"What can we do for racing" ??

Good afternoon all, have been catching up with all the racing chats, via sites, Facebook etc

Make no mistake forums strive on drama and scandal, but is it not time for "real" racing people to get together and come up with some strategy for the best way forward for racing?

Consider a round table discussions with the operators, bookmakers, owners, trainers, press, RA, jockeys, punters etc all sending representatives.

An agenda could be drawn up, as a first step to give all parties time to consider what they would present at the meeting, with the focus on "what can we do for racing, not what can racing do for you".

Just a thought and would appreciate your inputs, if any?

It might be time for us all to sit down, have a cup of tea ( or preferably a wee glass) and get rid of all this aggravation, politics and stress that the racing industry currently strives on.

I am aware many are uncomfortable to post directly on the site and I will send my email and cell number on an email link which I will also distribute.

Not wanting to preempt replies, if any, but guess " what the hell has it got to do with ABC, we know what we are doing and will have our own meetings "

On the other hand what is wrong with picking up a phone and knocking off many small easy to fix issues rather than going via an expensive legal system

Fixing racing is in reality not as difficult as operators and the industry has chosen to make it.

Turnover will always be a byproduct of customer involvement and as such the latter needs to get the attention it deserves to grow the sport and provide a viable economic platform. As the matter of growing the customer base requires an investment that will only deliver optimum results over the longer term this is ignored in the interest of quick fixes and short term windfalls which all can see is not sustainable.

Unfortunately the reward mechanism in place kicks in predictably and favorably on short term gains and share price movement. Given this can anyone be blamed for ignoring the elephant in the room. The short answer is no and until customer growth is included in performance measures racing will continue to suffer at the expense of more profitable ventures.

The best thing that we can do for racing is to support the tote as far as exotic bets are concerned and to see it as a contribution to racing and race horse ownership. This is just the start as the operator also needs to show a commitment by making racing more punter friendly through lowered take out on exotics and the introduction of new products aimed at attracting a new player base.

When they do this we can support racing further by introducing these products to new players and promoting the sport with confidence. I for one cannot promote the tote at this present moment as I don't believe in what is being sold which is also the reason why new players are not forthcoming and staff not able to sell with any confidence.

I have tried to promote racing for years and some of you might know that I am involved in designing new, more entertaining and rewarding games to make the marketing of the sport easier. I will continue with this as I have no doubt that new products hold the key to a racing revival and that racing, with the right format is still very marketable.

We can all do something for racing if there is something truly worthwhile to promote.

Dave
I have proposed this for years, to no avail....it appears that the Operators know it all and that our input is not worth considering. They have regular "think tanks" , closed to their staff only. That's the story.

louisg wrote: Dave
I have proposed this for years, to no avail....it appears that the Operators know it all and that our input is not worth considering. They have regular "think tanks" , closed to their staff only. That's the story.

As far as I know, Louis is unfortunately 100% correct - in fact I think if one searches this site, you will probably find a similar suggestion made 10 years ago :ohmy:

Probably was said on here many times however I am gonna say it again. Punters who play this game daily spends way more than your "once a year" punter on let's say July day. Create a rewards programme and invite the guys and treat them like they should be treated. Why should I get invited by a casino to attend a horse racing event fully paid for when I also play my tom on horse racing.

Punters should too be treated with the utmost respect in this game.

Being good for racing must not be confused with playing on the tote,, playing on the tote means more supporting Phumelela,, and Phumelela has many agendas and not all are in the best interest of racing itself ,,

The question is what can we do for racing? The answer answer is that we are already doing everything we can for racing. Any change has to come from those who run, control and administer horse racing. History has shown that no matter our good intentions, if they do not align with those who run and administer horse racing, we will get nowhere. Taking a leaf out of the WW1 propoganda books, I believe that the credo of those who run and administer horse racing is not "what we can do for racing?" but "what can racing do for us?".

Phum needs to start doing something about the very bad customer service. That is the reason why punters asked the open-bet bookies to establish the open-bet not the other way around. But Phum is so obsessive about trying to bring down the open-bet bookies that they have lost the plot on customer service. They will end up like the obsessive Captain Ahab, strapped to Moby with his own harpoon tack.

By fobbing off winning customers with vouchers is tantamount to vomit.

By closing off distribution to competitor formguides is childish.

It all starts with Phum.

Marketing horse racing by educating young punters to understand how one goes about systematically choosing a horse to punt. There should be a series of programs on Tellytrack with a step by step guide on how to read a racecard ie. weight, draw, blinkers etc. An episode on what one should look at when a horse canters to the start. An episode on the rules when there is a stripes objection. I believe if young punters are equipped with the knowledge or understanding of horses they will punters. Many of the soccer punters at the tote will become horse racing punters.

I remember the first time I watched cricket on TV, I said to my friends this is a boring sport. But later when I was educate on how the scoring of runs ie.4&6's, what is an LBW, what the umpire duties etc. I started to enjoy watching cricket on TV and also played cricket in the backyard.

There are blue chip companies that makes billions of rands, their marketing budget is enormous, these COE's will tell you marketing is the most important aspect for their businesses being successful. Quality of product and always treat your customer as King.

There are too many meetings.

Gauteng:

Vaal 1 midweek meeting.
Turffontein 1 weekend meeting.

KZN:

Greyville 1 weekend night race.

PE:

Friday afternoon every week. It works!

I do not have a suggestion for WC and NC racing.

Who is "we" and what is "racing"?

I gamble on racing and I shop at Woolies. I prefer Woolies to Phumelela.

I am a customer. You are obviously higher up the 'management' chain than I am. Why aren't you doing something for me, not what can I do for you. You take my money after all, or more clearly, racing makes a profit from me...it owes me.