| INDUSTRY |
Ken Snyder
1/ST, Coglianese Photos, Eclipse Sportswire
MARKETI NG RACI NG THE EFFORTS BEING MADE BY TRACKS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA t some point in time—70 years or so ago in the 1950s—the decision was made by the “powers that were” in horse racing to not broadcast races on the burgeoning medium of television. There was a fear that it would keep fans home watching racing on TV rather than at the racetrack. The decision, of course, backfired. On-track attendance diminished in a sport that had historically been part of a “Big Three,” which included baseball and boxing. In one of those strange twists of history, the decision also succeeded many years later in driving the biggest part of racing’s fan base to… guess what? Television. Today, TV networks like TVG broadcast racing from around the country, and even the world, to viewers at home with Advance Deposit Wagering accounts. Things, obviously, have changed and changed hugely. But some things haven’t. The following newspaper headline, provided by Aidan Butler, chief operating officer of 1/ST Racing and president of 1/ST Content, is as true then as it is now: “No young people come racing anymore.” When was it written? The 1930s. Young people and equally, if not more importantly, new owners don’t “come racing anymore.” Ironically, television is the lifeline for the sport and perhaps the “tip of the spear” for bringing in those missing young people and new owners. In 2019, at one of the sport’s major venues, Santa Anita, there were 13 racing fatalities on the dirt surface. This may have been the nadir for horse racing, threatening the very existence of the sport in California with potential effects rippling to racetracks across America and those involved in breeding and sales in Kentucky and Florida. But in a state with the most virulent cancel culture, Santa Anita—specifically the Stronach Group and 1/ST Racing—“canceled the cancelers.” In 2020, there were zero racing fatalities on the dirt surface. What do animal welfare and safety have to do with marketing? It’s elementary: Marketing begins with a product. “The best thing we’ve got is the horses above anything else,” said Butler.
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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 64