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Hence conversion by stealth, ww. Racing will always need to recruit new fans, as, however much you might not want to believe it, racing is not an Elixir of Life and the current fanbase is not going to live forever.
Forcing newbies to study the intricacies of the handicapping system, the effects of draw bias on straight vs round courses and demanding that they master the dragon that is Betfair will, for most, be a turnoff. However a nice relaxed day out, glass of Pimms paid for by a small each way bet on the Tote, followed by watching a band, will generally encourage without need for the nasty evangelicising. Of the small group of completely neutral uni friends taken racing 12 years ago, one is now serious punter, one a small owner, and one is a company events organiser who recommends her clients to sponsor at race meetings. Are you suggesting that we never encourage these sideline spectators who may end up actually contributing significantly to the sport?
I agree about downsizing, BTW, the growth in meetings and the racehorse population cannot be sustained and is going to damage the sport. But you can’t put the genie back in the bottle, nor should racing try to win back the elitist and snobby reputation it previously held. Can’t we aim for middle ground of using populist money to support proper racing?
Why can’t the core Racing fan fund a decreased level of sport as he/she did quite well enough until 15-20 years ago?
Because the exchanges mean that the core/serious racing fan/punter can get better odds on every race at every course merely by sitting in front of his computer rather than trekking to the course and because the casual racing fan/punter now has multiple sports and online poker on which to spend their punting pound.
And provided that the sidelines don’t impinge on the main attraction (ie the racing) then it doesn’t bother me if more people are coming through the turnstiles, whether it be for a concert, ladies day, whatever.
Why can’t the core Racing fan fund a decreased level of sport as he/she did quite well enough until 15-20 years ago?
Echo the above points made by DB – particularly about poker. Many of todays full time online poker professionals under 30 in Great Britain and Ireland would have lived like we did, WW, twenty years ago, in the quest to avoid getting a "proper" job.
As Sal says, they may have studied handicaps, draws, trainers, speed ratings as we did, and eventually become racing professionals. The percentages tell the intelligent that the game can be beaten with a herculean effort.
In 2007 racing has to compete for both the leisure and the gambling pound. I wish it didn’t, but there you go. Then there is the demographic to consider…
Surely anyone who comes to the races one night because "Elvis Parsley" is on or something, is the sort of person who will never come again unless said gig is repeated.
You’ve got to encourage people to come in and watch the racing, not sidetrack them with other things. The only way to do that is lower entry prices or free entry.As an "old-style" racing fan, I paid my second visit (the first time was Arkle’s final race!) to Kempton Park last Wednesday evening with one of my daughters.
It happened to be a themed "Irish Night", and I expected it to be really naff, but it turned out to be most enjoyable. While the racing wasn’t exactly of the highest class, at least it was competitive, and there was a great atmosphere. Most of the members’ area was open to all, and there was no apparent dress code. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and I saw no drunken behaviour.
If this can turn occasional fun-loving racegoers into fans, then lets have more of it. Kempton seemed to have really turned things around this year.
My first post for months…How strongly I feel!
My wife and kids are away for a few days just now and so I thought to myself..’I know, I’ll have a look to see if there is any racing on today and like the old days, I’ll actually go on my own and concentrate on the horses etc’
So, to my delight, I saw Sandown had and evening fixture, not brilliant racing but just perfect for me venue wise. I could catch the train and have a drink, watch the racing and go home. I never get the chance to do this sort of thing on my own these days.
Many years ago I was a member there and would go on my own purely out of love of racing.
So, I look on the net and see there is a concert on after racing, fair enough I thought. I could not see the prices on their site anywhere so I called. I was told £32 for Grandstand and £ 38 for Members (or there abouts) When I said that seemed more than usual I was told about the concert. I said I wasn’t interested in the concert just the racing. The lady I spoke to seemed genuinely embarrassed about the price due to the concert and the fact that I had said that was too steep for me and I simply wanted to go racing. She did however point out that it would be £18 tomorrow.
I am angry about this as all I wanted was to go to the sport I like best. Can’t they cater for those that just want to do racing? I get the concert bit but the race lover gets shafted and I won’t be!!!
Crizzy
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