Racing it's a rush

2 basics that I believe that racing should be building on are
a)people love puzzles/challenges (crosswords,Sudoku,Rubic cubes etc bear testament),so as Don suggests,sell handicapping as a challenging puzzle!
b)a large percentage of people love to gamble and many already do ,so only adding horses is necessary ...........the principle is already accepted.

I believe I know how to whet peoples appetites to "racing to win" as I have tested it successfully to some extent.

When in business,I used to use midweek meetings to entertain clients and part of the marketing was using R2000 of the budget to take a table PA,Jpot and maybe a P6.(so everybody had a free R200 share of the exotics)
If you just let it run ,people had fun eating and drinking ,but if every person was given a copy of the bets,and they were reminded,race by race what to look for,they kept up to date on the progress................the excitement grew as the bets went on!
Many of my customers got converted ...........I got calls later saying that they wanted to watch night racing on Tellytrack ,but how do they put their own Pa's etc on,so they and the family could follow in the same manner ..............I got at least a dozen to open tellybet accounts,and some are big punters today!The point was linking the social side to the activity of horseracing!

So how do the operators achieve the same thing,but on a much bigger scale?

Well they can't give R200 worth of free bets to every partygoer ,but they could link prizes to the racing in the same way:
Lets say they give away a car for a P6 type comp ,Televisions for Jpot type and smaller prizes for Pa type bets.
Everybody gets entry forms in the style of the exotics: eg a ticket styled on the P6 with 6 random numbers in leg 1 ,5 in leg 2 etc finishing with a banker in leg 6.........winning ticket gets the car (if more than one a draw featuring qualifying tickets) etc etc
Surely that is better than prizes for silly hats or outfits, as it links the party to the racing,and believe me some will be bitten and start taking their own exotics,on future meetings, to recreate the excitement.
This could be extended to competitions in shops or the press linked to night meetings to create an interest in watching Tellytrack to watch the progress of their competition entries(same as people watch the lotto draws)
It is a short step from watching races to win prizes in a competition, to placing similar bets and watching racing for dividends instead
You have to get the bug to bite!

Racing needs new punters more than anything else

When I played poker I studied and got better, when I play dports betting I have all the stats I need at my fingertips ..

I've been losing at the horses for 25 years and still can't fathom stuff out...please help me

Racing needs to be simplified

Mr H

You are right and perhaps i am idealistic and naive in my thinking.

Let me ask you something though as it has huge bearing on what I am working on in the product department.

Do you play golf?

Might seem like an odd question but bare with me.

Most people that play golf suck at it when they start and probably should quit there and then, but strangely enough most don't. They will go at it hammer and tong until they improve to a point where they can have a few good holes or shots which brings them back. Then they join a club and they get a handicap and suddenly even if they are average they are able to compete and win on occasion or at least beat their friends or playing partners and they feel quite good even if they are miles off the pace.

How did they start with golf?

The majority start out with a friend taking them to the course for a round and then another and another and so forth.

Then they go to the range because they are keen to improve and the bug has bitten and they are suddenly serious about the game. No effort is spared in trying to improve.
It can happen the other way around but rarely does.

Two things are responsible for their motivation, a handicap that allows them to be competitive even when their game isn't quite there yet and the fact that they have a benchmark to measure their level of skill or lack thereof which is expressed in a score for a round.

If their first round was a 119 shots and their second 118, they sucked both times but their benchmark was outperformed and created motivation. This motivation is enforced every time they improve their score and is furthered through improvements in their handicap.

They are probably not winning competitions at this point but they are not lacking in motivation which is the main driver of continued participation and practice which is what is required to raise the skill level to a point where they can hold their own consistently.

Some become champions, others fierce competitors and some continue to suck but the level of enjoyment reached will keep them in the game for a long time or life if their physical condition allows it.

What really keeps them in the game is the constant quest to improve and a handicap system to level the playing field by making weaker players more competitive and that pushes stronger players to have to perform even better.

This same thinking can be implemented for racing and will make it a very strong value proposition and marketing tool and this is exactly where I am going with our new product.

For me its about the majesty of the horse, his shine of the coat, his 500kg of perfect specimen, his walking around the paddocks, the ring, his neighing, smelling the manure, looking into his eye, hearing the thunder of the hooves galloping down the track. For me its about the silks, all the people, the barman, the craic from mates. For me, its not just about the punt.

LSU wrote: Mr H

You are right and perhaps i am idealistic and naive in my thinking.

Let me ask you something though as it has huge bearing on what I am working on in the product department.

Do you play golf?

Might seem like an odd question but bare with me.

Most people that play golf suck at it when they start and probably should quit there and then, but strangely enough most don't. They will go at it hammer and tong until they improve to a point where they can have a few good holes or shots which brings them back. Then they join a club and they get a handicap and suddenly even if they are average they are able to compete and win on occasion or at least beat their friends or playing partners and they feel quite good even if they are miles off the pace.

How did they start with golf?

The majority start out with a friend taking them to the course for a round and then another and another and so forth.

Then they go to the range because they are keen to improve and the bug has bitten and they are suddenly serious about the game. No effort is spared in trying to improve.
It can happen the other way around but rarely does.

Two things are responsible for their motivation, a handicap that allows them to be competitive even when their game isn't quite there yet and the fact that they have a benchmark to measure their level of skill or lack thereof which is expressed in a score for a round.

If their first round was a 119 shots and their second 118, they sucked both times but their benchmark was outperformed and created motivation. This motivation is enforced every time they improve their score and is furthered through improvements in their handicap.

They are probably not winning competitions at this point but they are not lacking in motivation which is the main driver of continued participation and practice which is what is required to raise the skill level to a point where they can hold their own consistently.

Some become champions, others fierce competitors and some continue to suck but the level of enjoyment reached will keep them in the game for a long time or life if their physical condition allows it.

What really keeps them in the game is the constant quest to improve and a handicap system to level the playing field by making weaker players more competitive and that pushes stronger players to have to perform even better.

This same thinking can be implemented for racing and will make it a very strong value proposition and marketing tool and this is exactly where I am going with our new product.

LSU, I'm not saying that exotics don't have a place. Of course they do and that is where your product fits in. My point is that we need more people exposed at the simple entry level. For me exposure at that level needs to occur on-course.
Rob's approach, client entertainment, sits well with me. The important thing is having a person, be it the host, friend or Tab employee that exposes the potential punter to simple bets. Rob's example is the PA. I think that is a good intro too as it's simple enough especially with the 3 place rule change and the returns are good as many new players want to take the safe option of a place bet which as you know does not offer huge payouts.
Once you foster the the first bet then you have to let nature take its course.
It must be said that the operator MUST provide a punting experience that the new punter enjoys and this is often a problem. This is where the work needs to be done. Also it does not help to have a few thousand people come Racing and you have not kept Marketing to them.

Cheers Mac and not forgetting the leading in of a "winner" into that number one box, now that is a high that never leaves the system.
Syndicates also a great way to go, if you have an actual runner you will make a point to get to the track.

INTRIGUE.

It why young boys used to pick up their dads race cards...

Why punters would follow Abe Bloomberg down to the bookmakers ring...

Why they were mesmerized by the activities of that bookmakers ring...

Why they would share the 'talk of the course'...

but,it's all gone out of the game.

The primary objective of racing needs to be to get people INTRIGUED,instead of 'how do we get him to open his wallet'.

INTRIGUE gets people to punt and buy horses.

Mr H

Exposure at the entry level is the right way to go but what the entry level should be is what I would happily debate.
What a well designed exotic will get you is a more entertaining introduction to racing and an afternoons fun and exposure.
A flat fee exotic with multiple selections offered in each leg and no elimination will go a long way to providing a new player with more fun from involvement.
The PA is a magnificent bet and the only one that I play with regularity as I enjoy the entertainment value of watching beautiful horses running. Very few people get rich from gambling which is why I will punt entertainment over getting rich in promoting the game any time.
If you have a format that provides the entertainment with the added opportunity of also winning a tidy sum it will be well received.
I get knocked out of the PA regularly and nothing is more crushing than bowing out in the first leg as it spoils the day's involvement for me. The reality is that newcomers will get knocked out way more regularly which destroys the entertainment value of an involvement, the very thing that needs to be preserved at all cost.

I hear all the other arguments about the beauty of the horse and the thrill of leading in a winner and would love to experience that myself one day, but that will only happen once you love the game or if the economic motive is compelling enough, which it isn't at present.

I would love to meet a few of you over drinks at a race day sometime as I find all your discussions and inputs fascinating and especially as we share a desire to see racing thriving again.

Firstly, apologies for taking so long as I submitted yesterday and got back to work. Only back on the site now.

Secondly, Thanks Rob. Great to see somebody understanding the logic of a new punter in the game needs help and assistance and it will take a long time to learn all of the inside/outs of this sport. I love this hype and love to sit at work and every 30 mins or so just glance to see if I am still in the PA or P6. Not understanding the "handicapping" and all that surrounds being an expert like Don, I rely on the expert to give me their opinions and tips and I try to work out a quick perm and submit. I do not have the time or the understanding at this point to spend hours studying, but I would still like to be involved and possibly become an owner in the very near future.

Don, seeing that racing is not a gamble to you, and you understand everything about the game so clearly, you must be making millions?! I will be sure to follow your posts for the raceday venues closely, because you seem to have this thing waxed! As a newbie I am not in your league and "I cannot work everything out for myself", so either I get assistance from proffesionals to understand every aspect or I leave the game... Is that what your statement says?

Snel, I enjoyed your comments until now.

Don already apologised and knowing her interest in promoting racing I have no doubt that she did not mean to offend you.

We are glad that you are in the game and interested but stick to horses rather than siding with asses.

Hi LSU

Accepted, but please understand how the statements affects a new member to any environment... anyhow as you said, maybe it just came out wrong, but it seemed a bit harsh.

Accepted and moving on... Do you have a tip for me?

sorry to disappoint Snel, I hardly ever punt as a matter of fact, and will never tip. Seeing an exceptional athlete in action is what floats my boat. I'd rather spend time in explaining the elements and allow someone to learn and grow (and no, I am hardly the fundi!! learning a bit more every day!) - again apologies, I didn't mean to offend you personally - I just get very frustrated in hearing there is very little out there to help beginners.

However, if you follow @racingitsarush or this forum, you will get light pointers along the way now...couple that with the tipsters that you follow and your strike rate should be ok. Just always remember, they are animals and part of a team, less consistent than machines, so even the tipsters etc will be off-course sometimes.

The punter is the primary customer - and if we don't have them, there will be no racing. Every punter is valued. I am very much into getting racing to help people understand the mind game, and to make it easier for people to work it out and win, or at least mitigate their losses. This way more people will have confidence in taking part on various levels. Racing needs to communicate this to their customers...and they are working on a plan to do just that. Racing needs to be that 'friend' that explains how it works...that 'uncle', 'aunt' or 'brother' or 'dad'.