A great day for the sport.

[booner]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

It was a good day of racing, but let's be honest about the big picture. Yes 88,000 showed up, but it would have been 120,000 so off 30%+. I suspect the off track wagering, and television numbers suffered similar fates. Good day- not so good weekend if you look at it from what was expected Thursday.

Still didn't turn out to bad on-track.....

http://www.drf.com/news/2012-belmont...over-last-year

[GenuineRisk]

I wish NYRA would put in the effort to make JCGC day an event the way the Belmont is an event. The thing Belmont Stakes Day has going for the casual fan is that there's a lot of other stuff to do- merchandise tents, food options, cocktails. Belmont is so gorgeous in the fall; it would be nice to have a day in the Fall meet that is the same sort of celebration the Belmont Stakes is.

Especially the food options.

[MaTH716]

Yesterday was my first Belmont and while I was hoping to see history, I still had a very enjoyable time (despite maybe my worst day ever at the windows). It was crowded, but bearable. I thought that NYRA did a very good job. There were plenty of buses from the parking lot, plenty of tellers and opportunites to get food and drink all over the place. I don't recall waiting on line for anything yesterday. The only lines that I did see were from the woman's room and the ATM (which was literally 100 deep). No sure how I would have fared if the other 40k showed up, but I would have grinned and beared it. I'm not that keen on big crowds, but I wouldn't hesitate again to go to the Belmont.

But the thing that struck me the most, was the amount of young people that were there. I'm guessing that the Belmont and pretty much the rest of the TC series have become more of social events that happen to have horses race every 45 minutes. That being said, the atmosphere was excellent and the crowd really got in to the races.

It made me think that the sport does have a chance, but they really need to capitalize on days like yesterday. That's where I think that NYRA might have dropped the ball. They had large crowd on hand and there was no promotion (or at least I didn't see any) of any future event to try to get some of the patrons back. Like I said, there were tons of young people there. Schedule a concert on a sunset Friday, bring your stub next week on Father's Day and get free admission and a hat. Have a handicapping help station, where newbies can ask questions the whole day. Just do something that might want to make them come back before next year's Belmont and even better maybe they'll come back because they like the racing..

[pweizer]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

Yesterday was my first Belmont and while I was hoping to see history, I still had a very enjoyable time (despite maybe my worst day ever at the windows). It was crowded, but bearable. I thought that NYRA did a very good job. There were plenty of buses from the parking lot, plenty of tellers and opportunites to get food and drink all over the place. I don't recall waiting on line for anything yesterday. The only lines that I did see were from the woman's room and the ATM (which was literally 100 deep). No sure how I would have fared if the other 40k showed up, but I would have grinned and beared it. I'm not that keen on big crowds, but I wouldn't hesitate again to go to the Belmont.

But the thing that struck me the most, was the amount of young people that were there. I'm guessing that the Belmont and pretty much the rest of the TC series have become more of social events that happen to have horses race every 45 minutes. That being said, the atmosphere was excellent and the crowd really got in to the races.

It made me think that the sport does have a chance, but they really need to capitalize on days like yesterday. That's where I think that NYRA might have dropped the ball. They had large crowd on hand and there was no promotion (or at least I didn't see any) of any future event to try to get some of the patrons back. Like I said, there were tons of young people there. Schedule a concert on a sunset Friday, bring your stub next week on Father's Day and get free admission and a hat. Have a handicapping help station, where newbies can ask questions the whole day. Just do something that might want to make them come back before next year's Belmont and even better maybe they'll come back because they like the racing..

This is Keeneland every weekend they race. You don't need a Triple Crown race to make this happen. The sport may not be magical but it is far from dead.

Paul

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by pweizer

This is Keeneland every weekend they race. You don't need a Triple Crown race to make this happen. The sport may not be magical but it is far from dead.

Paul

It's Saratoga also. The million dollar question is how to make it happen at more places. How do we convince everyone else what a great time our sport is to watch and participate in? How can we show them they are missing out if they aren't there?

I don't have the answer but it feels like educating them about the game further can only help. Horses racing longer, so people actually can follow a horses career for more than a few months will help.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

It's Saratoga also. The million dollar question is how to make it happen at more places. How do we convince everyone else what a great time our sport is to watch and participate in? How can we show them they are missing out if they aren't there?

I don't have the answer but it feels like educating them about the game further can only help. Horses racing longer, so people actually can follow a horses career for more than a few months will help.

I think the bigger issues are the mechanics of the sport and not the product on the field, so to speak.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

It's Saratoga also. The million dollar question is how to make it happen at more places. How do we convince everyone else what a great time our sport is to watch and participate in? How can we show them they are missing out if they aren't there?

I don't have the answer but it feels like educating them about the game further can only help. Horses racing longer, so people actually can follow a horses career for more than a few months will help.

I think racing, at least on the weekends, needs to be more of a social event at the track. I don't mean "society," but social in that it's a place to hang out, and not solely for wagering. A day at the track is a long one and for the casual race fan, it's nice to be able to get up, walk around and look at things besides the tote board.

I don't know about other tracks, but the food options at Aqueduct and Belmont are awful. A six or eight-hour day out of the city when all you can order are bad burgers, fries and chicken fingers is a bit of a bummer.

My uncle, in his late 60s, spent his whole life in Pennsylvania, and he told me when he was younger, Penn National was so crowded on weekends that if you didn't arrive an hour before the first race, you'd be parking a mile from the track and walking. He also said they often had bands, etc. so the afternoon was as much about entertainment as it was gambling.

It may require racing associations to accept that the big gamblers are still likely to wager from their living rooms, but there is still value in casual fans, who may not be as valuable for gambling dollars, but who will spend money on concessions, souvenirs, and put money into the economy through their consumerism. And, of course, they'll still gamble.

What I love about racing (besides the fact that yes, horses are pretty) is that it's a far more interactive sport than any other. The gambling is the point- it makes the fan an active, not passive, viewer. But that's something that takes a while to discover and I think tracks need to take the effort to bring people who want an entertaining afternoon first, and trust they'll discover the fun in gambling eventually.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

I think racing, at least on the weekends, needs to be more of a social event at the track. I don't mean "society," but social in that it's a place to hang out, and not solely for wagering. A day at the track is a long one and for the casual race fan, it's nice to be able to get up, walk around and look at things besides the tote board.

I don't know about other tracks, but the food options at Aqueduct and Belmont are awful. A six or eight-hour day out of the city when all you can order are bad burgers, fries and chicken fingers is a bit of a bummer.

It may require racing associations to accept that the big gamblers are still likely to wager from their living rooms, but there is still value in casual fans, who may not be as valuable for gambling dollars, but who will spend money on concessions, souvenirs, and put money into the economy through their consumerism. And, of course, they'll still gamble.

I think you have made some fair points here. I don't really disagree with any of them, but there are other food options at Aqueduct and Belmont and not just burgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers.

The only thing I will say about the casual fan thing is that yes, racing should be trying to get them involved. But horse racing is different than say football or baseball. Those sports need the fan to come out because they depend on the profit from the overpriced beer, souvenirs, etc. Racing depends on gambling dollars.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

I don't have the answer but it feels like educating them about the game further can only help. Horses racing longer, so people actually can follow a horses career for more than a few months will help.

There are a lot of logistical challenges facing horse racing from racing dates, calendars, simulcast pricing, rules/regs etc. yadda yadda yadda.

But, if there is one thing I've learned here at LAD is that there are lots of people out there who want to learn horse racing, who want to become involved, who want to gamble more... but they find the sport too intimidating. The language, the terms, the past performances - it's an awful lot to someone.

I'm admittedly proud about this "Beginners Wall" we put in at LAD before the meet. The folks downstairs tell me that not a day goes by where patrons aren't stopping to take a picture or look, read and learn. And most of those doing the reading are young, too. I think the response its received is a big indicator into where racing needs to focus some of its effort.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

There are a lot of logistical challenges facing horse racing from racing dates, calendars, simulcast pricing, rules/regs etc. yadda yadda yadda.

But, if there is one thing I've learned here at LAD is that there are lots of people out there who want to learn horse racing, who want to become involved, who want to gamble more... but they find the sport too intimidating. The language, the terms, the past performances - it's an awful lot to someone.

I'm admittedly proud about this "Beginners Wall" we put in at LAD before the meet. The folks downstairs tell me that not a day goes by where patrons aren't stopping to take a picture or look, read and learn. And most of those doing the reading are young, too. I think the response its received is a big indicator into where racing needs to focus some of its effort.

I think your first sentence has a lot more to do with the issues then the rest. In some areas betting on horse racing is very easy, in other areas not so much. Racing is not reaching its potential audience with modern technology and until that changes I don't see how it can grow.

It can be intimidating and the wall is great but honestly if someone has a slight interest in learning to bet horses and the internet getting the information really is not that difficult. I think it used to be much more so than today, I honestly did not learn that much in my first 10 years following the sport compared to the next 10 with the internet. One could read Andy's or Drug's articles and learn about the sport in ways that just were not available 20 years ago.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

There are a lot of logistical challenges facing horse racing from racing dates, calendars, simulcast pricing, rules/regs etc. yadda yadda yadda.

But, if there is one thing I've learned here at LAD is that there are lots of people out there who want to learn horse racing, who want to become involved, who want to gamble more... but they find the sport too intimidating. The language, the terms, the past performances - it's an awful lot to someone.

I'm admittedly proud about this "Beginners Wall" we put in at LAD before the meet. The folks downstairs tell me that not a day goes by where patrons aren't stopping to take a picture or look, read and learn. And most of those doing the reading are young, too. I think the response its received is a big indicator into where racing needs to focus some of its effort.

How is the handicapping class at BPCC coming along?

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

There are a lot of logistical challenges facing horse racing from racing dates, calendars, simulcast pricing, rules/regs etc. yadda yadda yadda.

But, if there is one thing I've learned here at LAD is that there are lots of people out there who want to learn horse racing, who want to become involved, who want to gamble more... but they find the sport too intimidating. The language, the terms, the past performances - it's an awful lot to someone.

I'm admittedly proud about this "Beginners Wall" we put in at LAD before the meet. The folks downstairs tell me that not a day goes by where patrons aren't stopping to take a picture or look, read and learn. And most of those doing the reading are young, too. I think the response its received is a big indicator into where racing needs to focus some of its effort.

I've been teaching my boyfriend about racing and it very hard to not overload one with information, both in analyzing form and in actually placing bets. You've put up a really great effort here.

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

It's Saratoga also. The million dollar question is how to make it happen at more places. How do we convince everyone else what a great time our sport is to watch and participate in? How can we show them they are missing out if they aren't there?

I don't have the answer but it feels like educating them about the game further can only help. Horses racing longer, so people actually can follow a horses career for more than a few months will help.

There's no way to post this without sounding like a shameless self-promoter, but at least there were some efforts made with regards to educating people who were there outside of the info that can be gathered from the NYRA feed with Andy, Maggie, etc.

America's Best Racing sponsored a fan education area with Horse Player NOW, and we wound up with two sets of teams to do the kind of fan education that at least helps casual bettors feel like they aren't just randomly picking horses and betting against themselves.

One area inside for foot traffic in the plant, and another out back by the wagering pavilion, and we saw some of the same people who found us in the Preakness infield just a few weeks earlier when we hosted a tent there with the Daily Racing Form.

It's remarkable, really, just how little help many of these people need to get even the most cursory handle on things. Lots of these casual, big event, fans are sharper than I/we give them credit for, but if they don't know where to start, they're going to get lost in the shuffle. It's all about logistics and money, for sure, but I know from firsthand experience at Pimlico the last three years and at Belmont Saturday that these kind of casual bettors CAN be turned into more serious players. It's not easy, but it's possible.

It really was a great day there, and the energy was surprisingly positive given the scratch of IHA.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

There's no way to post this without sounding like a shameless self-promoter, but at least there were some efforts made with regards to educating people who were there outside of the info that can be gathered from the NYRA feed with Andy, Maggie, etc.

America's Best Racing sponsored a fan education area with Horse Player NOW, and we wound up with two sets of teams to do the kind of fan education that at least helps casual bettors feel like they aren't just randomly picking horses and betting against themselves.

One area inside for foot traffic in the plant, and another out back by the wagering pavilion, and we saw some of the same people who found us in the Preakness infield just a few weeks earlier when we hosted a tent there with the Daily Racing Form.

It's remarkable, really, just how little help many of these people need to get even the most cursory handle on things. Lots of these casual, big event, fans are sharper than I/we give them credit for, but if they don't know where to start, they're going to get lost in the shuffle. It's all about logistics and money, for sure, but I know from firsthand experience at Pimlico the last three years and at Belmont Saturday that these kind of casual bettors CAN be turned into more serious players. It's not easy, but it's possible.

It really was a great day there, and the energy was surprisingly positive given the scratch of IHA.

I saw a video of some of the work you did and it was great stuff. You should be shamelessly self promoting it, because it's a great idea.

Totally agree with what you have said here. Teach them...and they are much more likely to come back.