Less or more... which do you want to see?

[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.

[booner]

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.

As does Keeneland. Usually over 20k every day. And there aren't really any promotions. College Scholarship Day draws the same number as any other race day.

[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.