GONE BABY GONE?
By Ray Paulick
Ten years ago many of the grand poobahs of American racing gathered in Tucson, Ariz., for the University of Arizona Racetrack Industry Program’s 25th annual Symposium on Racing. There was great anticipation of the event, in large part to get an update on the fledgling National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s efforts to organize a “league office” and provide national leadership for an industry that had none in areas like marketing and television. The NTRA had commenced operations a year earlier, in 1998.
There’s something about this game that brings out the knockers (no, Tiger, not that kind), and the NTRA was under intense criticism at the outset in many different quarters from people who thought a) their chief executives didn’t know enough about horse racing; b) they were paid too much money; c) the “Go Baby Go” catchphrase developed by New York advertising agency Merkley Newman Harty was mindless; d) their first-year marketing campaign featuring Lori Petty (aka “Tank Girl”) was horrible; and e) horse racing’s television ratings and the economics of the industry weren’t getting any better and the NTRA had already been in a business a whole year!
Oh, for the good old days!
Pari-mutuel handle in North America during the NTRA’s first year in 1998 hit an all-time record, of $13.8 billion, and it increased for the next five years, peaking at $15.9 billion in 2003. At the end of 2009, total handle in North America will be less than what was generated in 1998.
In 1999, when chief executive Tim Smith delivered a state of the NTRA address at the Symposium on Racing he spoke about increased television exposure, including a new series, NTRA Champions on Fox, and additional programming on the ESPN family of companies that would bring the total number of hours of televised racing on network and cable (excluding TVG) to 137, an increase in 40% over two years.
Nearly $30 million was spent on national and local advertising using NTRA-branded material in 1999. Inserts promoting major racing events were placed in Sports Illustrated and USA Today. There were NTRA “fan guides,” racetrack customer service training coordinated by NTRA, new events like the NTRA All-Star Jockeys Challenge, in-depth market research and increased lobbying in Washington, D.C.
Thoroughbred racing, for a brief period, was playing offense, an unfamiliar strategy for this industry. Sure, a few years earlier, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (a trade association of tracks, not to be confused with the NTRA) hired an outsider, sports marketing executive Brian McGrath, to come in and play the role of “commissioner,” but his tenure was over almost as soon as it began.
Why is it this industry so often says it needs outside expertise, then bludgeons whoever is brought in under that guise because “he doesn’t understand racing”?
Today, while its top executives are back at the Arizona Symposium on Racing, all the NTRA can do is play defense, a glorified game of whack-a-mole. There’s no talk about growing the sport and its business anymore but of how to stop the bleeding. Racehorse injuries and fatalities here. Tote credibility problems there. Threats from Washington, D.C. There is no such thing as NTRA marketing or television anymore. The organization’s skeleton staff in Kentucky and New York is stretched to the bone, and its budget has been continuously reduced, now standing at about $10 million, a fraction of what it was 10 years ago.
What happened?
The organization’s fate was sealed when Frank Stronach, not long after he started buying racetracks, declared he didn’t need the NTRA for his Magna Entertainment to succeed (how’s that working out?). Stronach petulantly threatened to drop out of the NTRA and joined with other short-sighted track-owning malcontents that forced NTRA executives to spend most of their energy keeping the coalition from crumbling. That’s not a formula for success.
Any chance of building the NTRA into some semblance of a “league office” finally ended when the Breeders’ Cup, which signed a joint operating agreement with the NTRA in 2001, ended its relationship five years later.
I’m not even sure why we have an NTRA any more. Its area of interest almost completely overlaps with the aforementioned TRA, with the lone exception of lobbying federal politicians to maintain tax breaks for horse owners (something, incidentally, the racetrack organization TRA should care about, since it needs horse owners to race at their tracks).
At that 1999 Arizona racing symposium, Smith introduced the NTRA’s second-year ad campaign, one that featured the actor Rip Torn talking to chunks of turf and statues of jockeys like a crazy person. Torn hasn’t had the best of times since then (witness his two arrests for suspicion of drunk driving), and neither has the original Go Baby Go girl, Lori Petty (she had some driving problems, too).
But both Torn and Petty have survived the ups and downs of life, something I can relate to as well. I’m not sure we’ll be saying the same thing of the NTRA, which could be Gone Baby Gone before we know it.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: All-Star Jockeys Challenge, Breeders' Cup, Brian McGrath, espn, Fox, Frank Stronach, Lori Petty, Magna Entertainment, Merkley Newman Harty, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Rip Torn, Sports Illustrated, symposium on racing, Thoroughbred Racing Assoications of North America, tim smith, tvg, University of Arizona, USA Today
December 9th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Exchange betting would grow the sport, but of course the NTRA is against it.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:27 am
When the “establishment” hijacked Fred Pope’s original plan, that was actually the end of NTRA. The poobahs never intended it to survive. It was a threat to all they hold dear, especially POWER. So it lingered through an initial fifty-millions and who knows how much more since then.
Now, euthanasia is the best that can be done for NTRA. R I P.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:29 am
It figures that Stronach had a hand in this.Seems everything he touches,fails.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I actually liked the original NTRA ads with Petty, and not to offend anyone, BUT, so did most people I know NOT in Kentucky and in the business AND under the age of 50. To this day, friends of mine back home in Tennessee say “Go Baby Go” and “Pay the Lady.’ It isn’t about attrracting us, it’s about attracting THEM. We spend too much time and money preaching to our own choir. We say this all the time, year after ad nauseum year, and nothing changes. You need to advertise to younger people in outer markets. Because so much of the industry is centered in Lexington, the industry is blinded by it’s own backyard. We’ve got Keeneland, we’ve got the Derby, so that’s where racing’s leaders heads are stuck. Quite frankly, the conversation has gotten boring because I’m tired of hearing the same whine and those of you in the business who have the money and the real vested interest to make a change, don’t. Buy ads on college football Saturdays on ESPN and YES put Kid Rock in them. He may offend the pants off the Keeneland Clubhouse crowd, but 20 somethings think he’s cool, he loves racing, and he comes to the Derby every year. Figure it out already.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:30 am
With respect to lobbying the federal government to protect horse owner, breeders, tracks, farms, veterinarians, farriers, transportation companies, etc., don’t forget the American Horse Council.
which–if it had ever been supported 25% as well financially as the NTRA, etc., would have been a gigantic asset to the business.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:39 am
The poor NTRA never had a chance given the make up of racing, in which states’ rights and politics spoil the landscape. How can anything national ever be done while each state stands alone and governors appoint racing commissioners based on favors? They never had a shot.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
The industry is doomed unless a number of track owners look at their antiquated facilities and decide that the time is long overdue for a makeover to compete in the sports marketplace (and I don’t mean dumping dough in some spiffy casino), many horsemen (owners and trainers) getting it through their thick skulls that illicit drugs and slaughterhouses are no longer acceptable practices on the track and after the finish line and most state racing commissions quit their coziness with “insider’s” and actually start policing things to the fullest extent of the law. Oh, and a national commissioner with “Judge Landis” powers wouldn’t hurt, either.
Fans are voting each day by staying a home and playing the game online or taking their money and using it for some other activities……and there is no means to reach out to a younger audience - it seems - besides some weekend specials on a cheap brand of beer, hat giveaways and gigs featuring some local band dressed up like The Beatles.
Crisis…what crisis?!
December 9th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I’ll just say ditto to everything Beth said (including liking the Lori Petty ads).
December 9th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
“[T]hose of you in the business who have the money and the real vested interest to make [changes], don’t.”
“[The NTRA] was a threat to all [that the racing industry "establishment" poobahs] hold dear, especially POWER.”
Bingo! Bingo!
December 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Why does the NTRA find itself in extremis? The group was created by one industry at night and woke up serving another the following morning. Rules and policy designed to address a diverse group of many suddenly became irrelevant in an attempt to govern three gorillas and only a few notable “other guys.” They’ve been searching for identity ever since.
Countless food fights among the various players have either ignored the trade association or tossed it out of the ring like a referee in a wrestling match. The real culprit is not regulation, breeder, owner horseman, account-wagering company, trade association or even track. Racing’s intramural skirmishes are similar to noise experienced in other industries. The inevitable dirty laundry within most industries, however, is held in check by something that doesn’t exit in the world of horse racing – growth.
In most debates a seminal theme surrounds the need for additional revenue. Amid the turmoil lurks take-out, the silent killer, high blood pressure of the business. Excessive levels of take-out, the actual margins from wagering for which everyone is vying, serve to eliminate the option of generating growth from existing consumers and a .10 superfecta or a .50 pick-3 won’t change it.
In short, the NTRA is like so many other aspects . . . the industry simply can’t afford it anymore.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
It seems like the NTRA has done its best to make a difference in the areas it was allowed to or could afford to. When tracks and others ceded it no power, the league office concept was rendered rather impotent. When funding sources dried up, there went television and most of its marketing. But it has kept on with things that others in the industry would not or could not do–like effective lobbying in DC, pretty solid damage control following the BC Pick 6 and Barbaro/Egiht Belles messes, starting its Safety Alliance which the industry probably needed even more than it realizes, a well received year-long handicapping contest, putting on the Eclipse Awards, leading the way on some social networking stuff, etc. NTRA has definitely changed a lot (out of necessity) since its beginnings, but it seems the industry still needs for it to be there at some level, and that it gives the industry added credibility in the eyes of those outside the sport.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Barry,
You are correct, of course. But there is more to it than that.
The NTRA has never been able or been interested in representing bettors, the people who finance the sport with their wagers.
Item 1: The NTRA Players’ Panel, which included well-respected people like Jim Quinn and Cary Fotias, created a wish list of customer service issues.
NTRA racetracks ignored it and the NTRA did nothing of significance to jawbone them into adoption. The recommendations have been forgotten.
Item 2: When New York’s purported political leadership came up with its latest plan to raise takeout, I emailed Alex Waldrop about whether the NTRA would lobby to protect the public.
He gave me 1 reason why the NTRA might help, and a bushel full of reasons why it couldn’t. The bottom line? Stopping takeout increases is not favored by some of the NTRA membership. Apparently the notion helping customers might help the industry as a whole is too complex for them to understand.
In the interest of fairness, I must say the NTRA media staff — Jim Gluckson, Eric Wing, and Joan Lawrence — have always been extremely helpful and their work is appreciated.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
To be fair to the oft-maligned poobahs, no one put more time, resources and money into the NTRA than the industry non-profits: The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Breeders’ Cup, Oak Tree, and to a lesser extent, Del Mar and NYRA. I know it’s good sport to beat up on these folks but they, and the central Ky breeders in particular, put a lot into making the NTRA work. Barry Irwin had it right. It is the states — and the tracks and wagering interests in those states — that don’t wand to cede any authority to a central, good–of-the-game structure.
So we move on.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
The threats that came from Washington following Eight Belles’ death at the 2008 Derby seemed to contain the real possibility of centralized management for Thoroughbred Horseracing - finally. Congress has the power to amend the IHA. Changing just a few words would have mandated something like a Commissioner of Racing, ala the NFL or MLB Commissioners, with the power to beat all the various “stakeholders” (whose individual inaction and/or wrong action is destoying racing) into a coherent whole, capable of acting rationally and in concert.
The compelling congressional testimony of Arthur Hancock and Jack van Berg, in particular, should have galvanized radical change. They, and Jess Jackson, and Randy Moss, were RIGHT. But the do-nothing congress preferred to listen to Alan Marzelli and Alex Waldrop, who were absolutely, 100%, no doubts at all, positive that racing could and would reform and restore itself. I think they also claimed that pigs would fly. And here we are.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Do we even know who racing turns to in time of crisis?
If we do, why can’t we put them on the spot?
Let’s start asking questions and keep asking till we get answers?
The first one might be to ask why we can’t readdress Fred Pope’s original plan?
December 9th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I agree that the NTRA has never had a shot. Until the tracks, owners, and horsemen subrogate their rights to the “league” office, they never will have a shot. I think if major tracks could agree to a league office which has the power to regulate post times, days of racing, drugs, etc., than there would be hope. All ADW’s have to agree to offer ONLY the NTRA track content, which would force the renegades to join and become part of the big picture, or be at odds and compete against the NTRA tracks on their own. A sensible approach to racing dates alone, would make such a difference. Big races and tracks on the weekend, smaller races and tracks on the week days, with guidlines that make it possible to move up or down based on success. I thought Fred Pope had the right idea when he created the NTA, but the tracks got scared and put themselves in the mix without subrogating their rights, and now it is pretty much ineffectual. It will take a league office to REINVENT the game, and that is what we need to do if want to be attractive to the masses and return to prominence as a sport.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
The NTRA tries to sugar-coat the ugly stuff and looks lame. The public isn’t buying it.
Racing needs a central authority to cure its cancers and properly run it. With adequate authority and integrity, racing could be an easy sell.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Mr. Kirpatrick:
The AHC (which i refuse to join or support) along with their sham of the Unwanted Horse Coalition (although I just got their most recent press release and it seems that they are beginning to listen…to a point) support horse slaughter for human consumption of US based or bred horses as a humane end of life option. Sorry, it is not humane and worse yet for the consumer eating same. It’s also an insult to our regulated and traditional meat livestock industry that I do support and request that the USDA start doing a damn better job.
blacktieaffair (great horse btw):
No, they have not put enough in….compared to what? My standard is based on the general revenue generated to buy, breed, sell, race, feed, bet and tax advantages on that horse. They give almost nothing back. They won’t come together? and we have to move on?…
… fair percentages, uniformed standards and regulation, national authority with enforcement powers like a god is required.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Marketing is: A) finding a need in the marketplace, B) filling that need with your product and/or service, C) telling potential customers why your product and/or service is the best way to fill that need, and D) making your customers so happy they purchased and used your product and/or service, that they keep coming back for more.
Given this reality, it is difficult for an “industry” or “industry group” to market a product and/or service in any meaningful way. Typically, the best marketing campaigns are conducted by individual business, in the markets they service. Now, I realize that the NFL, for example, conducts marketing campaigns at a league, or “industry,” level. But at the end of the day, the 32 individual teams have sales and marketing professionals in their front offices conducting marketing campaigns in their markets - selling sponsorships, as well as season and group ticket packages.
Can we honestly say that racetracks in this country have the same set up? How many racetracks run so much as a newspaper ad in their markets? (And no, marketing is not running a few radio, TV, internet and newspaper ads, opening your doors, and hoping people come in.) How many tracks have a professional sales and marketing staff on hand to attract whales, sell sponsorships and get large group blocks in the door?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Some tracks do this stuff. And I realize that. But not all.
While the NTRA can help with some national level marketing, and any help is appreciated, it is unrealistic for us to expect a “Go Baby Go” TV commercial to get people to go to their local track.
Furthermore, as Barry indicated above, state control of racing severely hampers the NTRA’s, or any other racing association’s, ability to impact other important aspects of racing (drugs, rules, etc.) in any meaningful way.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
To add, Stronach doesn’t need anybody! He has set up a system that defies logic. He rapes, plunders and pillages at will with sycophant board lackeys from MDI, MEC, et al. People are on the bash train for Minor (which now seems to be founded), but nobody gets angry at Stronach? In fact, they don’t get angry…they give him awards as breeder/owner while he rapes his racing and other corporation assets for his multi-million dollar personal assets/fiefdoms????? WTH!!! Sounds like the SEC with Madoff and the whistleblower that blew for over a 10 year period.
Just sick.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Can the PR send a form letter to each track asking what they are willing to do, to work as a team? Each reply would be posted and then we see who is and is not a team player???
Its a start???
December 9th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Mr. Potts:
The NFL controls the entire product (scheduling and post season events with consultation by all owners [I think]) and licensing; team owners share in that and own the licensing right to their team (player issues a bit more complicated) with a voting process.
Horse racing is every freakin’ man for himself, aside for a few races (and even that is controversial…2 years at SA for BC????).
December 9th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Everyone seems to agree that a central authority with real teeth is needed. Federal intervention - amending the IHA to vest power in one entity - is probably the ONLY way to achieve this goal.
Given the divergent interests of all the “stakeholders” whose concurrence would be needed to empower a central authority, it will never happen voluntarily.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I thought the “Go Baby Go” commercial had tremendous potential to become something special. It clicked for me when I saw Kent Desormeaux coming back to the winner’s circle after “Real Quiet’s” Derby, smiling big into the camera and yelling, “Go Baby Go”. I thought to myself, it took! That’s the theme. It had a touch of the “I’m going to Disneyland” campaign but with joy.
And then I thought that they should have “Go Baby Go” nominations from the backstretch, across America, every year for the the Go Baby Go Girl. Perhaps fan participation? Late night TV appearances etc. The future expansion of that idea was very marketable.
Lori Petty was a mere beginning. Someone to plant the seed. I’m very sorry that they didn’t go on with it.
Tommy Jacobs
NYC
December 9th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Mr. Masters,
I don’t disagree with you. The point I was trying to make is that individual companies do a better job of marketing their products and/or services than some umbrella organization can. Home Depot markets itself. Budweiser markets itself. Coke and Pepsi market themselves. The local auto dealership markets itself. Depending on one umbrella organization to do the marketing for you doesn’t typically work.
As a result, racetracks will need to market themselves and their product. I’m not saying the NTRA can’t assist, but the individual tracks need to present themselves in the marketplace as valuable options for wagering, fun and entertainment.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I’ve listened to people wanting to lay all of racing’s ills on marketing forever. The best way to kill a bad product is through effective promotion. It’s not the message people don’t understand, it’s that they simply don’t like what’s being sold. The time is long-since passed for what the game really needs – reform.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Too much purse money is being taken out for all these differant groups that just create jobs for their friends. It’s time to cut the fat and leave purse money alone. Too many organizations. The glory days are behind us not it’s business. Safety Alliance? Just another example of the waste. NTRA wa good for a while but then it turned into recycled jobs for nice people in Industry.
December 9th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I still recall the ABBA themed tv ads with “Take a chance on me” which seemed rather applicable. Catchy and already just about everyone under the sun, like the Swedish pop group or not, knows the melody.
December 9th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
And Lonny Powell gets a new job… again… in Arizona.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I hope the NTRA is other than “gone”. 10 million for budget should buy us something.
i’d like to see Paulick analysis of NTRA specific problems. Seems to me concept of NTRA is at odds with such as Twin Spires who would want to capture marketing for “Twin Spires” instead of other tracks. Is such an inherent conflict question #1.
the second thing I see from NTRA is lack of energy. There are some stirrings here and there. yet it seems to me the leadership has been conceptually and substantively challenged. An NTRA head who in this day and time believes revenue can be generated by butts in the seats is working on marketing somewhere circa 1990. You see and read nothing from NTRA as to saving small tracks, encouraging development of small track ADWs (try betting Lincoln State Fair on Twin Spires), or enunciating any sort of umbrella strategy for the sport.
some want a small league of deep pockets. others as myself encourage the present system that allows widespread participation. where’s the NTRA stand?
December 9th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I should have realized early on in my horse ownership life,that we were disfunctional , when I was badgered to join at least 20 different organizations, each with its own staff, budget, Board of Directors, objectives and plan of attack. Years later I still don’t understand why we need all these divergent groups, seems to me they have a vested interest in keeping us fragmented.
The next clue was the roster of lifetime professional staff that moves from organization to organization, rarely leaving a footprint, but always employed. I don’t see that many have any significant experience in the entertainment industry outside of horse racing.
Finally a survey of boards reveals that most members are selected for the size of their wallets or their high profile within the business. Like board members of hospitals and museums, these board members are selected not for their knowledge, or expertise but mainly for their cache’. And willingness to say “Yea” to any board proposal. Are these boards qualified to do the job? Frankly, what does running a successful stud farm or sales consignment operation, or even being a past governor, have to do with filling the seats at a race track?
So where does that leave the industry? Fragmented, without a roadmap, wishing for the past, and largely resistant to a central authority or any cooperation on an overall strategy or plan to improve our future outlook. After all, that would diminish a lot of peoples power base.
PS: The Lori Petty ads were great, they just did not appeal to the old guys on the boards (or their wives) but they were not supposed to, that was NOT the target audience.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
It seems the unanimous opinion in the industry is that the NTRA has not and perhaps cannot make much of a difference, yet the industry continues to puts 10+ million dolllars into the NTRA each year.
Why?
December 9th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
BACK IN 1999 I TOLD GEORGE STEINBRENNER & SATISH THAT I THOUGHT “NTRA” WAS A JOKE…
THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE HIRED AT UPPER LEVEL POSTS THAT HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE IN RACING…
ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS “TOMMY THOMPSON CONNECTED WITH ACCREDITING RACE TRACKS & WHATEVER..THE DOG PEOPLE HAD HIM IN THEIR POCKET & HE HATED THE HORSE PEOPLE.. 3 YEARS AGO.. ANYONE SEE HIM IN A PICTURE IN THE BLOODHORSE LAST YEAR LOOKING AT THE MECHANICAL GUTS OF A STARTING GATE AT BELMONT PARK, STANDING THERE WITH HIS HANDS IN HIS POCKETS LOOKING AT WHAT HE DIDNT KNOW WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT..WHAT A JOKE..
December 9th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Eugene, The use of ALL CAPS is called flaming and considered impolite. It’s like you’re SHOUTING AT US. There, now you know.
You can’t blame the NTRA — the industry’s lack of true commitment to it is the real culprit.
Concerned Observer makes a good point. A true “league office” would likely combine the functions of the NTRA, TRA, TJC, TOBA and Breeders’ Cup. Not very likely to happen.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Interesting. The Bloodhorse has just posted the NTRA logo as part of its lead — a regurgitation of a news release (do they do anything else?). Conspiracy theories anyone… You can’t make this stuff up. Alphabet soup protecting alphabet soup.
December 9th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
MR BLACK TIE AFFAIR
DIDNT KNOW THAT…….I NEVER WENT TO COLLEGE..JUST MANAGED GETTING OUT OF HI SCHOOL..YOU MUST BE A COLLEGE GRAD..READ ALOT OF BOOKS& MYBE WROTE A FEW..I AM SORRY THAT I OFFENDED YOU..PLEASE FORGIVE ME…I KNOW THAT PRESTON BURCH,GEORGE STIENBRENNER,SATISH SANAN NEVER MINDED WHEN I TYPED EVERYTHING IN CAPS..I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER 80 YEARS & IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME, PLEASE SKIP OVER MY STATEMENTS….AGAIN, I AM SORRY THAT I OFFENDED YOU
SINCERELY EUGENE J LEVEY WHITE AMERICAN KOREAN WAR VET SERVICE 1951-55
FIRST SALE KEENLAND 1956>>UNDERBIDDER ON “LINCOLN ROAD”
TOOK “ATAN” TO THE PADDOCK AT BELMONT IN 1953 WHEN HE BROKE HIS MAIDEN WITH EASE & NEVER RACED AGAIN..HE SIRED “SHARPEN UP” MAYBE U NEVER HEARD OF HIM..1963 I HANDLED “QUADRANGLE” WHEN HE WAS TWO..THE NEXT YEAR HE WON THE BELMONT….1983 I WON THE “MOTHER GOOSE” FOR WALTER DONELLEY..
YOU SEE MR “BLACKTIE AFFAIR”..YOU CANT CHANGE AN OLD MAN TO DO SOMETING HES NOT USED TO DOING…
December 9th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I can’t get my dad to stop using all caps either!!! You learn to live with it.
Go Mr. Levey Go!!!
December 9th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
re: EUGENE LEVY
I can live with the caps, but the “WHITE AMERICAN” comment is ignorant enough to warrant him being banned from the forum.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
YES..THANK YOU C.KELLY
I MADE A MISTAKE IN THE YEAR I TOOK “ATAN” TO THE PADDOCK…IT WAS 1963 NOT 1953..SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE GETS OLD…..ON ANOTHER NOTE: I JUST GOT BACK FROM THE BURIAL OF MY BROTHER AT “ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY ..
HE WAS A PARATROOPER WOUNDED IN THE “BATTLE OF THE BULGE” 7 MARINES ATTENDED TO HIM WITH 7 OTHERS GIVING HIM A 21 GUN SALUTE & A 3RD BLOWING TAPS…I WILL FOLLOW HIM THERE WHEN I PASS..
December 9th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
All caps = yelling. Rude as hell.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
David said: “The best way to kill a bad product is through effective promotion.”
That about hits the nail on the head. Marketing cannot convince people that a poor product is actually good. Instead, the industry should focus all of its time, energy, and resources on reform & improving the product. When racing begins to sell itself, begin marketing again to let everyone know you have something worth buying.
Great comment David.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Mr. Levey: Jeremy is right. We’re here to exchange ideas. Our racial backgrounds don’t matter.
Back to the topic at hand: As an industry, we need to figure out “who” is in charge of “what.” Businesses (all businesses, not just in racing) market their product and service offerings to their customers and prospective customers. TVG/Betfair, Youbet and the other ADW companies market their products and services to their customers - online bettors. Racetracks market their product and service offerings to their customers - on-track bettors.
Who exactly are the NTRA’s customers? While they can certainly help with national TV advertising, that is only one aspect of marketing. The NTRA running a TV ad won’t necessarily make someone in Chicago run to Hawthorne or a person in St. Louis run to Fairmount.
At the end of the day, racetracks need to take the initiative to get their current customers to come to the track more often, and potential customers to come to the track in the first place.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
HELLO MR JEREMY JET
WHAT ACTIVE SERVICE WHILE IN WAR TIME DID YOU SERVE IN???
WELL FIRST OF ALL U SPELLED MY NAME WRONG..& IAM REALLY SORRY THAT I OFFENDED U ALSO..YOU SEE >>I AM A JEW…WHEN I WENT TO HI SCHOOL I TOOK A BEATING EVERY DAY AS I WAS THE ONLY JEW IN THE 2200 BODY OF STUDENTS..I LIVED WITH IT, DIDNT COMPLAIN.,…WHATS MORE…THE GYM TEACHER WAS GERMAN & ONE DAY IN HIS CLASS…HE MATCHED ME UP IN BOXING A BLACK KID WHICH ALSO WAS THE ONLY BLACK IN THE 2200 STUDENT BODY….WE WERE IN A CLINCH & THE BLACK KID SAID “I DONT WANT TO HURT YOU…I SAID “I DONT WANT TO HURT U EITHER..SO THERE WE WERE ..THE ONLY BLACK KID & THE ONLY WHITE JEW OUT OF THE 2200 STUDENT BODY WHILE EVERY ONE WAS YELLING KILL THE SOB…WELL THAT NEVER HAPPENED..YOU SEE MANY OFYOU PEOPLE NEVER HAD TO LIVE IN THOSE TIMES SO PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR BEING IGNORANT..I PROMISE IT WONT HAPPEN AGAIN..
CAPTAIN EJ LEVEY
December 9th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Go Captain Go !!!!!!!!!!
December 9th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Mr. Levey: As far as I am concerned you can post in caps or regular letters and it is OK by me. If reading your posts in caps is is my biggest problem of my day, I am having a great day. Thank’s to you and your brother’s service to our country.
Regarding the NTRA… They dropped 10 million plus in the stock market last year, as we all know Who knew they were playing the market? Wonder who NTRA/BC’s investment advisor was? How much did they make in brokerage commsions?
The BC/NTRA always seemed like a slush fund for the well connected. Briam McGrath made close to $650,000 a year, Tim Smith made out fairly well too, and D.G. Van Clief may have topped them all. I used to see D.G. eating lunch at the TCA, and I felt certain he was not paying for his own lunch. I don’t know what Greg A. makes but I’d say it is north of 600 grand.
When you own horses you always feel like you were being scalped. I ran a horse in Maryland in the summer of ‘08, and my biggest non horse cost was the $100+ expense of an owner’s licence to run in one race. Granted I am a cheap date, but I wished I was back at the Fair Grounds
December 9th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
C.kelly & Rick Barton >> u two are officers & gentlemen
now i will use the lower case so i can complain about the ones that hide behind their USER NAMES…oh well, i guess thats the new generation…
on another note: i am not a WASP……AMLMOST ALL REPUBLICANS are out to kill racing in kentucky like they are the party of no in DC
tomorrow is another day>>>>good nite irene
December 10th, 2009 at 5:54 am
I remember joining the NTRA, paying the $25 membership fee in 1998… got a hat, bumper sticker, and a membership card… Still got the hat and card. I think it came with like quarterly statements? The NTRA has never gotten anything right. It sounded so awesome… makes me sad they have not been able to do ANYTHING. Makes you long for the JRA. But even they have troubles.
Why don’t the NTRA and the TBA merge? Racing has WAY too many redundant organizations! Cutting back some of that might help get us rolling.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Great comments, Ray, and thanks again for providing a forum dealing with issues core to the survival of racing.
Let’s just face the facts: We are putting on a lousy show. From a betting and humane standpoint, it is a defective product that is turning fans and potentials fans away in droves.
We have allowed this sport to become ugly and inhumane. The use of legal drugs (i.e. salix) to mask illegal drugs and the blatant use of performance-enhacing medication, irregardless of its effect on the animal, verges on criminal. This issue is entwined with the ugliest truth out there: break-downs. Many horses racing today should not be. Medication is being used on a daily basis, especially in lower claiming races, to put lame and infirm horses and their riders in jeopardy of their lives. Anyone else seen a horse with a slab fracture knowingly sent out to race?
From a betting angle, we have a pathetic product. The take-out is so high I am amazed so many suckers continue to bet.
What else do potential fans see when they visit the track? Horses that do not warm up effectively next to ponies that can barely raise a canter. And tired horses being flogged with a whip when clearly they cannot run any faster.
So how do you fix things? Ray and many posters have hit on the solution: Either form a powerful league office with a commissioner or invite the Federal Government (as in Japan) to fix things that we cannot.
All it would take would be some leadership. Put the heads of the Jockey Club, the RCI, the NTRA, the BC, the TOBA and the HBPA etc in one room and tell them that unless they establish a single authority with consistent, enforceable rules, then we go to Congress, cap in hand, and beg them to legislate discipline. As it stands now, this industry is careening toward oblivion and it strikes me as strange that its leaders cannot seem to grasp that fact.
Thanks again, Ray, for your work to revive an industry that seems determined to follow bear-baiting, dog fighting and boxing toward a dreadful end.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:05 am
The NTRA doesn’t represent even the racing interests it purports to represent. That is evidenced by the comments here. And by no means does the NTRA have any kind of bully pulpit with it’s track accreditation program, through which they think they can force tracks to follow its policies. Dragging in a has-been politician to head the “safety” alliance doesn’t endear anyone to the NTRA’s overall motive…to make itself the self-appointed God of Racing. Smart people already know what a bunch of self-serving chumps head the NTRA and want no part of elevating that “leadership” to a loftier station.
The NTRA has failed in marketing, failed in cohesiveness, failed in being truly supportive of all of th components of racing, so why do they exist? And where do they get this newfound “power” they think they have in their accreditation of tracks?
I read their recently released report & they obviously still don’t have a clue about how some of us feel, nor do they care to incorporate
anyone’s ideas but their own self-serving ones.
WHERE has the NTRA been on many of the bigger issues that affect the sport? They created this “safety” monitor to give a has-been politician a job, but why didn’t they actually spend a little dough to hold some forums at the centers of racing in each state & actually talk to people in the sport?? Why just solicit public comment a few weeks prior to issuing a report? There was no time between the annoucement of solicitation of public comment & the issuance of said report. Whether or not the two were intended to be related, it seems that maybe a “study” of public comments would take a bit longer, to delve into the public comments, etc.. and perhaps digest it before regurgitating some b.s. report that doesn’t do anything but support the NTRA’s supposed. bully pulpit.
The NTRA should just remain what they are: A political lobbying entity and step aside in their quest to be the “cohesive” single entity representing racing. New blood is needed to guide the sport & that cannot be found at the NTRA as it currently stands.
And I agree with the poster that Republicans in Kentucky, namely self-styled “horseman” Senator Damon Thayer, who has no backbone & only the cahonas to try to ingratiate himself with Republican senate leadership at the expense of racing.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I will add that the recently released and re-hyped report that Lasix/Salix is a necessary drug in racing is a lot of hooey. Paid for and suppoeted by people who wish to serve their own needs, yet again.
And, please, God…why do people think Jess Jackson is also some kind of saviour in racing?? The man goes to Capitol Hill, moans & whines about racing’s ills, but chooses Steve Asmussen, the man who has a lengthy list of drug violations in racing, as his primary trainer?? There is no credibility in what Jackson says when you look at what he does. And THAT is why racing has no credibility.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Paula, I tried to log on the opinion site of the safety alliance after I saw the blurb in the Bloodhorse. The site was already taken down. Insulting. About a year ago the NTRA sought comments from fans, but the response was limited to 50 words or less. I hope someone from the NTRA logs into this site regularly to read our comments (which usually contain more than 50 words). Good post. I enjoyed it.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Too many pompous jerks with super inflated egos that run the racetracks in this country for a national organization like the NTRA to be sucessful. Magna, CDI and NYRA couldn’t attract fans or be obliged to a central office because they care only about their own self interests. NTRA was and still is a good idea—a league office for Thoroughbred racing. But, it takes cooperation to make it work. If Thoroughbred racing is going is survive in this country it will take a united effort by racetrack operators, breeders, owners, trainers and everyone with a vested interest in this game. That has about as much of a chance as a Beulah Park plater winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Paula: You are a hoot! No dis. Strictly supportive of your astute observations.
NTRA seems to symptomatic of the trash that ocurrs with our financial system…the people in power (or percieved) run the show with little accountabilty when the mess they create smashes (always after they get their’s first), leaving the consumer (or fans) holding the bag of poop the powers have left.
Whatever happened to “you get paid for based on what you fix , improve or contribute”?????
December 10th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I would like to see how much money is taken out of the handle for the differant groups in Ca. I heard it was in the tens of millions. The horses should be getting that money.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Go Beth! NTRA needs to hire you for a media campaign. You hit it right on the head as far as I’m concerned. Kid Rock during football games - perfect!!!
December 10th, 2009 at 11:47 am
No love lost regarding the NTRA. It can’t even follow up on its own recommendations. But, it’s amazing that the three catch phrases that I remember from 40+ years around horse racing are: Doo Dah (Longacres); and, Go Baby Go and Pay the Lady from those original NTRA ads. Even more amazing is that I don’t remember another national campaign slogan or ad having to do with horse racing. So either they’ve been non-descript or non-existent, which in a manner of speaking sums up what the game is today.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Grand poobahs are like termites: they eat well and silently destroy everything from the inside. It is time to tent and fumigate, replace the dead wood with fresh, strong lumber and secure adequate and lasting pest control.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Will say it again: NTRA - put it down. It is the humane thing to do.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I agree with almost everything Paula said. The one exception is the part about Tommy Thompson being a has been politician. If he showed up in Wisconsin tomorrow and threw his hat in the ring for our open gubernatorial race, he’d win in a landslide…
December 10th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
tommy thomson…any time i hear or read his name , i could throw up..i can still see him standing there at belmont looking at the mechanical guts of the starting gate with his hands in his pockets of his suit coat>>>not knowing what the hell he was looking at…a real piece of xxxx…i know i posted this remark a few days ago,but im not bashful..if i ever see him,i will
tell it to his face…he doesnt belong in this game at all..what a joke…a first class joke.
and the outfit that hired him> they are a joke also!! accredit this when will all of this stop
those guys are……….i give up
December 11th, 2009 at 6:42 am
I vote that Captain. Levey goes back to all caps.
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