NBC beats Fox for Derby rights

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

It might hurt, but if used the right way I think it could help. Look at Poker. While it's instant gratification winning individual hands, the end goal is to win the tournament or whatever game you are playing. Those things take a long time.

I think if you took 20 people that have never bet or been to a track or casino before....Split them up. 10 of them go with some poker pro's and learn about the game for the day. Then take the other 10 and let them go with Beyer, Crist, Serling, etc. for the day. Let them teach the game and about betting.

Then the next day the 10 poker players go to a casino and play poker for the day. The 10 horseplayers go to a track and play races for the day. IMO, and maybe I'm biased because I'm a horseplayer, those horseplayers would come back again. I'm sure some of the poker players would also. But if people are shown that tracks aren't what the perception is and the game isn't like it's percieved we have a chance.

A little education could go a long way IMO.

Sure tournaments take a long time, but they don't wait 20 minutes in between hands. Many people want/need that constant action.

As far as your experiment goes, I agree (although probably biased like you). There is nothing like a nice afternoon at the track. It beats the hell out of sitting at a card table for an entire day.

A little education could go along way to grabbing some fans. But in the long run, I just think the majority of gamblers don't want to have to invest time doing homework. Then throw in the time it takes in between the races, it just makes the sport not an attractive gambling option to people who are looking for that fast action.