I have no background in marketing or finance. I am not familiar with the inner workings of the industry nor do I have a clue regarding the mechanism of ADW's and federal v. state gambling regulations. I am ignorant of social networking protocols and the voodoo that is this mythical beast known as the internet. The fact that I can turn on my computer and make it to this page on a daily basis is a victory for me but I am learning.
If you have ever seen a dog look at a clock you have a general idea of my frame of reference.
So I throw this out there fully expecting that it will, at best be ignored(if viewed at all) and at worst mocked in the dark dimension of the blogosphere. On the bright side, I am pathologically antisocial so I am fine with all that?
As is no secret, racing needs to do three things immediately:
- Appoint a commissioner with supreme executive power.
- Ban all racing medication and drugs. Zero tolerance. Progressively punitive fines and suspensions with a lifetime ban on the third offense. Not 13 or 72.
- One racing jurisdiction. One set of rules.
Now, if this can be done and that is a big if, then the industry leaders can turn their attention towards other matters...but first get the thing going in the right direction. Forget about marketing the sport and increasing its fan base. Focus on fixing the problem. The industry is flawed and no amount of PR is going to get it whole. Too much is being thrown around as the panacea...there isn't any one. You can't build a lasting tower if the foundation is defective.
Once the hemorrhaging has stopped then all those ideas that are floating about out there can be gradually brought into the fold. This will not be fixed in a few years. The short attention span generation might not tolerate this but it has to be done. This industry hinges on the principles of evolution and natural selection NOT nanotechnology, the blidget and speed dating (all good things in their own way).
What if, and this is by no means the list topper, racing created two conferences. East v. West. In this country racing has pretty much split itself up that way anyway so a formal division of the product would not be that much of a stretch and Californians are already their own breed.
Follow....
Create a racing circuit, a tour if you will. Cooperation is needed and that is probably where this thing goes off the rails but if American Idol can be a hit then anything can happen.
- Shorten the racing season. Arlington does not need a 120+ day meet and neither does anyone else. Reduce the number of races and you get larger fields. Like I said, I have no background in marketing or finance but I imagine that simple math still applies.
- Create a series of races agreed upon by all tracks/or whoever, so that nobody cannibalizes anybody else's product. Set up the races so that each division, i.e. sprint, turf mile, etc... gets an even spacing of their premier events among all the member tracks; this could tie in with point 1, where each track has a 2-3(or whatever) week meet and the venue changes so the horses travel the circuit. Something similar to what Formula 1 has. The series would be sponsored by someone-not Hooters.
- Make the Breeder's Cup the goal. Apply the rankings that the TBA has set up or something along those lines. Again, I am not the marketing guy.
- Create an inter-conference showcase, like the Sunshine Millions but for all horses. East v. West. Keep that as the January goal. Some races would need to move their date but that's the price of progress, i.e. The Clark might not run in November or whatever.
- Tie the Claiming Crown into this somehow and make it a national tour along with the graded stakes series.
- Smaller tracks would either card very short meets that would follow the "Pro Tour" and cater to the claiming types or they would shut down or become concert venues or state parks. There are too many tracks for the number of sound horses.
- Streamline the wagering process. Reduce take-out. Make it a standard percentage nationwide and maybe incorporate a revenue sharing agreement a la NFL to split all proceeds among the racing circuit. The commissioners office could be in charge of this pool and would then allocate whatever percentage to some federal fund that the respective states could dip into based on percentage of handle generated or whatever metric you want to use. The remaining funds go to purses, track employee benefits, drug testing, horse care issues and whatever else.
- Market the BLOODY crap out of this thing. Get sponsors and some legitimate broadcast agreement; if anybody suggests televising human interest stories instead of the GI Manhattan, shove a hot poker up their ass. Again, though I am not the marketing guy that last one might boost ratings.
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