1,719 ... That's All (The) Folks!

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

This is obviously a post from an old man. Who cares about live racing? It is for dinosaurs. Even the big races like the derby are better on tv. The sport is so much better on high-def tv than it is live. Watching it live is boring, whether you are at Saratoga or Fairplex.

The mornings around the horses are great but why would you go to live racing? You sit around for 30 minutes bored out of your mind waiting for the next race.

The only reason to go to a place like Saratoga or any track is for entertainment and to hang around with people, unless you own the horse. The funny thing is many of the top owners don't even show up for their races. Belmont is great in the mornings and to go over for the big race, but other than that watching it while watching football or something else is much better. The tv's on the 3rd floor in the clubhouse at belmont are good on football weekends, but sometimes I go to belmont and just watch on tv anyway.

First off, I am 36 not too old, yet. Second off there is no way watching it on tv even comes close to being up on the rail and watching them come flying down the stretch and hearing the roar of the crownd and the horse pounding the dirt. Or watching them in the paddock and appreciating how beutiful and amazing these creatures. Walking down the path and bumping into Bobby Frankel or Jerry bailey.
yeah go enjoy your x-box.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by boswd

First off, I am 36 not too old, yet. Second off there is no way watching it on tv even comes close to being up on the rail and watching them come flying down the stretch and hearing the roar of the crownd and the horse pounding the dirt. Or watching them in the paddock and appreciating how beutiful and amazing these creatures. Walking down the path and bumping into Bobby Frankel or Jerry bailey.
yeah go enjoy your x-box.

Funny you bring up Bobby Frankel, because he watches the races on television.

Your x-box comments are funny. I am going to just guess I have been around more good horses in the last week than you have been around in your life. If you want to appreciate horses you go in the mornings or you go to the farm. The paddock and racing give zero indication of the beauty of the animal.

Watching races live is pointless, especially at Belmont. There could be 20,000 there and it still feels like a ghost town. Even at Saratoga it is better to watch on television than live. What do you get a 2 second glimpse of the horses sitting on the rail. You miss all the strategy sitting on the rail.

And opening day in baseball is useless. Nobody cares.

[boswd]

The attendance problem is all over the country. The sport has it days in the sun, KY Derby and the rest of the TC races, Saratoga and to a certain degree Del Mar. These are the days and places where the NNBP (normally non betting public) will come out and enjoy a day at the races.
The decline is hard to pinpoint when it started. I am guessing somewhere around the early to mid 80's. The '70's was the last true golden decade of the sport where people came out in droves to the tracks. I am sure it's not a coinicidence that was also the last decade to see a triple crown winner. Horse racing up through the 70's was part of the Big 4 Football, Baseball,Boxing and Horse racing.
I have my own theory on that : Like all the sports, with the exception of the NFL, they all go through a popularity slump. What other sports have done is find a star or stars, hitch their wagon to it and market to the most obvious target market. Kids!!! The NBA did it with Dr.J, Larry Bird and Majic Johnson to get it out of its attendance and interest slump. Baseball did with McGuire and Sosa.
Now horse racing can produce stars but it's hands are tied with marketing. How can you market your sport towards kids when a major aspect of horse racing is gamblling? You can't. They have been hoping for a Triple Crown winner to help them out. they have gotten close with the great stories behind Funny Cide and Smarty Jones. And even Cigar helped bring people out to the tracks.
So I think it needs a bona fide superstar, not a budding one but a true star ,one that will race across the country much like Cigar did. Until then the sport will have to be content with the KY Derby The Preakness, The Belmont and Saratoga to draw the NNBP.