Race for the alcohol not what we need

May 16 2009 by Doug Moscrop, The Journal

WHILE racing has a lot more to offer to potential customers, it’s fair to say past efforts to market the product have fallen short of what is required to see the sport through this difficult period and beyond.

So, another rebranding exercise has been considered necessary to promote a day at the races to the vast majority of the population who currently ignore it. Apparently, earlier findings point to 90 per cent of the public not being part of racing’s audience.

Consultants Harrison Fraser were commissioned six months ago by the British Horseracing Authority and so far their work in broadening racing’s appeal has cost £250,000. Their project team has come up with various recommendations such as “must do better” in a highly competitive entertainment business and listening to future customers.

They also highlight the celebrity factor. Modernising racing language should also be considered as few people know what racing folk are talking about and betting ought to be simplified. A complete waste of time, in my opinion.

But isn’t racing rather unique because its wellbeing relies almost entirely on betting? Without it, there wouldn’t be any horses competing against each other and I doubt has any bearing on how many people come through the turnstiles. Surely the prospect of horseflesh, weighing around half a ton each, thundering down a track, guided by a fit human in the saddle, trying to reach the winning line first, should be a big enough spectacle and compare favourably with Grand Prix motor racing or any other all-action entertainment. If it doesn’t then racing has a long-term problem.

There is also the small matter of fixture clashes with other sports, all wanting their slice of the same leisure cake.

As is the case in all other sports, the way forward must be to entice more younger people to visit our racecourses and enjoy the spectacle for the right reasons. Not at the expense of the regular racegoer who often get their noses pushed out by racecourse executives concentrating on infrequent visitors in the hope they will be the racegoers of the future.

Bums on seats, they say, is all about business even though party concessions often involves unwanted human baggage. Those who turn up and have little or no interest in proceedings. They might never see a horse or jockey in the flesh as they participate in their own race for the alcohol stakes and spoil the genuine racing fan’s enjoyment. Hardly the sort of image racing wants to create.