Is Team Spirit for Horse Racing Possible?

[thoroughbred]

Maybe this has been discussed before. If so, I apologize for, perhaps, bringing it up again.

I've been thinking about ways to increase interest in horse racing. While I haven't succeeded, I began to realize that what is missing is "team spirit." By this I mean like the loyalty fans have in baseball, football, hockey, basketball, et al, where they identify with a team, usually because the team is located in their city, or it is a team from the college they went to.

Horse racing doesn't have this. Can anyone think of a way to have something like this happen for horse racing? Maybe it doesn't have to be geography, but something where fans can identify with particular groups of horses and develop the same kind of passion as in the other sports.

Clearly, I don't even know if this is possible, but I thought I would toss this idea out among you, to see if anyone can think of a way to get people to identify with horses that is the equivalent of "team spirit."

[JustRalph]

It does exist to some degree in Horse Racing. It is called your local track.

Everybody at one point or another liked their local track for some reason.

I used to love to go to Beulah park back in the 70's with my Dad.

But, race tracks haven't kept up. Many are downright dank. If you travel at all and have been to some of the nicer tracks..........you realize how crappy your local one can be. If you live near a nice track............ I bet you don't feel that way.

[kenwoodallpromos]

This is the idea of the TVG fantasy game.

[Indulto]

... Clearly, I don't even know if this is possible, but I thought I would toss this idea out among you, to see if anyone can think of a way to get people to identify with horses that is the equivalent of "team spirit."There's plenty of team spirit on this board only it tends to be the "root against" variety. ;)

I was always amazed at how much antipathy there was for successful teams like the Yankees, Celtics, and Cowboys or Raiders among rabid fans of opposing teams and even casual fans..

Pletcher and Stronach seem to fit that mold. Conversely, people seem to love it when an H. A. Jerkins horse wins. Presumably, the Jacksons and Matz will get that same treatment.

I personally like the idea of horseplayer teams competing in vendor sponsored contests, and organized according to a) aata source, b) handicapping methodology, and/or c) software, etc. with videos of the selection and ticket structuring discussions recorded as well as race-viewing and post-mortems for reality-show style presentation.

I don't see then as a frequent occurrence, but as something to spur interest in off-track participation, and not necessarily as a lone-wolf activity. I also think tracks should utilize amiable veteran players as "big brothers" to accompany newcomers on-track and acclimate them to the game.

[eqitec]

I always thought there should be a place at the track where all the people who bet a certain horse in each race could gather together and cheer the horse on. Perhaps on the apron in warm weather. The horse #s could be posted on the fence. After betting, people would go to the area by the # of the horse they bet.
This would amount to a few minutes of team spirit for each race. There would have to be high 5s going around somewhere along the fence after each race.

[Skanoochies]

Not a bad idea Eqitec. Good way to meet some ladies. :jump: But can you imagine the area they would have had to reserve for Secretariat, it would have been called Churchil Downs. :lol:

[Ron]

I root for horses that I've watched break their maiden at Saratoga.

[Overlay]

I always thought there should be a place at the track where all the people who bet a certain horse in each race could gather together and cheer the horse on. Perhaps on the apron in warm weather. The horse #s could be posted on the fence. After betting, people would go to the area by the # of the horse they bet.
This would amount to a few minutes of team spirit for each race. There would have to be high 5s going around somewhere along the fence after each race.

I understand the intent of your suggestion, and some horses are certainly great favorites with the public. But doesn't the pari-mutuel nature of betting (where you're essentially competing with the person next to you, and the size of the payoff you receive relies on restricting the knowledge of who's betting on which horse) present a built-in hurdle to achieving the kind of race-to-race camaraderie that you're hoping to generate? The picture of horseplayers as solitary loners may be a stereotype, but I think it has a basis in the realities of the game. Would bettors playing winning longshots be willing to identify themselves as individuals, particularly if it might lead to others following them around to try to get advice or duplicate their wagers?

[BIG RED]

I can see this happening with a local horse who is tops locally and ships out. The 'gang' from the track would follow him, if doable, to root him on on foreign soil. That's team spirit. A bunch of us did this with Waquiot years ago, and it was great to see familiar faces yell'in for him in the stretch. But of course it's not cheap to follow a horse around today.

[Ron]

I also think we'll see more team spirit as ownership moves from individuals to clubs. My club owns 3 or 4 horses. On race days we have tailgate parties!

[Jeff P]

Let's be honest. Thoroughbred Racing isn't a sport. It's a gambling game. Just like poker isn't a sport. It too, is a gambling game. Yet poker, unlike Thoroughbred Racing, has become tremendously popular in the past few years.

Why?

Poker has stars. Stop just about anybody on the street or in a bar and ask them to name some of Poker's stars. Seriously, try it. You'll hear names like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, TJ Cloutier, Erik Seidel, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, and many many others. Everybody seems to know them.

Why?

Poker is mainstream. Poker is cool. Poker has tournaments on TV. Even Hollywood picked up on it. Anyone catch Rounders? That movie tells a pretty good story. The moral of that story? Being a talented winning poker player is cool. What gambler out there wouldn't want to be a talented cool winning player?

Thoroughbred Racing has no stars. Stop just about anybody on the street or in a bar and ask them to name present day stars in racing. Seriously, try it. You'll get a lot of blank stares. Ask the same question 10 years ago and you might get some jockey names. "Jerry Bailey, Pat Day, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay, Bill Shoemaker, Johnny Longden..." maybe. Go into a bar and ask that question today and you'll hear "Racing... What?"

Why? Horseracing isn't on TV. Racing isn't mainstream. Racing isn't seen as cool among the 20 somethings of today.

Let's play what if for a second.

What if racing had a unified governing body whose mission statement was to market the sport in the right way? What if that governing body hired a production crew to film (and edit... lot's of editing) horse players from start to finish throughout a major tournament? What if they were able to tell the story of the guy (or girl) who won a $350,000 first place prize in a big tournament. What if they did a really good job of telling the story and got ESPN to air it? What if they came back year after year and did the same thing?

Does anybody honestly think this wouldn't attract new fans to the sport... er... game?


-jp

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[Kelso]

I also think we'll see more team spirit as ownership moves from individuals to clubs. My club owns 3 or 4 horses. On race days we have tailgate parties!



Ron,
Sounds like great fun. Are clubs simply another name for partnerships, or is there something structurally different about them from how conventional partnerships are organized?

Also, in what general class of horse does your club invest? How much does membership cost? Do membership costs generally increase with class, or are the clubs usually larger to cover the more expensive horses?

Thank you.

[Kelso]

What if racing had a unified governing body whose mission statement was to market the sport in the right way? What if that governing body hired a production crew to film (and edit... lot's of editing) horse players from start to finish throughout a major tournament? What if they were able to tell the story of the guy (or girl) who won a $350,000 first place prize in a big tournament. What if they did a really good job of telling the story and got ESPN to air it? What if they came back year after year and did the same thing?

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Jeff,

I think you're squarely on target with the value of a unified governing body ... and not just for promotional purposes. Standardization facilitates familiarization, which is a prerequisite to enthusiasm. Differences are good; but in gaming/sports the differences are better placed in the facilities and personalities (including equine), not the operations.

Quality new programming has been in dire short supply since the advent of cable TV. I think consistantly well designed/produced, syndicated horse racing programs would be welcomed by both cable and local broadcast stations. They have a LOT of air time to fill.

I remember getting hooked on watching Saturday afternoon races on New York's WNEW-TV (now the FOX affiliate) as a teenager, back in the early 60s. Got to know the leading horses somewhat ... that's how I became a big Kelso fan ... and enjoyed seeing the different tracks, particularly Hialeah and Churchill.

[Bruddah]

Always good answers and rationalization from an intelligent mind. Great Post Jeff P.

[GlenninOhio]

Jeff,

I think you're squarely on target with the value of a unified governing body ... and not just for promotional purposes. Standardization facilitates familiarization, which is a prerequisite to enthusiasm. Differences are good; but in gaming/sports the differences are better placed in the facilities and personalities (including equine), not the operations.

Quality new programming has been in dire short supply since the advent of cable TV. I think consistantly well designed/produced, syndicated horse racing programs would be welcomed by both cable and local broadcast stations. They have a LOT of air time to fill.

I remember getting hooked on watching Saturday afternoon races on New York's WNEW-TV (now the FOX affiliate) as a teenager, back in the early 60s. Got to know the leading horses somewhat ... that's how I became a big Kelso fan ... and enjoyed seeing the different tracks, particularly Hialeah and Churchill.

Yes, Kelso, I remember that WNEW-TV show well - Saturdays from 4:30-5:00 pm - would show Aqueduct/Belmont feature race live (almost always the 7th race) and a taped replay of the 6th race.

I was about the same age as you and Kelso was a huge star at that time and got big exposure on this show. I'm also recalling fillies like Cicada and Bowl of Flowers from that era who were big on that show.

It definitely got me hooked on racing, and I don't think the hit racing took by choosing to pull back (beginning in the 1970's?) from broad TV exposure can be over estimated.

Thanks for the memories!

[jma]

What if racing had a unified governing body whose mission statement was to market the sport in the right way? What if that governing body hired a production crew to film (and edit... lot's of editing) horse players from start to finish throughout a major tournament? What if they were able to tell the story of the guy (or girl) who won a $350,000 first place prize in a big tournament. What if they did a really good job of telling the story and got ESPN to air it? What if they came back year after year and did the same thing?

Does anybody honestly think this wouldn't attract new fans to the sport... er... game?

-jp

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They actually did do this in 2005. ESPN showed the NTRA National Championship a few weeks after it happened. They followed the horseplayers through the tournament, lots of edits, told the story, etc. Most of the people here who commented said it was boring. Here's the thread:

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18136&highlight=national+handicapping

I guess it didn't do much in the way of ratings (the NTRA probably bought the time for the show, but who knows?) because I don't think they did another show like it the following year.

[Ron]

Ron,
Sounds like great fun. Are clubs simply another name for partnerships, or is there something structurally different about them from how conventional partnerships are organized?

Also, in what general class of horse does your club invest? How much does membership cost? Do membership costs generally increase with class, or are the clubs usually larger to cover the more expensive horses?

Thank you.

I think the term club is a pretty accurate word to use for this. From what I've seen the very minimum cost to get into a partnership is $1500 a year but you get more perks. Horsehats Racing Club has $200 buy-ins and you have no say in any decsisions about the horse (except we vote on names and Its just for fun.

We owned Victory Lap who was a stakes winning filly and we did really well with her. Our first horse we lost in a cheap maiden claimer.

Some of you may laugh but we get to follow the horse as our own and get all the updates on training progress, etc for very little risk.

I bought a hat from them once and got on their mailing list. The first shares in Excommunicate were actually a gift for my wife and she was so excited to own a horse. ;)

We have gotten access to the paddock when they ran at Saratoga, but my father-in-law owns horses so that really doesn't matter to me.

http://horsehats.com/HorseRacingClub.html

[Jeff P]

They actually did do this in 2005. ESPN showed the NTRA National Championship a few weeks after it happened. They followed the horseplayers through the tournament, lots of edits, told the story, etc. Most of the people here who commented said it was boring.
I thought it was a really good idea and still do. I watched it when it aired and thought "Wow. They really blew that one. Didn't they?"

But what if they had done a really good job of telling the story... instead of the show that they actually aired? IMHO, they need to try it again... and get it right next time.


-jp

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