Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
It's just as green, but there is no future in old people.
Thask, we have been around this merry-go-round before, but you need to separate "what would be convenient for me" from "what is good for the long-term health of the sport". They are two different things.
To put a rather coarse point on it, we are in the midst of the Triple Crown. I don't know if you ever attend any of those races (I have been to the Belmont when a TC was on the line), but they are not marketed to you and what you offer to the sport, at all, and yet they make tons of money for the three tracks that put those races on. And if someone said Churchill shouldn't worry about all the fashionable wealthy young folks who come to the Derby and should focus on its older customer base of gamblers, that would just be obviously crazy advice.
It may be less obviously crazy with respect to other racing days, but it is still crazy.
|
Yes, you are right...we've been through this merry-go-round before...but we still don't understand each other. I'm not just concerned with what's good for me...I'm also deeply concerned with the future of the sport. You've been on this board pretty regularly now...and you've seen what the vast majority of the posters here have been saying in regards to their current participation in this game. Almost to a man, they've said that they currently wager only a small percentage of what they used to in years past...if they haven't stopped betting ALTOGETHER. And they haven't done so because they've "gotten sick or died"; most are still in their 50s and 60s, with plenty of time and disposable income...along with a deep-seeded affection for what this game once was. And you'd compare the patronage of these faithful, regular horseplayers...to the twice-a-year group of "fashionable wealthy young folks"...who only show up for our ultra-glamour races? On which of those two groups should our sport focus on...for its "future"?
Horse racing is tailor-made for the older crowd. Only THEY have the free time to play a game which is run during the time of day when the "young folks" are busy working in order to provide for a growing family. When you have family responsibilities, your weekdays are spent on the job...and your weekends belong to your family. The game should try to attract the younger crowd if it can...but to do so while refusing to cater to the "older folks", for fear that their "marketing efforts" will be in vain because the older folks will soon ''get sick and die', is sheer lunacy...IMO. When the game is in dire straits, as it is now...you can't afford to alienate your most loyal customers.
