Go racing kids clubs

are you not confusing punting with understanding handicapping and the science of racing? Punting is the act of parting with your money...

sex education is not about showing 12yr olds bondage videos! lol
its about managing relationships and physical science - understanding the body. What you do with those, when you are of the consenting age, is your choice. Same with understanding racing?

Don wrote: the performing arts world has spent the last 70years after the 2nd WW building on just this - entrenching the love for it in children and under 18 year olds in order to ensure their future has followers. Successful endeavour worldwide, I would say, somewhat invisible unless you have children, or parents who are already lovers of the arts though.

Racing should adopt the same approach. It would be nice if the 18year olds arrived ready with understanding of the science of racing, and not take another two or five years muddling their way through it. Those who wish to punt, I mean.

Don you can't go broke watching a play - Kids learn the complicated process of driving a car in a year or two so if they want to learn to race then it would take that long or less - The problem is they have far too many activities to choose from and it is Racing's role to levitate the Industry to a level that appeals to the young adult with disposable income

Interesting discussion - I suppose this is a personal choice - for me I am in agreement with Don - I can't see anything wrong in introducing the concept of gambling to one's children - I would suggest age 10 upwards - it should be done under adult supervision. The idea is not to show them a 'get rich quick' scheme, but rather to teach them responsible gambling - odds etc.

When we go racing, (not that often these days), we all (children included) contribute R5 to a pool for a race - everyone picks a horse (favorite is excluded) and the one whose horse beats the other's, scoops the pool; imo it teaches the young ones about winning and losing which is part of life.

In the same vein I also try and teach my kids about using alcohol responsibly - but as I say it is a personal choice

Don wrote: are you not confusing punting with understanding handicapping and the science of racing? Punting is the act of parting with your money...

Don Racing is about winning MONEY that's all - Nothing more nothing less - Take out the money and you'll have two farmers in a field racing for a beer - Horses are bred to win races and punters punt to win regardless of what methods they use. I recently helped many first time punters to have a bet and they used methods ranging from names to jockey colours and which horse looked the most beautiful. All these folk won and lost with a smile - I later went to a racecourse bar filled with only"educated punters" and they were not smiling - Better to build the casual base than the permanent one as Racing should be a past-time not an addction

ah and i forgot to mention using legends, heroes. I.e. now recently American Pharaoh. Kids love heroes, and rightly so they should. But it would be helpful to understand why the horse is a hero...how he became that hero, and who assisted him in his journey to the top.
This could be a great way to explain handicapping for instance.

fully agree but for one point you make - only about winning money.
It's not only about punting and winning or losing your money. There are different levels to the market, based on different needs - and it is up to racing to benefit from these, and to spread the basis of their sustainable income.
Some people will only ever love the horse, and perhaps part with their money in buying a book, keyring or plush toy if i.e. Frankel (as the Japanese have capitalized on), some people enjoy the exhilaration of the race and watching only - capitalize on the racegoer, some people want to own a horse and never bet, the list is almost endless. But I do agree on your sentiment about addiction.
Then again, I am currently addicted to watching Game of Thrones, and will pay!

Don wrote: fully agree but for one point you make - only about winning money.
It's not only about punting and winning or losing your money. There are different levels to the market, based on different needs - and it is up to racing to benefit from these, and to spread the basis of their sustainable income.
Some people will only ever love the horse, and perhaps part with their money in buying a book, keyring or plush toy if i.e. Frankel (as the Japanese have capitalized on), some people enjoy the exhilaration of the race and watching only - capitalize on the racegoer, some people want to own a horse and never bet, the list is almost endless. But I do agree on your sentiment about addiction.
Then again, I am currently addicted to watching Game of Thrones, and will pay!

Don I have been frequenting totes and the racecourse for 30 years(more if you count the times I went underage) - In that time I could count the amount of "some people" you mention above on one hand. If Racing relied on stakes garnered from those that buy books, love furry horses and hero worship then the July would be run for stakes of R1000 at best. The overall majority of people that watch Racing are punters full stop(or people that derive income from breeding or other industry related vocations) Racing is NOT like other sports - Rugby, soccer etc where the betting is supplementary to the sport - Racing has and will always be about winning money. I have yet to walk into a tote to find a person there just because they enjoyed watching horses run, neither have I ever walked into anybodies home and found they watch 239 because they enjoy watching horses. It is noble to think that racing's elegant side has growth potential but we race for stakes and punters brings in stakes not the very few that do not have a punt but enjoy the horse. We need more focus on casual punters not hero horses or horse lovers. Just people that will see a day at the races just like they see a day out to the Casino or a Rock Concert. Let them come Racing with the same attitude as a Casino visit - "I'm going to have a meal and spend 4 hours playing the tables or machines and win or lose I'm only spending R1000 on the day"

don't you think though that those visitors could be converted into casual punters? one of the reasons this is difficult is because they don't understand how to participate. The learning curve is steep. Then not even to mention the hordes who don't even know racing exists...?

Don wrote: don't you think though that those visitors could be converted into casual punters? one of the reasons this is difficult is because they don't understand how to participate. The learning curve is steep. Then not even to mention the hordes who don't even know racing exists...?

No we insiders complicate everything - Racing is about betting a winning(or placed) horse - I had a group of 200 people who were ALL horse people(showjumping) but not punters - 90% of them knew nothing about handicapping, form(they used the Tab Free sheets) and all of those that wanted to bet did so with consumate ease. Granted they played win place and sw bets(only a very small amount did that though) but I'm sure after a few more meetings they'll start with Pa's P6 etc - I was the "betting Buddy" on the day and was not asked once about any exotic- Most were spending between R50-R200 per race and the biggest bet I helped with was a R1000 straight win bet taken by a dear old grandmother in her late 60's. My first bet was the standard "pick the winner of the July" when I was 6 or 7 - I only grasped some of the handicapping terms when I was 10 or so - Remember most kids can barely read at 6 and 7 and calculating weights and distances behind etc is also challenging even for adults. Simple betting - simple fun -
I will add that I only started going to the Casino when I was a young adult and the table rules and etiquette were confusing to me so I never played - Machines were easier and that's what I did on the very few occasions that I have been to Casinos.

wonder how they would've fared without their betting buddy...on their own, no help. Racing needs to hold hands in order to have convertions. People won't do it on their own. Not sommer, in any case. And therefore, education is necessary. Delivered education, also aimed at children. Those tours the Irish are doing, if ever they are done here, you'll see many adults attending, just for the fun of learning.

You guys have made some great points here and many would do racing proud.

I most like the idea of getting more casual player involved but fully support Don's views on educating guests and nurturing a love of the game.

The problem with most operators are with how they are trying to balance the scale. They would love to see a 100 000 hard gambling punters counterbalanced with another 100 000 hard gambling punters.

The scale would be better balanced though if the 100 000 current players were counter balanced by a 1 000 000 casual players wagering a similar amount.

The reason for this is relevance and future growth potential as it is easier to make bigger inroads once people are convinced that an activity has legitimate value.

Hands down more players wins this contest and operators, including our local one's should take note of this.

Clean up the games image, force feed relevant and critical data from every direction and put the fun back into playing. It's a recipe that guarantees everyone a win and is a penalty kick for restoring racing to it's former glory.

Wake up P and G and smell the roses.