Re:How will racing survive? The pools are stinking!

to answer the question. when normal income is down ie stakes for owners and percentages for trainers and jockeys the only way to keep going is for all three groups to punt and punt and punt some more

to answer the question. when normal income is down ie stakes for owners and percentages for trainers and jockeys the only way to keep going is for all three groups to punt and punt and punt some more

jim wrote: to answer the question. when normal income is down ie stakes for owners and percentages for trainers and jockeys the only way to keep going is for all three groups to punt and punt and punt some more

You`re not far away Jim, and some in the Industry treat punters like lepers

The 35 minutes intervals is too long between races. Yes they can have it on big days. In the UK even if they have a 3 mile jump race, 90% of the time the next race is at 30 minute intervals. In the USA it can go low as 27 minutes between races.

In South Africa they rarely jump on time. In the USA, Gulfstream Park was synonymous for going off later than schedule. They since recognised that and in the last 3 months or so they now start on time. Only when there is Pick 6 carryovers do they delay it abit.

Racing like any business is a numbers game and the correlation between the number of punters and the size of pools must be recognised before we will see an improvement. Everything possible with what the operator has at their disposal has already been done. Adding races and race days, more products and increasing take out has all been tried to stem the tide but has only slowed the obvious decline. Its no fault of the current ownership but they have a mammoth task to reverse the neglect caused previously.

There is only one way to give the sport a fighting chance and that is to invest in the expensive and painstaking task of building a brand new market from scratch, something that should have been started a long time ago as it takes time to gain meaningful momentum and growth.

It will take new products that can draw a more diverse customer base and provide real and affordable entertainment during the skills development phase to have a meaningful impact over time. Until the joy of involvement can be improved for people of average ability the bug will battle to bite and the decline will continue. Having a feeder scheme that can produce skilled players should be the number one priority in my estimate as historical data suggests that skilled players will stay in the game and are more likely to support a variety of racing products than novices.

The importance of providing a format that is both entertaining and competitive should be the starting point in the quest for a new breed of racing enthusiasts. Once growth gains momentum pools will get much bigger and more attractive and will add all other marketing activities.

This will not be a quick turnaround but the right product would make a huge difference in providing the heavy lifting needed to create awareness and interest which will make any outreach a lot more effective.

Will the new company recognise the need for products designed specifically to make racing more enjoyable and provide better quality dividends every game? Time will tell and I really hope that the new beginning will be given the commitment we are all hoping for. Racing has a lot to offer with the right approach to both new and existing customers and it has never been more important to do things right than right now.

To elaborate further on a Client Base that has been dwindling and almost lost........ to quote this article from the Racing Museum archives......

About Greyville Racecourse.

" TO it's detriment however is it's distance from the major Black Townships, and recent years have seen a dramatic falling off in attendances by Black racegoers in particular.

This drop in attendance by Black racegoers ,who once constituted more than half of the 60 000 strong crowd that attended the Rothmans July has been so pronounced as to warrant the closure of the Silver Ring which this year was turned over to additional picnic revellers."

How will racing survive?
Simple answer. it wont! not in it's current form.
Reasons:
Meaningful new participants wont be found to invest in Horses or Pools.
Pools on horse betting will continue to shrink. 4Racing wont fix that, hell they probably dont even see it as a priority
The future
Small botique type racing, where only the very wealthy compete. Probably wont even race for stakes but for pink slips or next weeks dinner at the Westcliff.
The two black people appointed by 4RRacing have one job get government cooperation with the gambling board and another red tape hurdles Phumelela failed at.
The rest of smaller owners trainers punters etc we will go bush racing.
Vaal will close Turfontein will eventually close. and we will race at Randjies.
Fairfiew and Durbanville continued existance will depend on the largess of the elite owners.
Gold Circle is an unknown but are running out of funds fast so they may just be absorbed into Hollywood bets
Scottsville is on borrowed time.

just an opinion