It can be done.

courtesy of Racing Post, and Lance Benson.

Racing Renaissance
Last updated on: September 26th, 2012

Anybody visiting Durbanville Racecourse on our Heritage Day public holiday, could be forgiven for imagining that they had stepped into a time warp and gone back twenty years to a Cape Hunt amateur meeting. I don’t go racing very often, but can’t remember when last I saw so many shiny happy people having a great time.

I was reading somewhere recently where it was suggested that the first sign of your boss wanting to get rid of you, was when he put you in charge of marketing. Let’s face it, everybody knows everything about marketing and public relations. Accountants tell the marketing guys how to do it. I’ve never heard it happen the other way around.

And the know-alls when it comes to the expertise includes us media boffins who dish out advice on a weekly basis to the racing gods. We love to pose the questions as to why they seem to be walking around(they don’t run generally) like headless chickens, doing sweet nothing, and why they are not adopting our simple common-sense solutions to all their problems.

But they got it sweetly right on Monday, by the looks of it on my drive-by lightening visit.

An Idiot Observes

It may not have come anything near to the larney Emerald show up North, but it was all happening at the Big D. The braai fires were going, kids running around, young couples were making out on picnic blankets, punters lining the rails and queing at the tote windows, while the caterers were doing a brisk trade – in short, there seemed life was back at the course !

I haven’t been for a while, but faces on racecourses don’t change in ten years. I heard that the ‘Bag Lady’ has moved on to the racecourse in the sky, but there were plenty of new faces at Durbanville.

From ruddied Dutchmen, reddening under the combined cocktail of Castle and sunshine, and the effort of trying to decipher the race card hieroglyphics, to the demure regulars wondering how Kannemeyer’s Hot Ticket got up at 40-1. They stood awkwardly along the running rail in their shorts, crocs and open-necked shirts yelling unintelligible instructions with an added fist pump as the pack passed the post. They couldn’t pronounce Capetown Noir, and when Hammie’s Hooker went missing in the fourth, they just turned the chops and opened up another of Charles’ cans. No sweat.

For the boys who weren’t there to just watch the horses, there were also plenty of girly groups sipping wine and clutching handbags. An odd group at the races. These tended to watch the horses quite closely and one or two took the moral high ground in their ignorance, berating some stable staff about perceived heavy-handedness with some of the horses.

Stake House

Local families, bravely pushed their boundaries beyond the local Spur, found spacious, safe grassed playing areas, a jumping castle and plenty of other kids to play with.

I also noticed the odd wheel-chair and except for the Members dining room, Durbanville is quite easy to get around generally. Why don’t we advertise this ? There are precious few disabled friendly venues around.
Racing was on show and the public lapped it up. A lot of longer distance races made for perfect entertainment with the starts close to the stands for everyone to get a good look and involved in the sounds and the smells that used to get our young hearts racing in the sixties.

Not that any of the new visitors cared, but the personalities were there too. Justin Snaith as always looked suave and clean-cut, smiling into the camera and generally adding a touch of glamour and proving the exception that racehorse trainers can be generally good-looking types. The local Roy Orbison, KFM Cowboy Rouvaun Smit, loomed large and smiling from his eagles-nest over the far stand and it was great to watch him again, binoculars in hand, calling the runners home. It is probably worth mentioning that the acoustics at Durbanville seemed good and one can actually understand some of the commentary, unlike Kenilworth, where it all breaks down into so much white noise.

Turnover?

So, a successful day by all accounts. It would be interesting to hear an analysis of the important stuff like tote turnover – on a weekend that caught pay-day a few hours too soon for many.

How does the local industry capitalise on all this great good fortune, and all the new visitors? I didn’t see any official working the crowds to assess the visitors and measure the demographics, asking what people thought, where they were from or how they’d heard about the day – you know, basic market research. Did the newpaper ads work, was it word of mouth or their facebook page?

Might have been a good idea too to have people handing out information on our next meeting or inviting folk to the next big event.

At this rate we may even see the Heuwels Fantasties or that lazy DJ performing at Durbanville one of these beautiful summer days. In the meanwhile, hats off and well done to whoever initiated the effort.

Must say it was a fabulous day, even with low calibre runners. Had a few racing virgins(young and older) with me and they got hooked. But it needed someone to accompany them and be the tour guide. With the right mix of PR, it can be done.

Then also, only up to a point - light exposure to beginners to learn the basics. There is a problem though when they get to the stage of graduating from racing virgins to moderate pro's and start finding out about everything that is dodgy in racing. Unless this is fixed (referring here to proper information and transparency, trustable systems and good service provision), the chances that even 2% of the once racing virgins staying on and in it, is very slim.

Don was anything advertised for this day?

we got an internal email circular....I didn't see anything advertised. anywhere.

I was at the course to bet and saw a flyer on the table.......

I advertised it as much as i could tbf

Don Wrote:

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> we got an internal email circular....I didn't see
> anything advertised. anywhere.


One of the biggest problems with the marketing of racing............always preaching to the converted...............like advertising holidays to Spain.........IN SPAIN !

Domestic travellers account for more than 70 percent of South Africa's tourism volume, injecting R20 billion into the economy

Party Line Wrote:

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> Domestic travellers account for more than 70
> percent of South Africa's tourism volume,
> injecting R20 billion into the economy




Local tourists recirculate money in the local economy,they don't introduce or inject into it................very much like new type bets merely redirect the spend of the same rand..............unless you get NEW punters/rands

rob faux Wrote:

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> Don Wrote:
>

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>

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> > we got an internal email circular....I didn't
> see
> > anything advertised. anywhere.
>
>
> One of the biggest problems with the marketing of
> racing............always preaching to the
> converted...............like advertising holidays
> to Spain.........IN SPAIN !

100% correct and no matter how you try to tell them they won't learn!!

I see your point RF but I tend to disagree, there seems to be this obsession with getting new people into the game. Obviously that would be ideal but.....

I believe that the focus should fall on improving the race day experience for the loyal patrons. If they are looked after they will bring new blood into the game ( most racing newbies go racing with racing folk and not because they saw an advert in the paper etc)

Look after your existing customer base and the rest will follow. As per Don's suggestion, you could have extra PR/ Education on course but an experienced punter who takes guests to the course can teach them the basics......?

You never know maybe they catch the bug and graduate to full blown expert ABC posters.

The Heritage day at D'ville was by all accounts a success, lets not lose sight of that.

Party Line if you look at Phumelela's results the market that is growing is the Foreign Market(a brand new market) so it would make sense to increase your local market