I recently reached a landmark birthday. The age at which we are taught it is time to slow down, put your feet up & enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of endeavour.
I am sure I am not alone in discovering that it does not quite work that way. I continue to work for a number of reasons : Firstly - I am grateful to have something to do & my work still stimulates me. Secondly - a combination of ill considered actions by our government allied to very heavy personal taxation continues to effectively erode the purchasing power of my retirement provisions quite a lot faster than I am able to accumulate them!
So changes have had to be made.......
First amongst these has been a decision to try & turn up all punting altogether. Or at least attempt to. It's early days yet but so far the experience has been both illuminating and revitalising. I have a lot more time to spend on other interests. I can now become a sports fan again rather than a ruthless analyst trying to predict an outcome. My appreciation as to the value of money has been largely restored and I am no longer treating it as I would a casino chip. My entire budget has suddenly become almost totally predictable; which is actually rather nice!
Who knows....I may still be tempted to have a touch on a Met or July. But maybe not when one considers the alternatives for that couple of hundred (or thousand) rands.
At the same time I have just had a 'marketing experience' which is in stark contrast to my 45+ years in the horse racing world and which highlights one of the glaring deficiencies in this 'game' :
I am fortunate enough to own a Porsche. I acquired it (slightly used) a couple of years ago. At the time it was a toss up between the car and another horse. I plumped for the car. One of my better decisions! The reason I say this is because the overall 'ownership experience' coupled to the fact that the car 'does what it says on the tin' has been nothing short of amazing:
Communication is ongoing & relentless; this covers all media from print to electronic.
One is invited to any/every new launch & royally treated
They insist that you test drive all new models launched
Occasionally they do market research but always reward responses ( eg A R500 voucher was personally delivered to me this morning after I recently completed an online survey)
Birthdays & Christmas are usually acknowledged with gifts.
In all communications the owner is referred to as a member of the 'Porsche family'.
I accept that their product is expensive. But is it ? When you consider that a well maintained car will often recoup its purchase price when moved on some years later it may well ultimately be one of the cheapest cars you have owned. And the pleasure of owning it? Priceless as the ad says.
When I compare this experience against that offered by the racing world it is a little difficult not to feel slightly short changed. For example : I will always be perplexed as to why so much effort goes into feteing 'once a year socialites' at big meetings when their supporters (read : funders) remain anonymous and largely unacknowledged.
Why does racing stubbornly resist a meaningful loyalty programme whilst extorting such an outrageous takeout from Saftote bettors?
Has the industry EVER done a detailed survey with ex owners, ex punters & others as to WHY they left the game? And what would draw them back. Or is it a tacit acknowledgement that they cannot or could not be bothered to address issues which would make the sport appealing?
So many questions. I'm pretty sure I am not going to miss it.
Garrick, you always have a wonderful way to sum things up really well.
As far as I know there are some thoughts going into a loyalty program for P customers but what form and magnitude it will be I am not sure of. Could it ever be worth it though?
If I had to give advice to any youngster that wants to dabble in having a punt or a bet it would be to treat it as purely entertainment and nothing else. Let no one ever be conned into thinking that you could win regularly without it setting you up for potential future ruin. It is so easy to be sucked into the moment and end up getting seriously burned.
Gambling should be fun with a lingering possibility of a big pay day and occasional wins to subsidise that dream. Chasing the big pay day is a race that very few will ever win which is why staying within a comfortable budget is so important to keep one's sanity.
It is for this very reason that I would like to see growth coming from player numbers rather than the constant milking of a handful for increased turnover. I luckily fell into the gambling trap as a student when I had the urge but not the money. Luckily that was quickly reversed and for years i have enjoyed the thrill of the chase whether I bet R10 or a R100 as it is more about getting it right than getting rich.
It is for this reason that I started designing and developing racing products which are guaranteed to entertain, would be widely affordable, offer a realistic chance of winning and would produce the biggest guaranteed winners that racing has ever had.
These are not products that operators would like to see out there but it would be great for marketing the sport to a much bigger audience.
In the mean time I have my day job but I still don't have the Porsche.
Think of us while you are enjoying your retirement Garrick and keep on posting as I love your insights.
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