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Racing certainly isn’t cruel
It is all about perception though. If you are looking to bring new viewers in, they are not going to be savvy regarding racehorse welfare. Part of the problem is that many people’s only prior experience of watching horse racing is the Grand National and when, inevitably, a fatality does occur, it is hard to make people buy into the idea that much has been done to ensure the safety and well-being of the racehorse.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
BBC’s Bottom Line (links below) last week discussed how snooker/darts/cricket/F1 were promoted to reach their glory days.
A key section, for me, was Barry Hearn’s strategy of taking a group of snooker players and giving each of them a ‘soap opera’ personality.
Racing can learn from this, imo. We will never grow the sport substantially by just promoting horses; non-racing folk have no context within which to assess the Frankels of the world.
Which is more interesting (boring), Snooker or Horse Racing? Which was getting TV audiences of 18.5m once Hearn had delivered his strategy?
BTW, Max Mosley is in this programme so get the ‘whip’ jokes out of the way early
Evan’s guests this week are darts, snooker and boxing promoter, Barry Hearn, who is also chairman of Leyton Orient and creator of the televised fishing contest, Fishomania; former Formula 1 boss Max Mosley who gives the inside story on how his sport became a hit in the Far East; and former managing director of IMG India, Tim Wright explains how the Indian Premier League turned cricket into a showbiz sporting sensation
BBC’s Bottom Line (links below) last week discussed how snooker/darts/cricket/F1 were promoted to reach their glory days.
A key section, for me, was Barry Hearn’s strategy of taking a group of snooker players and giving each of them a ‘soap opera’ personality.
Racing can learn from this, imo.
Where are the Racing "Personalities" though?
I have never seen a sport where so many of those involved are so evasive when answering questions put to them. Trainers and Jockeys are skilled in the art of talking without actually saying anything helpful. If you watch Sean Boyce on ATR, you can see his resigned exasperation as he laughs off yet another vain attempt to actually get a tip from a Jockey or Trainer. I don’t see any Hurricanes, Rockets, Grinders, Flying Scotsmen or Powers waiting in the wings of the Racing Community to be Christened anew and suddenly grab the attention of the public.
I believe Racing would be making a mistake if they try to pinch ideas from other sports and assume that they can be applied in a perfect fit to what is their own, and almost unique, product. The nature of a racing year and the limitations on how often the, especially high class, horses can run (and the ephemeral nature of a horse’s career) places serious limitations on the way the protaganists can be marketed to the public.
Surely we can’t stoop to Darts’ level and see the Jockeys walking onto the course proceeded by two pneumatic breasted dolly birds tarted up like strumpets. Still, anything for a quid eh?
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Yes, I caught that programme, and very interesting it was, too.
What impressed me about the sports covered was the way those who made changes to their sport and propelled them forward really grabbed hold of the moment and got things done.
Compare and contrast with racing, which has, during the 50-odd years that I’ve been following it, just sat back and assumed, or hoped, that enough people would automatically become interested in it, without there being any effort on the part of those running the sport to explain to outsiders what it’s all about. Racing For Change is a start, but it’s got decades of catching up to do, and sometimes it’s two steps forward and two back!
There’s no doubt that so many leading figures in racing are extraordinarily fan-unfriendly, either thinking it clever to say as little as possible, or too dim to have anything interesting to say.
In flat racing, among the leading trainers only John Gosden comes out with any credit on a regular basis, and even he still insists on wearing a silly trilby hat (can’t they be banned from racecourses?!) most of the time. As for leading flat jockeys, Piggott, Carson, Moore, Spencer have always come across as thick, uncooperative, or both. (Three cheers for Cauthen and Dettori, though).
Is there any other sport where the public are taken for granted so much?
One the things I like about horse racing is the lack of hype and celebrity/show business culture when compared to other sports and I hope that doesn’t change.
Where are the Racing "Personalities" though?
I don’t see any Hurricanes, Rockets, Grinders, Flying Scotsmen or Powers waiting in the wings of the Racing Community to be Christened anew and suddenly grab the attention of the public.
Don’t forget Ryan Moore, Kieren Fallon ("he’s a good horse, so he is") and Sam Waley-Cohen.
Not forgetting Aidan and Joseph O’Brien. Plenty of promising ammunition there if you are trying to attract new interest to the sport through sparkling, personality-led television coverage certain to appeal to the young.
two pneumatic breasted dolly birds tarted up like strumpets.
Emma Spencer has been kept on by Channel 4 so that’s a start.
two pneumatic breasted dolly birds tarted up like strumpets.
Emma Spencer has been kept on by Channel 4 so that’s a start.
They should have this gal doing the betting CrustyPatch instead of that boring old Tanya http://yfrog.com/khvc6elj
And she’s far more knowledgeable and fluent speaking.two pneumatic breasted dolly birds tarted up like strumpets.
Emma Spencer has been kept on by Channel 4 so that’s a start.
They should have this gal doing the betting CrustyPatch instead of that boring old Tanya http://yfrog.com/khvc6elj
And she’s far more knowledgeable and fluent speaking.Don’t encourage me, Yeats!
This is the third time you have very kindly posted this picture of the lovely Rachel Casey for me.I’m going to have to go for a lie down in a darkened room again…
No more "double handful" jokes this time.
This is the third time you have very kindly posted this picture of the lovely Rachel Casey for me.
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