Jaywalking

On The Tonight Show, Jay Leno has a bit where he goes out into the street and asks, seemingly random people, basic questions like 'How many states are in the 48 contiguous U.S.?'*

Invariably, these poor bastards, desperate for their fifteen minutes, answer to the effect of 'Umm, I don't know. Seven?'...and No Child Left Behind gets additional funding.

Today, due to an obvious oversight, your intrepid reporter played stowaway on a conference call with Peter Rotondo Jr. and Peter Land of the Breeders' Cup and GbG, Railbird, Colin's Ghost, Foolish Pleasure, First Saturday and Superfecta(in absentia).

The meeting, with luck the first of many, proved informative and constructive. Your correspondent had nothing of value to add to the discussion (except, in a moment of spastic imbalance, to suggest that Sweet Catomine won the 2003 Juvenile Fillies) but several intriguing topics surfaced. The Distaff name change, saddle cloths, two day format and future venues were all discussed and the BC representatives made an honest effort of explaining the rationale behind their decisions.

We don't understand why it never occurred to your correspondent before but the Breeders' Cup is a brand and not the institution of racing itself. They are marketing their product, first and foremost, to the best of their ability and within the constraints of the market as they perceive it.

Mother Not Really, during long gone discussions, used to tell your daring scrivener that she would support his position when she a) agreed with it or b) didn't give a damn either way, and that is the basic rationale your dashing commentator adopted when backing the Take Back the Race Petition.

Then Mr. Land and Mr. Rotondo explained the criteria used to change the name.

Apparently, and your cub may have this wrong, referencing a marketing concept called unaided awareness, fewer than 5% of sports fans-not horse racing fans but just your everyday ESPN watching, fantasy football playing fans-knew about the Breeders' Cup, a week before the event last year.

After several polls and market surveys, they found the word Distaff to be perplexing to the general public. Then, given an explanation your gallant scribe still doesn't grasp, they tossed the idea for Filly and Mare because most people couldn't understand the difference and were confused by the concept. H.L. Mencken said 'Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.' and I think the folks at the BC decided to test his aphorism.

Horse racing is not an easy sport to understand, I get that; many a day at the track has found me looking at the form like my dog looks at a watch. I know there is a lot of jargon but some of these concepts are self explanatory.

I don't doubt the BC is just fighting the alligator closest to its ass on this one. They have a product fewer than 1 in 25 people, in that product space, could pick out of the proverbial line-up. They have their data and they indicate, sadly as in most things, targeting the lowest common denominator is the way to burgeon appeal. They, like Custer did, have a plan.

I just don't agree with the premise.

*The answer is 48