The National Thoroughbred Racing Association will conduct a Marketing Summit September 21-23 in Las Vegas that will feature a 90-minute workshop called “Reaching a New Generation.”

John Della Volpe, founder and president of SocialSphere Strategies and director of polling at Harvard's Institute of Politics, will moderate the workshop on September 22 that will focus on tactical strategies for engaging new racing fans.

Five members of the NTRA’s new online marketing task force will join Della Volpe in his presentation. The participating members are Dana Byerly, 42, from New York City; Jessica Chapel, 34, from Brooklyn, New York; Patrick Patton, 30, from Matawan, New Jersey; Troy Racki, 26 from Loma Linda, California; and Kevin Stafford, 30, from Hanover, Pennsylvania. All are active bloggers, handicappers, and online contributors.

"The presentation will be a living, breathing Web 2.0 collaboration with some of racing's best fans," said Della Volpe. "We have scoured the Internet for racing's most ardent supporters, then we created an online community and gave them an assignment: develop a plan to market the sport to a new generation of fans.

“Over the course of about six weeks, the group will be spending dozens of hours meeting, debating, and challenging each other's assumptions—the results of which they will present to the industry at the NTRA Marketing Summit."

The three-day conference at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas also will include a luncheon speech and question-and-answer session with NTRA President Alex Waldrop; a roundtable presentation by the NTRA's Horseplayers' Coalition; and updates on several NTRA programs and initiatives, including advertising and marketing, the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, the National Handicapping Championship Tour, legislative/regulatory issues, promotions, television, public relations and NTRA Advantage.

The Summit will begin with registration, a welcoming reception and a private handicapping tournament for attendees on September 21. Following a full day of sessions on September 22, the summit will conclude with a half-day session on September 23.  Registration for the NTRA Marketing Summit can be completed online at www.ntra.com. The price is $250 for NTRA members and $400 for non-members).

Accommodations at Red Rock can be reserved at a special $125 per night rate by calling (866) 767-7773 by August 21. For additional information on the Marketing Summit, contact Michele Ravencraft of the NTRA at (859) 422-2657 or via email at mravencraft@ntra.com.

"We look forward to a lively and provocative gathering sure to provide many timely and relevant strategies for the year ahead," said Keith Chamblin, senior vice president-communications and industry relations for the NTRA.