a singular televised event and that same segment investing the necessary time, energy and MONEY into becoming a person that follows the sport with their dollars. While it certainly doesnt hurt and getting more eyes on the races and our top events isnt a bad thing, I personally believe that the industry and dopes that run it shouldnt try to read too much into a new wave of "fans" or gamblers being created. IMO the Derby's ratings were up chiefly because there was nothing else even remotely compelling on.