Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Cassandra.Says — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:49:37 GMT

It's about that there Puritanical legacy. Gambling is evil. So let's pretend that racing is competing with a trip to the zoo, looking at (and smelling) the animals.

Pony rides? Phhht. A racetrack should be teaching handicapping every morning. Promos should be aimed at getting new people at the windows, not grandmas in the seats. Hand out exiting horseplayers an "each one teach one" pass good for the horseplayer accompanied by a friend, attending a pre-races handicapping seminar, maybe with subsidized lunch, held on the grounds so entry to grandstand is included.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Kitten's Kitten — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 19:58:32 GMT

ezbreeze, What you say is EXACTLY why I go to a track when I can. Whenever I visit Chicago, I go to Arlington. No other way to place a bet for me! It's all about atmosphere. Seeing the horses in person, even smelling them. If I wanted impersonal emotionless click here styled betting, then I'd do it online. No thank you! Give me on the track racing ANY day!

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

tom mallios — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 00:31:06 GMT

ezbreeze,there is nothing wrong with doing what you say at the track.do not knock woodshade. he has the right mind set about the game. he is a player.he is the heart and soul of the game. people with your mentality are the spectators i talk about. if i want to enjoy nature and the sights only. trust me my friend,the racetrack is the last place you will catch me at. like anything else in life, different things serve different purposes. the track should be about 85% playing,then enjoy the other benefits .if you feel it is different, then that is why the game is dying. read my lips: no parimutuals, no game. no game,no smells, sights etc. you may not agree,but that is the bottom line.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

ezbreeze — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:57:19 GMT

Woodshade,

With that attitude you must get a lot of shade. How about going to the live races for the sounds, smells, sights and beauty of the animals. HD isn't like being there. from the Trackman!

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

tom mallios — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:33:09 GMT

the problem is that they are not marketing the game. they are marketing it as a spectator sport. they think because they get ratings on tv and on the big ,big days it will reflect on the game. it does not.

you are right guys,with people working during the week and having responsibilities during the weekend. who has time to go and spend 5 hours at the track. what you basically do is bet the simulcast races on TV anyway. so to the racing heads. stop marketing your game to be a spectator sport. these extra people will not bet. you all have on line sites.

offer the player bigger financial rebates. encourage them to play. set up national or local lotteries with supermarket chains. incorporate a system where winners get free groceries for "x" amount. gear all of your promotions to the mentality of gambling. not just showing up at the track. it is difficult to cultivate new players. a new player must learn how to handicap. that takes time. there are no places for them to learn the trade. so concentrate on the players you have. give them incentives to play. not just the standard 1% rebate (if that) share your wealth.y our core players enjoy the big races as much as anyone. but bottom line, they play on a daily basis.

restructure the purses to many elite stakes are taking most of the money. encourage new owners to come in at a lesser level.but bottom line, you know the real reason racing heads. you could care less. your new darling is the racinos. you need the racing game to have them by law. without them ,all of you would be out of jobs.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Pedigree Ann — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:48:11 GMT

The track needs to promote weekend racing as a family day out. Maybe pony rides for the kids, retired and gentle TBs they can meet and make friends with. The experience must be about more than just betting; betting can be done from anywhere these days.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

predict — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:35:19 GMT

The problems with racing today:

1. We still have a minimum bet of $2 for WPS which is the same amount it was when I first started going to the races in the 60's! Who is going to get excited about a bet that small in an era when a gallon of gas costs twice that much. In the 60's you could get 8 gallons for $2. Instead of taking from the public pool that is based on these ridiculously small bets, race the minimum and make it more interesting, and maybe attract more affluent fans than what those small minimum bets attract now. Why do you think other professional sports attract so much attention, because they have made stars out of their players by paying them multi-million dollar salaries. My wife doesn't even want to attend racing anymore because of the types at the track. Racing needs to get a clue.

2. Take a close look at what the majority of the public thinks about horse racing, that it is fixed and corrupt. I am not saying I agree with that assessment, but that is what most of my non -racing fan friends think about this sport. A close look at why people think this is needed and an effort to change that thinking is needed.

3. Solve the problem of too small of fields in the races, it seems to be getting better, but if all there is 6 or less horses in a race, don't even run the race. Small fields are killing interest.

4. Along with reason number 1, get rid of the 10 cents-exotics, they don't incourage good handicapping.

5. Find out what drugs are doing to the horses they are being administered to, and through these studies, come up with rules that protect them from injury and abuse.

There is so much that is needed to attract new racing fans, that it is truly a huge task, but those that run this sport need to start thinking outside the "box" and get a clue about where they are now and where they want to go.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

wpttom — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:58:03 GMT

Kudo's to PJ Campo & NYRA. Memorial day Monday was one of the most exciting racing and betting cards put together in America this year. The overall handle showed the consumer's delight.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

John from Baltimore — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:56:58 GMT

And you still have have a leading New York trainer with four drug positives. It's like Dutrow never left. Some things never change

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Foolish Pleasure — Thu, 30 May 2013 10:44:45 GMT

Great race card for the public. Only problem you lost there interest by the time the Met Mile ran 25% of people were gone. Just to long of a day.

One more thought grandstand admission should be free all the time more people will come.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

ksweatman9 — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:13:46 GMT

Horse racing attracts gamblers, but those who play the ponies with any degree of seriousness do it with some skill. They study the players and the ponies. It's not a lazy man's game. It's too easy to have a computer pull up a bunch of numbers for a 200 million dollar lottery or scratch off a stack of pickle cards. If there is no interest or love for the actual sport of horse racing, why bother? Then there are those of us who grew up around the track and love the sport, the horses, and the rich history it has carved in this country. I'm not a gambler, by the way. I bet the derby on occasion, that's the extent of it for me. As you may have guessed, I'm getting old. Younger people missed too much, they missed the glory days. Today the sport is reduced to a money making investment and a means of gambling, but it's so much more than that. The horses are the heroes in this game. If you can connect the horses to the fans, the marketing problem will be solved. Unfortunately, that's a problem within itself.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Steel Dragon — Thu, 30 May 2013 04:57:29 GMT

I believe the star studded "Super Saturday" at Belmont last September drew less than 8,000 on an overcast but pleasant day. The few that do show up at the downstate NYRA tracks are treated like garbage. The sport has been dying a slow death for 40 years, yet somehow never perishes. The closing of Hollywood Park is just another nail in the coffin.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

woodshade — Thu, 30 May 2013 01:02:27 GMT

Why go to the track when you can bet on line. And get to watch the race, if you want to.

Drive there, high priced food and drink, sometimes wait in line to bet, drive home. Not for me. Give me TwinSpires.com.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Lost In The Fog — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:18:54 GMT

While the national handle for Memorial Day was impressive the on-track attendance figure of approximately 11,000 was pathetic. Apparently some additional "rebranding" (also known as local promotion) is in order!

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

fb0252 — Wed, 29 May 2013 21:01:04 GMT

i agree that the marketing is pathetic. where is the internet marketing, and where is Mr. Hammonds comments on that subject. Who cares what they package if nobody knows about it?

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

Howard da Walker — Wed, 29 May 2013 17:33:54 GMT

Here is racings problem. How can a man take a day off work to go to the track. If he makes $27 an hour it has already cost him over $200. Saturday is spent with the kids and soccer. When I can bet a horse where I buy my lottery ticket the national handle with increase 10 fold. Until then racing is in the dark ages. The terminals are connected. Sell horse racing tickets.

re: Rebranding Belmont - by Evan Hammonds

thederbydream.com — Wed, 29 May 2013 14:50:12 GMT

It made for a great card on Monday but I can't get over the fact you stated that on a huge day with fantastic racing all Belmont could manage to do is get 11,000 people to show up. Someone needs to figure out how to market our sport because that is embarrasing with millions of people within an hours drive.