Boxing and Horse Racing

[Split Rock]

Is horse racing following in the same ill-fated footsteps of boxing? On the surface, the two sports seem radically different. However, there are glaring similarities that are worth analyzing.

Let's start with the blatantly obvious differences. Boxing is a head to head brutal contact sport in which a core objective is the physical detriment of the other participant. Horse racing is a contest of time and distance.

So, what could possibly be alike in these two contrasting events? First off, both sports are turn of the century staples in American culture. Both sports enjoyed their heyday, or peak, in the '70's and '80's. They both have heavy gambling participation. They share the brunt of attacks by people labeling them as barbaric and have had actual deaths of their participants during and after a contest. Both have trainers who are central in the athlete’s success. Their penultimate superstar dominated the national sports scene within months of each other (Muhammad Ali and Secretariat). Sadly, both sports are now taking a backseat to their once second-class competitors (professional wrestling and auto racing).

The comparisons can continue but for the sake of easy reading, we'll skip on down to the three significant characteristics that currently define them. They are:
1) Lack of believability due to fixing, scandals and drugs

2) State to state weak governance without a uniform commission

3) Mismanaged marketing.

Of all of the negative press boxing has received off and on throughout its storied history, the loss of integrity, lack of accountability and marketing mismanagement has had more impact on the reduction of interest than anything else. If you were alive in 1978, it is likely you could have named at least five boxers. Name one today.

Horse racing has identical problems...and a few more. Obviously, the sport has had a monumental problem with integrity control. Most inside followers are certain that a high percentage of races are not legitimate due to either performance enhancing drugs or outright race fixing. In addition, there is virtually no governance or commission to enforce stiff penalties when someone jeopardizes the honesty of the sport. Finally, horse racing heads cannot figure out how to market to either their loyal fan base or potential new followers. If anything, the cannibalism that is happening with the track officials, horseman and online wagering sites is a large neon message saying the customer is certainly not a priority, if even on any top ten list.

Just like boxing, the horse racing fan base has declined at an alarming rate over the past 15 years. The underlying message is hardly cryptic. The sports fan has many options, as does the gambler.

In order to energize a new generation of potential race goers, horse racing must unify from a national level and redefine their product. In no particular order, a national governing body must:
1) Create and enforce serious penalties for anyone convicted or possibly even suspected of race tampering.

2) Study and identify their core and potential market.

3) Bring the game kicking and screaming into the 21st century and draw on current technologies that would make the actual event more interesting. Ever watched a race in HD? Once you do, going back to non-HD is similar to going home to your wife after visiting the Playboy Mansion.

4) Find a CURRENT marketing niche that would appeal to today’s audience.

5) Soften the sport. Eliminating the whip is highly unlikely but instituting a whipping rule, as other countries have, which significantly reduces whipping is a move in the right direction. How about an increase in the jockeys weight rule to a more realistic number. How about doing SOMETHING that shows that racing legislators care at all about the athletes that participate in the sport?

Without unification and a slice of realism, the sport will remain in a terminal state of decay until it bottoms out along side red boxing gloves and satin shorts.