Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Lee — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:45:51 GMT

I have TVG but I never watch it, why? It is all about betting and not about the horses. Racing needs to stop ridiculing horse lovers like the Fans of Barbaro and start advertising to them.

There are millions of horse owners in the USA. I ride at a barn with fifty horses that has over 30 kids in a 4-H group and their parents mostly ride too and there are about 20 adults that take lessons in addition to the 4-H group.

Everyone loves horses but almost all of them think horse racing is bad. They think the horses are drugged or abused, they think the tracks are just for gambling and drinking. They would never take their kids or let them watch. They don't even watch the Kentucky Derby. They have negative feelings all the way around about horse racing. They are not alone.

Recently, some of them have been watching Jockeys on Animal Planet and are becoming more interested in racing. One watched the Preakness because Mike Smith was riding Mine That Bird. She has made a living with horses for twenty years but never watched a race before....

I think there are many more horse lovers out there than there are horse players....

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

nyfalcon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:40:44 GMT

okay its all about the horse!!! the trainers, the jocks. its what we want to see , but they are hidden and do not always come to there adoring public. this must change, there needs to be a understanding that we need to feel part of it. and just not a two dollar win bet to remember the day by, but a place where there are shirts, caps, books, model horses. artisins who paint and and take photos of our champs , special giveaways more to atract new fans . it must be a fair like atmosphere where the horse is king everything the horse and not just tb but the beauty of the creature it self build it and they will come by the droves!! like and expo!!! nyfalcon

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

karmadillo — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:31:30 GMT

I was at Hastings Park in Vancouver BC Canada a few years ago, and they had a display of racing equipment; such as saddles, boots, etc. You could pick them up and see how light they were. Also there was a retired racehorse in a stall nearby that you could pet. There were also several people who would answer questions about racing, betting, etc. I am a big racing fan, and have been for years, and I enjoyed all of it. I was with a friend who is new to racing and she really enjoyed learning more about all the various aspects of the sport. I doubt this type of thing would cost very much. There are probably people who would love to volunteer to answer questions. I think more tracks should try something like this.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Golden Gate — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:01:27 GMT

This is a very interesting discussion. I only started going to the track at Oaklawn in Arkansas in the last four years and the reason why is I thought it was expensive to go to the track. To my amazement i found out i could get in the gates for only $2.00. I had a wonderful time watching the races and I went home and told my friends it was only $2 to get in the gates. They were all amazed and ever since then we have been going down by the fours to watch.

I can't think of any other place a person can go and watch beautiful horses run and later i found out many tracks don't even charge an entrance fee.

I think that if more people understood it was also a family experience. I had the oportunity to go to Keeneland the day they had Breakfast with the Jockeys. It was great and Patty cooksey was ther and personally setting children up on an equisizer horse and jockeys gave autographs. It was a lovely experience.

Making the track family friendly as well as gambler friendly takes some doing but Keeneland seems to have a good grasp on the balance.

The idea of having educational horse areas is great. Every track I have been to seems to have some "dead" space in it that could be brightened by such exhibits. FRom what I know though some of the track owners do not realize this in their heart. Unfortunatel a number of them only see the $ signs and do not see that by including these events those $ would go up and enhance horse race image.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Ted — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:56:03 GMT

Indy car racing is also hurting. They have one big day Indy 500, and the rest of their races are barely watched, live or on tv. Danica Patrick got renewed interest on her first couple of years, but the novelty has wanned off.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

mrw31 — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:54:46 GMT

Too much emphasis on gambling and not enough on horses and people who love them. Even the ESPN coverage is primarily on gambling more than anything. I got hooked on racing because of the horses (Secretariat), not because I expect to win money -- for that I can go to any of a number of casinos in my area. I go to the track to see the beautiful horses and thrill to their accomplishments. My local track if the Fairgrounds in New Orleans - they do a nice job of getting local interest - often they have pony rides for the kids and let people into the grandstand for free now. But more could be done -- I would love to see a backside tour of the Fairgrounds, get up close to a real race horse and hear more. You could probably get fans to volunteer to staff such a tour.

I was at Jazz Fest this past year and a young couple was passing by the grave of Black Gold and wondered aloud about what the monument was all about. I told them everything I knew...

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Maggie — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:59:48 GMT

Oh, by the way- here's some feedback from many people I know who have seen TVG and HRTV:

"Why do they keep showing those seedy male enhancement commercials? I don't want my kids seeing that. It gives racing a bad name, like it's being marketed to dirty old men- not for families". Just a thought...

Thanks, Maggie

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Maggie — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:56:39 GMT

The racing industry needs to get together in a unified way to market themselves, or else racing will eventually die away as we know it. Why can't the tracks, owners, breeders and everyone else become nationalized about it and market racing more universally? I think that is what people keep comparing it to Nascar for. Nascar has an excellent marketing stratagy, its cohesive, tight, well planned, and UNIVERSAL. They advertise EVERYWHERE, like in Happy Meals, K-mart t-shirts and ball caps, jars of peanut butter, and every other piece of junk you can buy. Think about it- there's only one Nascar race on A WEEK, and not even all year round. But you can never escape their advertising. It's EVERYWHERE! I don't follow car racing at all, but I do know who Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are- they are on the box of cereal right in front of me. If the horse breeders and owners feel too exclusive to participate in such "exploitive advertising" then of course horse racing will peter out. I went to Florida for the first time during spring break, and stopped in at the huge welcome center at the state line. Of all the thousands of leaflets available on Florida destinations, there was only ONE leaflet with 2 paragraphs advertising the horse industry in Ocala. There was not one page in the building mentioning Gulfstream, Calder, or Tampa Bay racetracks at all. I verified this with the clerks that worked there. There were dozens of people milling around there just looking for some destination, and this right at Florida Derby time! The industry has got to come together as a whole and they know what to do. Get mastermind marketers (see what Disney does)and do it before racing caves in on itself. It may just go back to being The Sport of Kings, and the claiming game will fade out. The industry needs to support itself, not bring in VLT's prop it up. In the long run, it's not financially healthy. What I am surprised to discover as well, is that many of the people who are PETA aware and disillusioned with racing are horse owners themselves. At a stable I ride at in Kentucky, I am the only horse racing fan there. They (and they're not the only ones) think the horses are all doped up, and slaughtered in the end. The first question people ask me is "have they come up with a national plan to do away with all drugs in horse racing?" Another "universal" problem. Thanks, Maggie

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

GAMBLER911 — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:14:44 GMT

GOODWIN.....YOU my friend are on the right track i have been a horse bettor for over 42 years and have seen every scam-sham and other drug related instance you can think off on a racetrack happen..pat v. a perfect example 56 drug bust and breaks before ca. and other jocks banished him..he simply moved to his home state of newmexico was given a license and then louisiana gave him a license. {BUSINESS AS USUAL}..billy patin caught fixing given 5 year suspension,riding like nothing ever happened,its a disgrace and a joke at the same time....LETS talk about the integrity of this game {THERE IS NONE}..SUPER TRAINERS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SUBJECTS...medications-medications = drugs.plain @ simple...remember it took over 150 equine studies and 15 years of arguments in the industry about lasix...a diuretic for bleeding--breathing problems ?? yea sure it is...I want you actually i challenge anyone on this site or anywhere in america to spend 45 minutes grab your form and do the following....i want you to check every race at every track thats available,for every horse thats listed to run that day..lets say 6-7 tracks..perhaps 600 entries and i want you to count the ones on lasix and other listed meds such as bute..this past winter while arguing with a novice horse person on a site i did just that..my findings were 712 horses were entered and 693 were on lasix or bute or both...you might say whats my point,its called integrity of the game,are we on the up and up of course not you would be nieve at best to believe this games on the level...now lets take it a step further and discuss two year olds {BABIES}I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT EVERY TWO YEAR OLD ENTERED FIRST TIME STARTERS in particular and tell me why a horse making its first career start needs to be on medications ????? IS that not absurd in your mind..the supposed super trainers {CHEATS-THEIVES} such as lake,levine,dutrow,mullins,oneill are just that..pretty uncanny that lake or levine can claim a horse from a seasoned trainer who couldnt get the horse to perform and two weeks after the {MAGICIANS} have them there stepped up in class and runaway winners..DRUGS--DRUGS--DRUGS..pretty simple...do the count on the lasix and meds you will find 95-98 percent of all animals on medications.....NEWYORK was the last great holdout state on meds lasix etc..however the racing secretaries at the three main tracks were forced by the {CHEATS-TRAINERS} to succumb,as they wouldnt ship there horses if they couldnt use the drugs....DEAD-DEAD-game run by pigs and theives...

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Sharon — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:46:46 GMT

Only one other thing to say, put more races on TV! I am not a gambler so am not interested because I might win some cash. I just love watching.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Sharon — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:44:46 GMT

I'm sorry, if horse racing gets to be like an NFL game or a Nascar race, I would have absolutely zero interest. Horses have something special, a personality, they are beautiful animals and give so much of themselves. Yes, I've been to Daytona for motorcycle races but when I get to the point I want to watch a car buzz around in a circle, I will be sure I have gone over the edge! And, NFL games and players, forget it. I saw Secretariat win The Preakness, I cried over Barbaro and Eight Belles and screamed with excitement and dlight watching Mine That Bird in The Derby; there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever! And, I hate boring slot machines, most I ever spent on one was about $1.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

J McM — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:20:15 GMT

It really annoys me that racing seems to be marketed mostly for gambling. I think there would be a bigger fan base if we could just have more races on TV and not just 3 year olds. There are great older horses racing. Let the genral public see them! People don't see or hear about them often enough to identify with them like they do ball players. We need more TV coverage! Poker! is covered,why not horse racing?No lobbyists? At one time there were horse heroes that warranted news coverage. Now they race just enough to insure their value in breeding. What happened to the Sport of Kings?

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

mary — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:47:55 GMT

Racing needs to reach the hearts of the people, then the pockets will follow. Gamblers can fill their desire from just about anywhere. True horse lovers and lovers of racing still want to get close to the horses. Especially the ones the marketed ones. The ones that grab their attention and their hearts. How many of us fell in love with racing when our Dads took us to the races. It certainly wasn't because if the gambling. It was the animal attraction. Bring it out!

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Mark — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:42:16 GMT

More performances by the All-Star Buglers.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

GP In VA — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:22:29 GMT

The key to Bobby's article is not NASCAR, but what NASCAR is -- it's a league. Until we have a National Thoroughbred Racing League (NTRL) that is comprised of all the racetracks with a national horsemen's association functioning like the NFL/NBA/MLB player's unions, marketing intiatives of this nature aren't going to happen. Only the big tracks with the biggest days can afford the infastructure on thier own and they don't need to since the big days are already big. My guess is both NFL and NASCAR Fan Zone equipment is owned by the league and not by the individual track/team...

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

s lee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:53:30 GMT

Ok, in a nutshell, here's what's wrong with the national and state racing, or at least what's wrong with "selling the product" to the media - the NYRA has a web page for Rachel (and it's very nice), and Belmont is having special admissions and bracelets tomorrow, but where's the coverage?

Today's New York Times web page for sports has no entries on horse racing. No articles in their archives on Rachel since the day it was announced she'd run in the Mother Goose.

Now, the New York Daily News has been covering her, including in their "Day at the Races" column, and maybe they get to more of the fan base.

Sell the product, people, sell the product!

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

LDP — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:08:27 GMT

one factor in racings decline was that tracks became unfriendly to kids. Some of the patrons did not want kids around and pushed for the tracks to ban them. At a lot of tracks there was a kids pen (playground that was staffed)then the states passed labor laws banning kids from backside work until 18. my brother as well as myself held grooms license in New Mexico at 14 when we first went to Santa Anita hell was raised if he even held a horse for a bath.

my mother had a bunch of kids that wanted her to split tickets with them and they all are still die hard fans. attracting a new fan base is all uphill unless we educate and put our best foot forward. I think handicaping seminars are good but stable tours and early morning events during training hours are better.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Richard R — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:51:26 GMT

It's the product, stupid!

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

sweet terchi — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:47:28 GMT

Great ideas, everyone. Based on the blogs I believe horse racing can revive big time if only powers thar be read these blogs. Getting ESPN is key. Kyri is right. I can get the horse racing channels IF I purchase a "package" costing mega $$$. I remember Del Mar used to do a re-cap of the meets races on tv. At 12 midnight. Really, like I have to go to work next day, and I'm going to stay up til 2am!

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

rowner — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:57:27 GMT

I've said this forever....the only marketing the NTRA does is focus on the gamblers/horse players ect. I don't know why they can't get it through their thick heads that they might want to think in broader way and widen there demographic. Make it more of a family experience, plan some activities to attract a younger crowd. If each track made an small attempt to try different approach in marketing think of the movement we could have. It us the fans that have to start it by telling them what we would like to see happen before its to late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

E-man — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:26:31 GMT

Gary -- your comments on the "technosphere" and the possible return to a horse-powered world are very interesting and, I think, very perceptive -- have you read this article (www.orionmagazine.org/.../343) -- here's my take on it: www.leftcoastracing.com/.../154

Julie L. -- my home track, Hastings, used to have something similar called the "Discovery Paddock" -- a chance to meet a retired racehorse, along with a groom to provide some background on his career and on racing in general -- it has since been discontinued, alas.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

goodwin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:23:09 GMT

Horses are , for the most part, now regarded as pets and family members by thousands of horse hobbyists. These are no blue ribbon chasers, but backyard and weekend trail riders and hackers. Racing needs to clean up. It has a horrible image, perhaps well deserved, that not enough is done to protect the animal. This is a huge turn-off to the average horse lover/owner. And before you protest that there are more stringent rules, I think a wise course would be in zero tolerance. Then, you wouldn't have a trainer who sat out a year, after being caught giving COBRA VENOM (off all things!) as a performance enhancement, right back in a position to abuse the horses, and degrade the sport. It is time to get tough. If you break the rules you can go sell insurance or get a paper route, but you won't be allowed around ANY track. Period.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Kyri — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:10:46 GMT

I agree with Julie L. There need to be horses that people can touch! More interactive activities for fans at the track would be outstanding (but, please, stop booking the lame one-hit-wonder 80's bands).

Also, major races need to be televised on ESPN -- I watch both TVG and HRTV but not everyone has that option -- a G1 race only takes a couple of minutes, so why can't they work it into SportsCenter? These are the horses, this is the importance of the race (establish the leader in the 3YO female turf division? showdown between 2 undefeated horses? they can come up with something), show the race, show the payouts. How hard would it be?

I also think we need to keep individual horses on the track longer. The economy may help with this. Fans really bond with horses like Zenyatta and Rachel, and don't care if they offer betting "value".

I think the "controversies" over track surfaces, medication, etc. really don't affect casual fans. Even if those things cross their radar at all, I think they just don't want the drama. Preventing catastrophic breakdowns during races should certainly be a priority, however.

I take new people to Santa Anita whenever I can and they universally have a great time. They bet $2 bets and are happy when they win a little, and really enjoy the day. What if every racing fan made a commitment to try and attend live racing once a month during their home track's meet, and to try and take friends/coworkers/newbies with them whenever they could?

I suspect the "lack" of fans really relates to the huge amount of competition racing has for people's time and money. There are so many things people can do for entertainment, and limited money, and with the long hours most people work and commute, limited time. I don't know that there's much to be done about this.

My .05.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

eternal optimist — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:35:12 GMT

your comments are excellent. And I wish racetracks had the money to market racing like it should be. Question: What sport, other than horse and dog racing, in America is regulated by its competition, and has a rule making body comprised of members that are sometimes mandated by law where they cannot have any working knowledge of that sport? Horse racing is regulated by and our rules are adopted by state racing commissions. Many states have lottos, run by and owned by the state, who regulates racing. You must be 18 to buy a lotto ticket but must be 21 to bet on a race. Imagine if the NFL, NBA, Nascar or Indy racing had the same disadvantage? They would not be around very long.

re: Get in the 'Zone' - By Bobby Jones

Julie L. — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:56:56 GMT

At Santa Anita they have a small corral set up with a retired Thoroughbred just standing out there with a sign attached saying Do Not Pet. Now being as I grew up with horses I ignored this sign and petted the horse anyways but with no one around if someone new to horses period tried this and did not know what signs to be aware of with horses they could have gotten alittle nibble on their hand which could have scared them. They should have had a groom in attendance talking about this particular Thoroughbred and it's accomplishments even if they were few and allowed people the opportunity to pet him and stroke his neck and maybe feel his lips as he took some grass out of their hands. This only promotes horses in general and racing. Yes we need more opportunities as was suggested in this article. Maybe we the fans need to personnally talk to the managers of each racetrack and after awhile it won't fall on deaf ears. It's up to us, the fans, to accomplish what the tracks currently are not doing and promote horseracing as not just a place for Joe Blow the bettor to go but for families and couples dating to go to. We use to take our young boys with us and they have grown up loving the sport. Our middle boy became disappointed when he grew too tall to be a jockey. The racetrack can be a great place for kids of all ages and that's how it should be promoted.