Horse Racing Getting Older

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by DeanT

follow up on some strategies that may attract tech savvy younger folks.

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...enial-gambler/

Your article is right on but there is another "old' problem that doesn't help matters. That is the decision makers in the industry are old and far less inclined to suggest or adapt to substantial changes. They are much like the old players today who hearken back to the glory days of racing when they would go to the track and the stands would be full. They both want to try and turn back the clock.

[Andy Asaro]

Originally Posted by AndyC

Your article is right on but there is another "old' problem that doesn't help matters. That is the decision makers in the industry are old and far less inclined to suggest or adapt to substantial changes. They are much like the old players today who hearken back to the glory days of racing when they would go to the track and the stands would be full. They both want to try and turn back the clock.

Very true.

Most of them are "they're gonna lose anyway" camp and learned it at U of A IMO. If we ever get hot mic moment people will learn real fast about how they really look a their Customers IMO.

[GMB@BP]

Great article.

Similar to what I had posted.

Younger generation expects ease of access, quick use of information, high quality viewing on ALL devices.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I took my 2yo grandson to the races this summer and he loves it. When I turn it on tv at home he says "Horseys"! Plus I have 2 new grandbabies that will be there soon too. I think it starts with families. I was lucky to discover it when I was younger. And lucky I live in a city that has nearly year round live racing. Most of my fascination with this game came from reading Hemingway and Bukowski's accounts of racing. That put the romance and curiosity in. I knew enough people that went to the races. But once I actually saw a racing form I was intrigued by all those esoteric symbols and once I heard the thunder of hooves I was hooked. It's been 21 years since then. That is the initial intrigue. But I can speed up the experience for friends and family with the experience and knowledge I've acquired. We all need to do the same and be ambassadors of this sport as often as we can to those around us. Do "OUR" part. Hopefully the industry fossils WILL die off and a younger generation that gets what will appeal to the younger generation takes over.

[DeanT]

Originally Posted by AndyC

Your article is right on but there is another "old' problem that doesn't help matters. That is the decision makers in the industry are old and far less inclined to suggest or adapt to substantial changes. They are much like the old players today who hearken back to the glory days of racing when they would go to the track and the stands would be full. They both want to try and turn back the clock.

Agree. Good point, and not talked about a lot.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Originally Posted by DeanT

Agree. Good point, and not talked about a lot.

The old "Woe is me" philosophy. The year I got into racing James Quinn printed a book called On Track/Off Track:Playing the Horses in Troubled Times. He has been a huge influence on me but that was 21 years ago. I feel like right at this moment I'm playing as well as I ever have and getting solid prices and returns. I think us players are more resilient than the insiders could even fathom. Woe is them!

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by DeanT

Some new numbers from a conference a couple of weeks ago which show a real degradation of younger players coming on board to bet the sport. I'm beginning to think what everyone has been telling us since we were ten years old might be starting to ring true.


http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...-is-very-real/

I would suggest another factor not mentioned, and outside the control of the industry, will only make it tougher for the future of the sport.

Discretionary income.

40 years ago a "working class" family could get by quite comfortably on a single income, and could have a little left over for a nice summer vacation. Sometimes the breadwinner could sneak off to the track for some entertainment, and if single you could spend a good chunk of your paycheck at the track without any consequences. These days, with the squeeze on everywhere you turn, it's harder and harder for younger folks to come up with any extra cash to blow at the track. Actually, it's more difficult for most of us not in the top 10% or so. Multiple incomes at much lower wages is now the norm for many, and after paying for a smart phone, higher rents/mortgages, higher health care costs, ridiculous student loans and higher taxes, there's not much left over for any expensive hobbies.

Cracks are beginning to show in other "entertainment" industries, as pro sports, NASCAR, casinos, etc., are all showing signs of slowing growth or contraction. Pretty soon that Saturday afternoon will come down to heading to the local library for some cheap web surfing, looking for aluminum cans in ditches for deposit money, and cooling down that six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon to watch an over-the-air night game on TV....

[Tom]

Racing is a slow game.
Watching the post parades going to the gate on Saratoga Live, I start to nod off. So much action! They should play a funeral dirge in the background.

Even the broadcast team runs out of stuff to talk about.
"Let's go to Maggie in the paddock. "Maggie! What's your favorite color"

[LemonSoupKid]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

I would suggest another factor not mentioned, and outside the control of the industry, will only make it tougher for the future of the sport.

Discretionary income.

40 years ago a "working class" family could get by quite comfortably on a single income, and could have a little left over for a nice summer vacation. Sometimes the breadwinner could sneak off to the track for some entertainment, and if single you could spend a good chunk of your paycheck at the track without any consequences. These days, with the squeeze on everywhere you turn, it's harder and harder for younger folks to come up with any extra cash to blow at the track. Actually, it's more difficult for most of us not in the top 10% or so. Multiple incomes at much lower wages is now the norm for many, and after paying for a smart phone, higher rents/mortgages, higher health care costs, ridiculous student loans and higher taxes, there's not much left over for any expensive hobbies.

Cracks are beginning to show in other "entertainment" industries, as pro sports, NASCAR, casinos, etc., are all showing signs of slowing growth or contraction. Pretty soon that Saturday afternoon will come down to heading to the local library for some cheap web surfing, looking for aluminum cans in ditches for deposit money, and cooling down that six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon to watch an over-the-air night game on TV....

I think Parkview is on to something here. I keep telling people that in my lifetime, the reset will come, and with it, a return to sanity and traditional living. So many spoiled Americans have turned to alternate realities, and it can't last. Especially with so many drones dependent on QE created dollars.

[n.c]

so avg monthly payment is close to $500, plus insurance $200 ..majority of the cars lose 50% of value in 5 years. so you end up losing 17500 over 5 years= losing 300 dollars a month
average apartment rent is over 1000
Then you add Starbucks coffee= majority of the people have no extra cash

I know people who make 50,000 a year driving $60,000 vehicles..and they cannot figure out the reason they have no extra cash in the bank

[Bullet Plane]

The youth of today thinks that horse racing is cruel.

If they see running or any exercise of any kind, they think it is cruel.

They think that you have to sit on your butt playing video games, eating chips,

and getting rides to go three blocks, is the way to go ...so that you won't get winded.

Also, there is a total disconnect from the animal world.

Horses used to be what got us around. They pulled wagons.

People do not know what horses are today.

They are frightened, if they see one.

If they see one with a human, they assume someone is being cruel to it.

Why?

Because they know that they are cruel to their pets, and so it must be that way.

The youth today would crap their pants if they saw an actual horse.

They don't see the beauty in them, or anything in the animal world,for that matter.

They only see the beauty of the machine.

If their computer is on the blink, they done for the day.

[Track Phantom]

Youth today are no different than youth of yesteryear. They just have many, many more options to invest their time and money into. This has caused one change in attitude (which permeates all of US society), the requirement for instant, or near instant, gratification.

50 years ago, people used to keep score at a baseball game. I bet most younger people have no idea how to even do that. It's just slow. So is racing. There is too much time between races. I believe it's somewhere around 28 minutes at Saratoga. That needs to be closer to 20 minutes. That would be a start.

You can't even talk about engaging a younger audience until all video is in HD.

[thaskalos]

When a business flounders, you don't blame the CUSTOMERS for not showing up...you blame the BUSINESS, for not offering an appealing product to the marketplace. I live in Las Vegas, the great "gambling laboratory"...where all the different forms of gambling are allowed to compete against each other up close. And horse racing in Las Vegas is only a fading blip on the gambling radar...whereas the other forms of gambling are managing quite nicely, thank you very much. In the strip sportsbooks where I spend a lot of my time, the racebook sections are so deserted that the management doesn't even bother to supply a teller to service the few remaining horseplayers there...forcing them to go to the sports-betting sections to place their bets...where they are asked to wait behind sports-bettors who are wagering on events whose starting times are still hours away.

I started playing this game at a time when serious horseplayers would flock to the track with $500+ in their pockets...which they'd put to regular active use. My experience tells me that these players have fled the game in droves, leaving only the small players still remaining in the game...who have no other "beatable" game to play with the tiny bankrolls that they still have left in their pockets. If it weren't for those secretive REBATES that the betting outfits are dishing out in an "under-the-table" fashion...then the national parimutuel handle would be HALF of what it currently is reported to be, IMO. And then we'd see how much of the past customer-base of this game has really fled the scene in recent years.

Before we blame the young uninitiated gamblers for not being "sharp enough" to participate in a "sophisticated" game like horse racing...we have to ask why those "wily veterans" of yesteryear, who used to play this game with great interest, have lost their enthusiasm for the game in recent times. Because, if you can't hold on to your existing customers...you have little hope of acquiring any new ones.

[bks]

Originally Posted by MadTiger

There are just so many different gambling options/entertainment options out there competing for consumer dollars.

In how many of them can you plan to make a bet at 9-1, and less two minutes later the bet is actually at 5-1 and un-cancellable?

[bks]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

When a business flounders, you don't blame the CUSTOMERS for not showing up...you blame the BUSINESS, for not offering an appealing product to the marketplace. I live in Las Vegas, the great "gambling laboratory"...where all the different forms of gambling are allowed to compete against each other up close. And horse racing in Las Vegas is only a fading blip on the gambling radar...whereas the other forms of gambling are managing quite nicely, thank you very much. In the strip sportsbooks where I spend a lot of my time, the racebook sections are so deserted that the management doesn't even bother to supply a teller to service the few remaining horseplayers there...forcing them to go to the sports-betting sections to place their bets...where they are asked to wait behind sports-bettors who are wagering on events whose starting times are still hours away.

I started playing this game at a time when serious horseplayers would flock to the track with $500+ in their pockets...which they'd put to regular active use. My experience tells me that these players have fled the game in droves, leaving only the small players still remaining in the game...who have no other "beatable" game to play with the tiny bankrolls that they still have left in their pockets. If it weren't for those secretive REBATES that the betting outfits are dishing out in an "under-the-table" fashion...then the national parimutuel handle would be HALF of what it currently is reported to be, IMO. And then we'd see how much of the past customer-base of this game has really fled the scene in recent years.

Before we blame the young uninitiated gamblers for not being "sharp enough" to participate in a "sophisticated" game like horse racing...we have to ask why those "wily veterans" of yesteryear, who used to play this game with great interest, have lost their enthusiasm for the game in recent times. Because, if you can't hold on to your existing customers...you have little hope of acquiring any new ones.

Spot on. What regular player can take the consequences of 9-1 shots at a minute to post paying 5-1 bc of late money pounding them race after race? I play Pk 4, pk 5 exclusively anymore. And I play much, much less.