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JRA Speech - Racing To Success (1995)
May 16, 2012 07:01PM
Great catchup last week Garrick - thanks. Herewith especially for you, found it in the archives. I believe this is the article you may have referred to in one of your posts. Seriously old speech but priceless in outlining exactly how Japan did it.
RACING TO SUCCESS – JRA SPEECH
By Masayuki Goto, The Blood-Horse, August 19, 1995
In Japan, we have two racing organisations. One controls local racing – the NAR (National Association of Racing). The other is my association, the JRA (Japan Racing Association). The only detail I might mention is that JRA only races on weekends, with a total of 288 days each year, over our 10 racetracks. This number has hardly changed in all the time since our beginning.
Before I go further, I would like to mention some important comparisons between racing in Japan and in the United States.
First, in Japan we also have betting competition. There is pari-mutuel wagering on bicycle, motorcycle, motor boat, and horse racing. Last year, the JRA handled as much as bicycle, motorcycle, and boat racing put together. But, it was not like that 20 years ago. We also have the lottery.
Another comparison is that, during the last 20 years, in Japan we had a drop in attendance at the racetrack as we expanded our off-track betting. Between 1975 and 1984 our on-track attendance dropped by nearly 44%. Our overall betting had nearly doubled, although the number of races stayed almost the same.
Since then, the betting has continued to increase greatly. But we have been able to increase our attendance also, until, in 1994, it was very nearly the same as 20 years ago.
I hope to explain how we have been able to do this.
Let me briefly discuss first the policies and goals of the JRA. These may be summarized quite simply as follows:
1. Firstly, to provide horse racing that is strictly fair and honest, and that the racegoer can trust.
2. Secondly, to provide a racing program that is well rounded and exciting. Our goal is to have at least 12 starters per race.
3. Thirdly, we strive to provide a good atmosphere, by providing facilities which are bright, clean, and comfortable.
Of course, these are more intricate. However, they are the focal point of our association’s planning policies.
Today, our betting handle is distributed as follows: 75% of the total to the bettor; 10% goes to the government; and 15% to the racing organisation. Fifty percent of any surplus at the end of the year is also taken by the government.
The percentage which the JRA gives to prize money can change from year to year. Last year, 3.8% of the gross handle was given to prize money.
When I first went to work for JRA, this was 6%. The president of the JRA then was Mr.Osawa, and he tried to decrease the percentage of the turnover given to prize money. It took several years to negotiate a change, as the owners were strong in their disagreement. However, they finally agreed.
This was, I believe, a major turning point for us.
To understand our position over this matter, you must understand a very basic philosophy of how the JRA considers racing.
We look at racing as a business. That business generates revenues from the fans. They are our customers.
Where does the prize money come from? The consumer pays for it. Our first duty, therefore, if we are to run a successful business, is to make our consumers happy so that they keep coming back to do business with us. It is the right of the fan to be the first to be considered. Everything else is secondary. The fans are where we must look to grow our business. Not the owners. Not the breeders.
I know this may be difficult to understand where there is a tradition to give all parts of racing an equal say. But for us in Japan it is simple business logic. If we are successful in our dealings with the consumer, the handle goes up, the prize money goes up, everyone is happy. If we are not successful with the consumer, we go out of business.
So, back to our major turning points. In 1981, another one happened with the first running of the Japan Cup (Jpn-I). This was created as the result of a plan originally directed by Mr.Takeda, then president of JRA.
It was his policy that we needed to “develop stronger and faster domestic horses which could compete with their foreign counterparts.”
I believe the competition pro vided by the Japan Cup has been a major factor in the improvement of quality of our racing. Mr.Takeda was succeeded by Mr.Uchimura.
Now I have to tell you that Mr.Uchimura’s wife was not happy that her husband took his new position. She felt that horse racing had a bad image and she personally disliked it from the sports point of view.
Well, Mr.Uchimura instituted policies to promote the support of JRA by women, believing that, if JRA was to achieve a status in our, or any society, we needed the support of the female fans. It is obvious that women’s attendance would encourage men. But more than that, if women are not a willing part of our consumer market, they will have a negative impact on the market as a whole.
In 1982, the first “Ladies Day” was initiated at our Kyoto Racecourse. And we followed a strong advertising and promotion schedule, all aimed directly at the younger female market.
Were we successful?
In the early 1980’s, only 7.1% of attendance was women. Today that percentage is nearly 12%. I might also add that now Mr.Uchimura’s wife loves horse racing and says, “Horses are beautiful and racing is exciting!”
Let me now discuss briefly our publicity, especially television. Here are three commercials from 1990, ’91 and ’92. Each of them is an example of several commercials we made in each of these years, using one theme.
In each of these, as in all our commercials, the actors are well-known stars in Japan. (Editor’s note: Television advertisements are shown demonstrating the social appeal of racing and its agricultural roots.) Since then, we use the same actors in our commercials for two years. This increases the JRA recognition factor every time a commercial appears. Our current series features a group of three young men. Again, each of them is a top star in Japan. (Additional advertisements are shown).
You can see how the theme is followed and how we never talk about betting, only about the excitement, entertainment, and fun of the sport. We spend a lot on our advertising, and we are quite pleased with the results.
From 1981 to 1983, the sales and attendance remained stagnant. However, the JRA kept a positive attitude and maintained the management policy that had been decided on.
This is the way we work. In order to obtain and sustain the trust of the fans in Japan, we take a long time to make a plan. This is not only JRA, but in many ways it’s the very nature of Japan. We sit down and have a lot of discussions over a new plan and take it through every possible aspect. When established, we keep to it fully until it proves itself – or does not, as the case may be.
So we continued with our plan, with the younger generation as our consumer target.
Then we began to update our information services and systems.
We gave the public more and more information, on track and off track. And most importantly, anywhere that there is JRA racing, the information is the same. We do not, for example, have different program formats at different tracks.
This was again the policy of our next president, Mr. Sawabe. He was known as a “Man of Culture”. Under his guidance and that of his successors many new plans were begun.
It was decided that we must establish our standards. We wanted people to know that, wherever they went, they would find the same standards of honesty in racing. The same standard of facility, comfort, beauty, entertainment, and history. The same product.
We are careful not to lose the character of individual tracks in different regions. But our public must have absolute confidence that the product is of the same high quality at every JRA track, wherever it is. In business terms, we wanted to establish a “corporate identity”.
So, to project this message, in 1986, we began corporate identity activities to improve the image of the JRA and of horse racing. “JRA” officially became the logostyled name, replacing the actual Japanese language name. The use of the other logo style name, “WINS” came into use for our OTB facilities.
In the meantime, since 1983, we had introduced a planning timetable to improve and update all our facilities, both on track and off track.
In 1991, Mr.Watanabe assumed the presidency. He was a serious racing fan. He tried to get the laws changed so that the JRA and the NAR could cooperate much more than ever before.
This is very important because, as well as expanding the coverage of JRA racing, it also gives NAR the opportunity to benefit directly from the successful marketing and operation of the JRA. The Thoroughbred industry in the whole country benefits.
Next, with on-track attendance growing, we wanted to bring our product closer to home.
Although we had telephone betting since 1974, in 1993, we introduced an automatic non-voice home betting system called Personal Access Terminal. We also began intertrack wagering with some of the local government NAR racecourses.
Then, last year, we introduced the Satellite Access Terminal, or SAT sytem. With SAT’s we have the possibility to turn all our local neighbourhood stores into mini off-track facilities. Subscribers just use a card to make their bets, very much like using a banking machine.
And now this year, in 1995, we have introduced our own satellite racing channel, the Green Channel.
Have we been successful with our policies?
1. Because we have looked after our fans, we have grown back our on-track attendance.
2. We have brought in new, young fans.
3. Because we have looked after our fans, our overall betting has grown.
4. Because, by looking after our fans, we have grown our betting, our prize money has grown and our owners – and therefore, our breeders – have good business.
5. Our surveys tell us that we are keeping the fans we have attracted.
I believe we have been quite successful. But that was yesterday. And we must continue our efforts strongly if we are to be successful tomorrow.
We need always to look outwards. Too often, we, the insiders, just talk to each other about our business and our problems. Racing has something for everyone…the old, the young…men and women. It is not something just for us, the insiders. It is for the people…the fans. And I think it may be true not only for Japan, but for other countries as well.
I would like, if I may, to close on a very personal note.
I have said that I have been with the JRA for some 20 years, almost since I left the university. My father before me was also with the JRA. He was a veterinarian. And throughout all this time, I have kept memories of when I was at elementary school. I remember how we used to ask each other what our fathers did. And how, when other boys found out that my father was working in racing, they looked down on me a little. Racing was not quite a correct occupation. It was a little what you call “shady”.
And ever since that time, through all my years with the JRA, it has been my ambition, and determination, and goal, that racing should become recognized and accepted as a beautiful and exciting sport…and, above all, an honest and enjoyable one…and a respectable business to work in…a business that one can be proud to work in.
I believe these, too, have been the goals which have made the JRA as successful as we have been in growing our business. Today I am proud to be in the business of racing. And I believe that my son does not have to apologize that his father works in racing.
Masayuki Goto, formerly with the general planning department of the Japan Racing Association, is general manager of the JRA’s New York office.
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