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“Horse racing!” cried the young woman, arms aloft in meaningless, abstract, celebration, as she stood among a group of similar friends as the field passed the post with a circuit to run at packed Wincanton that recent Boxing Day.
It was simultaneously comical and touching – the latter because she was clearly enjoying (or trying to enjoy) herself on some level.
But, listening to her and her friends chatting, drinks in hand, they actually had no idea why they were there, what it was all about and how to get the best out of the day.
These are the sort of first-time racegoers BHA marketing has created.
Not drawn in, as many of us were in our formative years, by the betting, but by the alcohol-fuelled social element which, tbh, you can get at any outdoor event.
A Day At The Races once was clearly marketed as the following proposition: Pay admission, buy a race card or racing paper, study form, see the horses in the paddock, go in the betting ring and shop around for the best odds (beating the SP almost as much fun as winning) then cheer your horse on, your betting ticket making you feel like you owned it for ten minutes, and if you back a winner or two maybe you just funded your whole day out (won your “exes” or even made an overall profit).
But the BHA don’t want to talk about betting any more, even though the Levy funds so much, racing is about a new type of “fun,” alfresco drinking, live music after racing, themed race days.
It attracts “racegoers” with no interest in racing.
The end result?
Rowdy scenes, even violence at times, and betting rings full of bizarrely queuing sheep as the competitive betting element has been positively discouraged and anyone queue jumping to get a price is frowned upon.
This can only lead to falling Levy, hampering the very financial lifeblood of the sport.
It’s madness and completely goes against the grain of the easy and traditional way to market the game.
You just tap into existing media and public preconceptions about the game – it’s fun, but dodgy, but “dodgy” is part of the fun, a game riddled at times with Dick Francis-esque skulduggery but it’s part of the attraction and if you work it all out you can still win.
The Rainbow Jacket, Flash Harry and Cheltenham Gold Cup horse Arab Boy in the original Belles Of St Trinians, the Newcastle racecourse scene in Get Carter, Robbie Box in Big Deal, the arts (TV and movie) regard the Runyonesqye dodgyness as by far the most fascinating aspect of racing and they are in the putting bums on seats business.
Racing without betting is a load of horses running round a field – meaningless.
And marketing it the way it is now being marketed leads to a collapse in funding and ugly scenes as racecourses devolve into sordid nightclubs.
Change is not always progress – racing needs to be proud of what it traditionally has been and get back to its roots on all levels, including marketing.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Good post, Ian.
I would also add that, as with so many things, racing has been ruined by the accountants taking over. What used to be a sport is now a business and is no better off for that change.
Thanks Ian,
Has is it also gone this way as racetracks see this side as security for the future.
Whatever happened to all the greyhound tracks round the country? Would horse racing go the same way if there wasn’t this ‘extra funding’?It does seem though in many sports change is made for changes sake, perhaps done to keep certain people in a job and not done in the best interests of the sport. I remember the BHA’s “Racing for Change” bringing out an ‘initiative’ to attract more racegoers by targeting students. Trouble was students haven’t got any money to come, how out of touch that was.
Even watching the Olympics, it’s being spoiled by the decision makers including so many sports now it’s impossible to watch and keep up with everything. A gold medal for tennis, golf, etc, really!
I have a runner at Sandown tomorrow evening in the last race, but I won’t be going anywhere near Esher. The racing will be followed by a concert featuring someone called Craig David, which will mean a crowd of 10,000+, containing the usual proportion of drunks and cokeheads.
The usual owners and trainers facility is unavailable, as it’s being used as an overflow area for the jockeys – quite why such an area is needed for a meeting with 45 runners escapes me. If the horse was running in an earlier race, I might take a chance on most of the music fans arriving late, but I’m not fighting my way through the mob to find a viewing position for the last race. Which will probably be limited anyway by the stage erected for the concert.
The racing is moderate, two maidens and four handicaps, one of them for amateur riders, but the entrance fee certainly isn’t – for access to the Grandstand, £50.40. Which suggests that the take at the gate will be close to half a million quid. Total prize money for the six races is £60,500.
If there was a suitable race elsewhere, I’d avoid this rip-off. I’ve no doubt Sandown will view the evening as a great success, I view it as another reason not to be an owner.
Top post Mr Davies.
I used to go racing every weekend and often during midweek as well, usually to an evening meeting. But in the last few years I have been going a great deal less.
It is not worth it anymore. Admission is too expensive, food and drink are generally poor and at rip off prices and there is no point from a betting point of view when almost every bookmaker is offering the same price against every horse.
And you have to put up with groups of lads who are just there to get hammered and girls who screech home every winner even if they have not backed it.
I know that will cause the usual suspects to accuse me of moaning but I do not care. The racecourse at weekends is just not a pleasant place to be now.
Picking up on some other points: lots of greyhound tracks were sold off because they were worth much more as real estate. A lot of the tracks which survive are owned by bookmakers to provide betting shop fodder. Not sure how long that will last given that the dogs must account for a minuscule part of shop turnover nowadays.
£50 for a ticket to Sandown because Craig David is there is ridiculous. The track clearly does not want racegoers to attend that night. Who is going to pay that money for a modest card? I believe he played after racing at Lingfield one Saturday a few years ago. Lots of racegoers and owners were not happy at the behaviour of the crowd.
I prefer going racing in Ireland. Cheaper admission and better food and drink. And even though things are changing, most of the crowd (especially midweek) are there for the horses and the racing, not a booze up.
Craig David is still going? I’d have thought he’d be struggling to get a pub gig these days. He was rubbish in his heyday.
We were making love by wednesday…..and thursday, friday, and saturday…….that was my heyday.
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If you don’t have a background in racing or know someone who is already interested in it, then getting into it requires some proper effort. I’m not going to say everyone is too stupid and lazy nowadays as clearly that isn’t true; the level of arcane knowledge about football that many people have shows this can’t be the case. But all of this certainly doesn’t help racing when it is trying to compete for people’s leisure time against countless other attractions.
I can well understand why racecourses are taking the path of least resistance of broadening their offering to attract more people, who will probably spend much more than purist racegoers as well. Yes, it’s a shame in many ways and clearly there are issues such as security that need to be improved, but they are businesses ultimately. I’d rather they take this approach than cease operating as racecourses entirely, which there is clearly a risk of.
We were making love by wednesday…..and thursday, friday, and saturday…….
Sounds like Craig has got his diary confused if he’s going to be at Sandown on Thursday?
Christ, you are a better man than me if you need the entire evening / night free to service the mrs.
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When I was last over in Ireland before Covid descended, I visited Gowran Park and Tramore. Both meeting were Student Days, where I assume lots of students from local universities and colleges were let in for free. I believe these are a feature at quite a few Irish tracks – not sure if it happens here?
I was a bit apprehensive but to be fair the students were generally quite well behaved. A few were the little the worse for wear after racing but nothing serious. I did not witness any real trouble.
The main thing I noticed is even though quite a lot of the students watched the races, very few ventured to the paddock to look at the horses and I did not see many placing a bet. It just seemed like a day out and a chance to do some boozing and for the girls to dress up. It might as well have been anywhere – not really sure why they needed to go to the races or how many it converted to the sport.
Its a commercial world. More folk are interested in watching Craig David or Little Mix play music than watch a few maidens / handicaps. Not sure I can fault the courses for that particular issue. What would you do if you were in charge?
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Why bother putting on mediocre racing and charging 50 quid for it? Why don’t they just have the concert?
Sandown apparently has one of the best COC’s in the business despite his overwatering, incorrect going reports, judges announcing the wrong result, winning post in the wrong place, 2 winning posts when only 1 required etc.
BHA should be in charge of fixtures or at least put in a legal challenge regards them but like everything else to do with racing is totally inept.
The sport is going to the dogs and has been for sometime. Who can remember the winner of The Ebor last year? Or the year before? I haven’t a clue myself
“Who can remember the winner of The Ebor last year? Or the year before? I haven’t a clue myself”
I’m sure York racecourse make fortunes on Ebor day (Covid notwithstanding).
They don’t care if anoraks (like us) can’t remember who won the race.
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