In preparing to cover this year's Symposium on Racing and Gaming I was pleased to see that—in setting the agenda—the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program emphasized not only the racing aspect of that couplet but also as part of that a favorite topic of mine: marketing the wagering product.
The best lessons I ever got in racetrack marketing came in summer 1999 when I interned at the Milstein family's Northfield Park between Cleveland and Akron. The marquee out front says Cleveland's Casino, but the only gaming going on was wagering on horse racing, and in order to make the most of that opportunity, President Tom Aldrich and simulcast director Dave Bianconi (who I'm sure has a loftier title by now) went out of their way to stimulate betting. Tell patrons where the action was and make sure they could bet it and watch what they were betting on. More than 11 years and dozens of tracks later, I've never seen a facility focus on generating handle as well as Northfield did, but I've encountered plenty of whiffs.
In summer 2000 Yonkers Raceway tried Friday matinee cards (presumably to fill the void left in Friday afternoon harness when Freehold closed). First post was noon, which meant it was the first track of any breed going, and Yonkers was able to fit in two races before Philadelphia Park began at 12:20 and a third race before a few others came on between 12:30-12:40.
You wouldn't know it at Thistledown, though.
To be sure, the Cleveland-area Thoroughbred track had a clientele that largely preferred flat racing, but there's a good chance that at least some of the people at the track at noon on a Friday were action junkies and may have taken a look at a race going off 20 minutes earlier than anything, 50 minutes before Churchill, 55 minutes before the live product, and 60 minutes before Belmont. Trouble was, Yonkers was only seen on one small screen on every other bank of TVs. Every television was pre-programmed in a mission control room, which meant tracks going off at 1:30 or later had a more prime position than the track running (pacing/trotting) RIGHT NOW. It boggled my mind.
I mentioned this situation to management and was told that the people in the TV room don't like to change channels throughout the day. I'm not sure if LOL was around back in summer 2000, but I LOLed.
A more recent faux pas occurred at Hoosier Park on Indiana Derby day. Despite not great weather and lots of electronic gaming options in the building next door, the racing product was doing a brisk business. People were paying attention, and of course having champion Lookin At Lucky and his Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, on hand didn't hurt.
There were two more live races following the Indiana Derby, meaning that the live card concluded about an hour after the feature and that undefeated (at the time) two-time champion Zenyatta was going for her 19th straight victory within minutes of the last race ending.
Following that last live race announcer Steve Cross came over the public address to thank people for their patronage and encourage them to visit the casino next door. Zenyatta was prancing her way to the gate as she said this, though you may not have known that depending on what bank of TVs you were looking at since Hoosier must employ the same channel administrator unio n as Thistledown.
Besides the obvious of putting the most popular horse in a generation on every TV available, why couldn't the announcer let everyone know that undefeated champion Zenyatta would be racing in mere minutes and that you could watch and wager on the race?
Horse racing is a very expensive endeavor, and it's easy to see how a bloated marketing budget could cut into the bottom line, but having the announcer or TV people or simulcast analyst emphasizing interesting wagering opportunities a few times throughout the day can only help.
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Amen brother. Common sense and ownership in the success of the racing product is simply missing. Do tracks understand by featuring other races besides their own only helps build inte
ReplyDeleterest in the sport. You see it. I see it. Others have more important things to worry about I guess.
My question would be whether EdDeRosa, with a sharp eye for business per this post, will ever feature anything as to why horse racing fails to advertise it's online gambling product outside the game
ReplyDeleteThat's an intersting question, Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteWe see commercials on TV all the time pushing the lottery - it would be interesting to see Twinspires introduce their procuct to the general public.
This summer I visited a cigar bar in Solon, OH (Ed knows this neighborhood). The smoking room was equiped with wi-fi; some patrons ("the regulars") were playing poker online.
I mentioned that I played the horses on line. A lawyer looked up long enough to inform me that he was sure that what I was doing was illegal and that this off-shore outfit would certainly be shutdown and I would probably just lose my money, if I was lucky enough not to be attacked by the IRS.
I didn't bother trying to explain the system (I'm pretty sure that Lexington isn't "off-shore) - it was obvious that I was too ignorant to debate with this jurist. Anyhow, that experience is an demonstrates that many gamblers are in the dark as fair as playing the horses from home is concerned.
I can't speak to the rules in Ohio, but I know from working in Massachusetts and Florida, a flat track would not want to market a harness track because it makes less money on that product and funds a competing track in the same market. The costs of prodding the lazy TV-room intern to walk around the plant to put more TV's on Yonkers for an half-hour wouldn't outweigh the return when most of the cut was going to a competitor.
ReplyDeleteIf they are "action junkies" they will find the action. The open question is whether accommodating action junkies would make more of them come to the track. In the face of other forms of gaming, I don't think it's worth spending scarce marketing dollars on finding the most established "action junkies" in an area. Better to placate the fewer "action junkies" as cost effectively as possible while marketing the product in a way that's more appealing to newcomers who may later discover they were "action junkies" and just didn't know it yet.
As for the Hoosier announcer, isn't he the guy who would repeatedly and often say "down the stretch they come" and claimed to not know it was Dave Johnson's (or Roger Huston's) signature call? The fault there isn't of the track's marketing department. It's the track's fault for hiring an idiot for an announcer who doesn't know racing.
The art of pushing the product is lost on most racetracks. Most will advertise on TVG or HRTV. That is industrial strength stupid. Why try to attract people who already are aware of your product. Most racetracks and marketing departments have no idea how to push the product. Props have to go to Joe Harper and his people at Del Mar. Maybe it's has something to do with Joe's background in the entertainment business? Who knows? Del Mar does a hell of a job. TV spots on all major networks in San Diego. Billboards on every freeway. They know haw to put butts in the seats.When racing comes to Del Mar everyone in town is excited and wants to attend. It's the thing to do. Until this industry wakes up. Creates fans who then become gamblers. Were in more track closures and lagging attendance. I have been in this business for 40 years around the business for 55 years. I remember the 60k Saturday crowds the 38k weekday crowds. Now I see the 1,500 a day crowds. Didn't think I would see the death of horse racing in my lifetime. But I just might. Goodnight Ed D
ReplyDeleteIf you want an example of a track that is clueless about simulcast patrons, just pay a visit to Gulfstream Park. They have multiple TVs in the same viewing area on the same track rather than providing customers with the full selection available. And often don't even show some of their sister tracks unless specifically asked. Little wonder Magna went bankrupt. Bar patrons who want a to view a particular track must ask the bartenders to make a phone call and have the monitors changed, which frequently results in missed races while the bartenders serve customers or one must wait for the simulcast folks to get around to switching the channel. It's just a pitiful set up all the way around.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Hoosier Park matter, if I recall correctly, the track delayed the post on that race long enough so as not to go head to head with Zenyatta. I give them credit for having an awareness of this and sense enough not to send their race off at the same time. Sounds like it was much better to be watching both of those races from another venue.
Get racing on cable television!
ReplyDeleteThink this through. HRTV and TVG are pay per view. Robert has introduced RTN which is also a subscriber based pay per view. The only demographic these idiots are going after is the existing player that has a dish on his roof. Lame
Cindy:
ReplyDeleteThe Hoosier Park live program was complete when Zenyatta's race came up, so there wasn't any delay so as not to overlap—there didn't need to be.
Rolly::
At Thistledown, the TV room was mission control, so an intern (me in 2000) wouldn't have had to go around changing TVs. It was all controlled from that room but rarely was.
I agree with Ed on many levels. I was always irritated by the lack of understanding of the fans that the local New England tracks displayed at so many level. It was almost as if they wanted to drive the customers away.
ReplyDeleteWhat was odd to me was that these tracks had some very good marketing people like Rollie Hoyt and others.
As a marketing person, it was always my job to understand market perceptions about my company be right or wrong and fair or not. If these perceptions were not what I wanted, then it was my job to change them.
Debating with the customer would serve no purpose.
Marketing the wagering aspect is not a new concept. It's crassness sort of goes against the "sport of kings' angle of the game.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlzvoXrzhGg&feature=related