Thoughts on BC attendance

[FenceBored]

Spurred by a Jennie Rees story in today's Courier-Journal I've been thinking about the Saturday BC attendance.

First the facts.

BC Sat attd:
-----------------
2006 -- 75,132
2007 -- 41,781
2008 -- 51,331
2009 -- 58,845
2010 -- 72,739
2011 -- 65,143

This year we saw a 10.44% reduction in attendance from last year.

Now, Jennie seems to think this year's drop was due to having the event at the same site two years in a row:

Even with perfect weather for November, Saturday’s announced crowd of 65,143 was the lowest for a Cup Saturday at Churchill. It suggests to me that no site should have the event two years in a row because it loses some of its specialness; that ticket prices for the cheaper seats probably are too high; and that the Breeders’ Cup might be in danger of killing the golden goose that is Churchill and Louisville.
-- http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111108/SPORTS0803/311080096/-1/sports0803/Great-stuff-no-greatness-2010-Breeders-Cup-one-very-tough-act-follow?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Breeders%20Cup|p

Others point to Zenyatta:

The two-day attendance total for 2011 was 105,820, down from last year's record total of 114,353 that was fueled by the legendary race mare Zenyatta’s bid to remain undefeated.

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...#ixzz1dEPhemfC

I think both things are at work, but that actually makes the rise in 2009 more dramatic. Imagine that a 5% reduction would have happened without Zenyatta in the second year at SA. Instead what they got was a 14.64% increase. That's quite a swing. They also lowered ticket prices for 2009, but Zenyatta was probably the larger factor.

What does that mean for the return to SA next year? Low 50's for attendance on Saturday at best, unless the 3rd SA BC in 5 years is, as Jennie puts it, killing the golden goose and attendance drops into the 40's.

Keep the Cup rotating. Belmont 2013.

[redshift1]

Article makes sense, originally I backed Santa Anita as a permanent home for the BC, now weather notwithstanding I think a yearly rotation might attract higher TV ratings plus generate more local interest.

Belmont

Gulfstream

Santa Anita

Churchill Downs

Maybe Saratoga, Del Mar, Fair Grounds or Oaklawn.

Lack of a compelling three yr. old or dominant older horse hurt as well.


.

[skate]

easier to catch these races locally

[TommyCh]

Can't do Oaklawn. No turf course.
Arlington would be good, although the Pick Six Scandal, no fault of theirs, looms over them. And the weather would be a real crapshoot.

[Cardus]

Originally Posted by TommyCh

Can't do Oaklawn. No turf course.
Arlington would be good, although the Pick Six Scandal, no fault of theirs, looms over them. And the weather would be a real crapshoot.

I have never heard anyone mention that the Pick Six scandal looms over Arlington Park.

And if there has been such mention, then I think it is ridiculous.

[OTM Al]

If anything, it hangs over the OTB where it happened. I'd entirely forgotten they were at Arlington when that happened.

[Flysofree]

What about Delaware Park?

[Simple Syrup]

A Triple Crown winner would boost attendance regardless of location, weather, and perhaps even if that horse wasn't running in the classic.

[nijinski]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I have never heard anyone mention that the Pick Six scandal looms over Arlington Park.

And if there has been such mention, then I think it is ridiculous.

Catskill OTB ! Caught in part thanks to PG and Volponi .

[Rapid Grey]

Would be interested in what admission charges were over the last decade or so. The cheapest ticket Satruday was $20 to the grandstand at Churchill, that is the part of the track that was not remodeled when that was done years ago. It's pretty dumpy.

Clubhouse tickets were $100 and that's just 1st floor.

I live in Louisville and their prices make it more attractive to play from home, regardless of Zenyatta or not.

[The Hawk]

I used to go as often as possible, but stopped because of the cost, which has gotten ridiculous. It's not even just tickets, either, you're gouged at every turn. I won't even go when (if?) it's back in NY again, which is an easy trip for me.

[Cardus]

Originally Posted by nijinski

Catskill OTB ! Caught in part thanks to PG and Volponi .

I remember what happened, thanks.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I remember what happened, thanks.

Good thing you remember and informed us of said fact. I was wondering...

[Cholly]

If the elevator’s running, Breeder’s Cup Inc. is a lot more concerned about the disastrous TV ratings than the fall-off in attendance—the group on-track are today’s customers; tomorrow’s are out in TV Land.

It’s a huge mistake for a business to lean on a convenient crutch; i.e., of blaming their woes on the economy or actions of government. So I hope that BC Inc. doesn’t really believe their spin that the culprit here is the lack of Zenyatta.

Because the horses spend the 11 months preceding basically avoiding each other, there’s a dearth of dramatic story lines leading into the Cup.

[Robert Fischer]

65,000 with no star is pretty good


the Television broadcast in HD was also very good.

As were the occasional large payouts (although the broadcast team did a rather poor job of pimping the larger payouts).


The attendance in relation to site rotation is a limited argument IMO.
Location of the site is an issue where the different factors need to be correctly weighed.

The same major issue with racing (mass media broadcast) continues to be the major roadblock with all events. Major sports and gambling shows have already set an established business model, although racing hasn't integrated that.