Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
Sports fans form relationships with teams and players. It's hard for people to think of horse racing as a sport when they can't form any kind of relationship with the horses given they run so infrequently and retire so soon. Racing will never be like football, baseball etc.. but if horses ran until they were 5-6 and we had more multi generational matchups between champions, I think we could move the needle in a positive direction.
The economics of breeding/buying yearlings vs. racing for purses is what it is, but we can see by looking at mares that if those economics were different, horses would race longer for purses. I don't understand the economics of yearling prices at all. Almost all the buyers are getting buried financially, but they keep on buying, which in turn encourages retirement. That's "one" thing that has to change to at least start moving in a positive direction.
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Horse racing doesn't need this kind of fans...IMO. Some sports fans identify with certain teams and go around telling other fans that "their team" is this or that. This sort of "loyalty" isn't what horse racing is about.
Gambling games don't depend upon "emotional relationship"...they sink or swim in accordance with the entertainment/wagering value that they offer to the bettor. If the value is there, then the bettor will come...and if the value ISN'T there...then neither will the bettor be there. And when I say "value"...I don't necessarily mean PROFIT. The casino side of the racetrack offers no "profitable" games...but the "entertainment" value seems to be higher probably because the bettors there lose at a slower rate. So...the casino side of the racetrack is brimming with business...while the horse-betting side is a ghost-town.
