Management just doesn't get it
tya...@gmail.com
with racing that those managers would bring some of the people skills
in from their venues BUT, it has not happened. Management is stuck in
the the 1950's model of "take it or leave it as we are the only game
in town" model and does NOTHING to either bring in nor help the ardent
and aging fan base who regularly attends the races.
I have gone to management repeatedly with educational seminars, lined
up qualified speakers in differing areas of race track expertise and
have heard nothing back but "We'll think in over the next time we
meet." Their marketing plans work to GET BUTTS IN THE SEATS but they
do NOTHING in putting the spark into these people to want to
understand and work at being proficient at the mutuels.
They have a legion of people who are supposed to answer questions
about wagering, but they are so poorly trained it is outrageous. I
once did a study and went up to several on track with a simple
question: "Hi, I am new to the game and I wondered something.
(pointing to the past performances in the DRF) Where are the horses
out on THIS track at the 2nd call here in the Form?"
Blank stares and no idea. When the tutors don't know a thing about
what the fan should know, the program is useless.
Do SOMETHING to educate new fans or the future of the game is in real
peril.
Mr. G
wrote:
Maybe if you would have asked a question that made any sense, you would
have got more than blank stares.
The way you posed the above question makes very little sense.
tya...@gmail.com
> On Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:38:51 UTC, "tyat...@gmail.com" <tyat...@gmail.com>
IF they could not answer a simple question as to WHERE the horses are
PHYSICALLY at the 2nd call in the DRF, then they are not prepared to
answer any questions about races. That is as fundamental as it gets
byrdman
i had earlier stated that the downfall of racing was due to
simulcasting. obviously, it is due to many factors that were also
pointed out very well.
but i think my point ties in here. when i first stared going to the
races, and for at least the next twenty years, virtually the only way to
bet on horse racing was by going to the race track. this in itself
attracted large crowds. but once at the racetrack the only focus of
attention was on the hoses for and including the upcoming race. there
was a certain excitement and energy generated by the live racing. at
1:00 or at 7:30 everyone at the track focussed on one thing: the race.
and the same held true through out the day and night. and everyone
sitting in the grandstand with their Racing Forms created more interest
and discussion of handicapping.
now few people are motivated to come out to the track, especially, for
example, in Maryland where the facilities are very sub par. and those
that do are generally sitting at TV monitors, one or a few to a screen.
totally toxic atmosphere.
most people sit home and watch their TVs or their computers and have no
feeling or interest or excitement.
now i attend the Preakness and no other racing in Maryland. i might go
to Delaware Park once a summer but that's it.
tya...@gmail.com
I go to the track upwards of 200 times a year so I can review the
crowds first hand. In about 20 years the gray and blue haired crowd
will be in rest homes and the stands will be empty. There was an
abandoned (GOOD) project I heard about in Australia, to have a race
meet held JUST FOR TELEVISION with not even a hint of a grandstand for
people. It failed thank goodness.
byrdman
that's my point. there is nothing to attract a racing fan to the track.
tya...@gmail.com
Read it and really weep for the sport's demise
http://www.equidaily.com/bestbet/news/2009/91015.html
Mr. G
wrote:
Speaking of "just doesn't get it".....It's the way you worded the question
that makes no sense, regardless of what you were pointing to in the Form.
So. Cal tracks have in the past offered "educational seminars" and they
might still do so. Guess what? They may have a dozen attendees. If people
want the education, they know how to use Google. Welcome to the 21st
Century. In our day, we had to buy books for that education and of course
endure much time consuming trial and error. That part of it hasn't changed
and todays mindset just won't bother with it.
Your comment....
> > > do NOTHING in putting the spark into these people to want to
> > > understand and work at being proficient at the mutuels.
Brings this cliche to mind...'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't
make him drink' (or make him want to drink).
So, the 'big' question is...How do you get someone to want to WORK at their
entertainment? Isn't the education avenue WORK on top of WORK? Do you want
to work at having fun?
The mental exercise of handicapping horses proficiently is taxing enough
for someone doing it on a full time basis; for someone with a 40-50 hr. a
week job, it's almost overwhelming.
How about this...There are several track up for auction (or soon will be).
Why don't you head up a group of investors, buy one of these tracks, and
show the racing world (North American) how to do it. I hear that Lone Star
could be had for around 50 mil.
tya...@gmail.com
> On Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:15:19 UTC, "tyat...@gmail.com" <tyat...@gmail.com>
My application is in at several. I have no intention of buying into
their screwed up logic, BUT
want to help the fan understand the game which is ripe for computer
program evaluation.
Lescor
"Mr. G" <nos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:G8df4sdtcWG8-pn2-qpBVdjdlGiow@localhost...
True.....and to me the idea completely misses the point. This repeated
idea that "educating" puntersi is in anyway he answer to falling interest
is ignoring the obvious.
A large majority of bettors at any meeting will lose money. They always
did, even in the past days when the game was most popular. They will also
lose it on slots, by betting at other tracks, in casinos or on lotteries. We
might
gather from this fact that winning is not the driving force for most of
those
who enjoy a bet. It fills a need. It offers the expectation and kick of big
profits.
In short, it is entertainment.
Did the large crowds in the past have a better, more professional approach
to reading the form? Very unlikely. They soon understood that the prices
will
do that job for you pretty accurately. All they need to know is what type of
bets
are available and how to place them.
The thrill is in the possibility of winning and, just for once, of getting
it right.
Racing will never compete with other gambling outlets in the area of quick
repeats or immediacy. It can only compete in the area of the quality of
the experience.
A day out at the track can be an ' event ' , something you can hardly say
of
doing your cash on casino games or slots. This difference is racings
strongest
quality if handled correctly. An enjoyable event, even one which involves
betting,
is not dependant on winning. It never was for most ,otherwise it would
never have
existed.
Racing now faces more betting competition than it ever did. Does it
effectively
use the advantages it holds, those of spectacle , build up, variety and
excitement?
How can it when it has reduced its stars to relatively short distance
performers
and offers them up under more or less the same conditions, race after race.
There appears to be an insular, inward looking approach to the problem in
the US,
a "we know best" approach which is seen in the way it ignores the stringent
laws
on the use of drugs imposed by all the other racing nations.
It seems that there is nothing to be learned by looking outwards, even
though
racing is comparatively healthy elsewhere where it holds its own, or even
grew,
in countries like the UK, Australia, Ireland, France, Hong Kong etc, where
there
is even greater competition available for the betting cash. It even thrives
in the
Middle East where no betting is allowed.
So why the difference? Could it be that the variety in the individual race
conditions
and the wide range of distances offered on each card are the reason?
Could it be that it is not the sport which is proving unattractive, it is
what US racing
has turned it into.........with few exceptions, a nationwide boring
product?
LC