NEWS
Social networking helps tracks market product
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:50 AM
by Paul Post
Racing must do a better job marketing itself, adopt new technology such as high-definition television, and use social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter to stay competitive with other sports, industry leaders said during this week’s International Simulcast Conference.
The annual event attracted more than 250 racing officials to Saratoga Springs, New York.
“If new fans cannot be created, the prospects for everyone in the pari-mutuel industry are not very good,” said racing consultant Eugene Christiansen of Christiansen Capital Advisors.
“We have racetracks going by the wayside,” acknowledged Sam Houston Race Park Vice President of Racing Eric Johnston. “It’s just a big vicious cycle.”
Panelists said that racing does not lack opportunities for growth but rather a willingness to change.
Dan Silver, communications director of the New York Racing Association, said that while mainstream media coverage of racing has decreased, social media coverage of the sport via blogs and Twitter has increased.
“The key is finding ways to use these platforms,” Silver said. “Every track out there should have its top handicapper maintain a Twitter page.”
NYRA racing analyst Andy Serling maintains a Twitter account with 1,492 followers through October 14. Silver said Serling’s social media presence encourages fans to wager on races.
Such tools may have everything from handicapping content to feature stories about stable area life.
“It helps to bind people into racing,” said Jessica Chapel of www.BreedersCup360.com, a Web site dedicated strictly to the upcoming Breeders Cup races.
New technology also keeps existing fans from losing interest.
“Like any business, it’s a lot easier to keep a fan you already have than to develop a new fan,” Equidaily Publisher Seth Merrow said. “They’re just fun kinds of things that can keep fans engaged. The Internet and horse racing is a good partnership. Blogging is no different than playing the piano. Some are virtuosos, some are horrible and there’s a middle ground.”
One panel was dedicated solely to the need for high-definition television. To date, only Churchill Downs and Keeneland have such simulcasting with Fair Grounds expected to make the switch this fall.
By 2012, however, more than 90% of domestic households will have at least one high-definition television. Fans used to watching baseball, football and basketball this way will lose interest if racing doesn’t follow suit, panelists said.
“It’s expensive, but it’s necessary,” said David Loignon, general manager, Churchill Downs simulcast productions.
Churchill Downs Inc.’s TwinSpiresTV is able to webcast races in high definition. The tool is accessible through the company’s account wagering platform TwinSpires.com.
Paul Post is a Thoroughbred Times correspondent based in Upstate New York
