Indeed, a post on this very blog less than three weeks ago addressed some of those issues as well as some groups making an effort to grow interest in the sport.
On Sunday I will do my part to Find a Thoroughbred Enthusiast when I bring my sister-in-law and her two kids to Churchill Downs for their first-ever live racing experience.
The kids have gone with me to Keeneland before for Breakfast with the Works, but this will be their first "day at the races."
I don't think my sister-in-law will be visiting the $50 window tomorrow or ever, but there's more to creating a Thoroughbred enthusiast than getting him or her to push money through the windows. I'd love to own a broodmare (or several) one day, and making it a family affair would be a lot of fun, so getting her excited about the races could still lead to involvement in the sport down the road.
As for the kids, it was actually their idea to go to Churchill, so that's a positive development. I'm really looking forward to seeing the track through their youthful innocence.
Looking back on my first memories of the races—going to Thistledown and Northfield Park with my grandpa in the mid 1980s—I remember experiencing the plants with wide eyes. The cavernous grandstand, the starting gate, the shouting, the TVs, the bells. I wanted to know what it all meant and how it all worked.
People from Upstate New York seem to take great pride in their home track being Saratoga Race Course. I hope my niece and nephew speak with similar pride about trips to Churchill with Uncle Eddie.
I just introduced a newbie to racing at Saratoga. I took her around to the paddock, to the jock's room entrance, down to the rail, etc. And we did the backstretch tour.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to show new race fans around like that because racing can feel like half an hour of waiting for, maybe, two minutes of action, especially if you just stay in your seat.
As for my friend, she's eager to return. My plan worked.
Near Churchill, I've heard that Wagner's Pharmacy is a great place for breakfast on race day, FWIW.
Once people are open minded in this game and not so predicyable in there actions this sport may a chance, to many selfish, opionionated people such yourself in the game currently.
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