GOOD NEWS FRIDAY sponsored by Liberation Farm: PUTTING THE FANTASY BACK IN RACING
By Bradford Cummings
One of the historic criticisms of horse racing is its inability to adapt to changing times. Whether it was the unconscionable decision to not grab a television share in the 1950s or our relatively late arrival to the Internet dance, this industry has seldom been accused of having significant vision.
I admit to being guilty during football season of pouring excessive hours over my computer trying to decide who my third wide receiver should be for the upcoming weekend slate of NFL games. I’m not alone. It has been estimated that 27 million people play fantasy football spending nine hours a week on building their teams to perfection.
That’s why it is so heartening that two major farms have spearheaded similar campaigns to bring fans into the sport through the popular fantasy sports platform. With WinStar Farm and Vinery LTD leading the way, we are seeing a desire to catch up to the rest of the sports world and create a platform for casual fans to get more involved in racing.
The two games vary in format. WinStar Farm’s version, WinStar Fantasy Derby, is a free opportunity for fans to manage a stable of horses through the Kentucky Derby. The prize pool is strong with first prize being a full Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks weekend package including three nights in a hotel, airfare, box seats and a VIP tour of WinStar Farm.
Vinery’s Derby Dreamer contest takes the emphasis off the Road to the Derby and gives fans the opportunity to engage in a year-round contest with opportunities to win up to $10,000 each month. For $12 annually, a fan can purchase a full stable of 18 horses and 5 jockeys to use for the entire year. Of those selected, 12 horses and 3 jockeys can be activated for use each month. While there are some limitations to the game (most fantasy players are used to being able to switch rosters weekly but in Vinery’s version you can only alter your selections on a monthly basis) the $12 entry fee is relatively small for the opportunity to win a large cash prize each month.
So where did the impetus for these games come from? According to Finn Weisse at Vinery, it was an attempt to reach out to new fans. “At first we had the idea to get the fans involved by enjoying Vinery horses only. But in the end, we thought this wouldn’t be exciting enough to attract a huge group of people, especially not exciting enough to attract people new to the horse industry.”
But this new endeavor has not come without a price. The legal costs are quite high, especially when you are dealing with cash prizes across state lines. “We had to overcome a lot of legal hurdles and finally we developed a proper fantasy contest through which people can follow the stars of our industry,” said Weisse. “As you can imagine, a lot of money has been invested in this project. We hope that we can turn this venture into one that carries itself financially, while giving back to the fans and being able to invest in recruiting new fans.”
The WinStar version is a bit less ambitious than the Vinery game with no cash prizes and a limited season. But their entry is no less welcome. “We invented the WinStar Fantasy Derby because we felt the need to create something exciting for the fans and we have the tools with the nice 3-year-olds we have this year,” said VP & Racing Manager Elliott Walden. “We believe there are many opportunities to create fan interest and we wanted something targeted to a new audience.”
On designing a free fantasy game, Walden went on to say, “We purposefully made the game free with great prizes, easy to play and fun to follow. We marketed to different audiences and got a good response. We are extremely excited about the possibilities of creating interest in our sport.”
The only real negative here is that both of these farms, outside of the Thoroughbred industry, are not exactly nationwide brands. As concerns for the future of our industry continue to be voiced, WinStar and Vinery are clearly willing to stand up and be counted as out-of-the-box thinkers and solution-oriented organizations.
Hopefully both farms will be rewarded for their ingenuity. “We know the target is set very high and will not be easily achieved,” said Weisse. “But as the site is called ‘DerbyDreamer’ we allow ourselves to dream big!”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
UPDATE: I was remiss to mention Churchill Down’s Road to the Roses Kentucky Derby fantasy game. It has been running much longer than any other fantasy game of its kind. This version allows players to draft horses, jockeys and trainers and follow them on the road to the Derby. Like the WinStar game, this one is free and offers prizes over cash as awards. I am happy to be proven wrong and see a leading company in our industry utilize technology to bring in more fans.
UPDATE 2: We also slighted our friends at TVG who have been running a fantasy game for quite some time as well. Click here for complete information on their version and to sign up for free.
Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Derby Dreamer, elliott walden, Fantasy Football, fantasy horse racing, fantasy sports, Finn Weisse, Good News Friday, liberation farm, Vinery LTD, WinStar Fantasy Derby, winstar farm
February 19th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
bravo, brad!!
you are leading the way by choosing to share your views about creative solutions to our industry.
It’s telling isn’t it that no track “grabbed the bit” to lead the way.
The upside for fantasy stables is humongous.
The old farts in this business don’t get it. they keep doing the same things and expect different outcomes, ( that makes them retarded doesn’t it)
My hats off to both winstar and vinery for leading the way.
i intend to join up and play. for $12. that’s a bargain.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I’ve always wonder how horse racing could cross over and enjoy a piece of the online fantasy craze, and kudos to these farms for doing so.
I headed immediately over to sign up for Winstar’s Fantasy Derby, but I won’t be participating. Why, you ask? The game is closed for new entries. It opened Feb 13 and today is the 19th. I don’t know when it closed, but that’s less than a week at best. I’m all over FB, I get tons of racing newsletters and emails and read all the major online media outlets, yet only this article brought the game to my attention. Too bad it too late for what I would guess would be exposure to its biggest audience yet via PR.
Why does this only seem to happen in racing?
February 19th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Great piece and very nice of you to point it out. Bravo!
However you could not help yourself to take a shot at the industry. Your one chance (because the industry does not give you many) to have a completely positive piece but no you HAD to point out the negative which is what your “sour” readers will hang their hat on!
Next time the industry gives you something to write positively about try to stick to the message!
February 19th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Great job Brad. I had seen mention of the fantasy games before but thought they might be very time consuming or complicated like fantasty football. I appreciate your explanations and will look into joining, even if I’m called a sour reader looking for something to hang my hat on.
BTW, don’t people wear their hats rather than hang them at the KY?
February 20th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Sounds like a suitable scenario for the unemployed and those without a real job! I am confused as to too much racing and now toys for tots. Creating supplements will not clean up the mess that we have created. At least the gimmicks and games won’t have a concentrated effort on claiming races and will not be subject to bad management and the real problems of our sport and industry.
Played correctly, horseracing is the most beautiful sport in the world with tremendous appeal for both sexes and all ages. But the
games struggles to present its real purpose amidst a plethora of junk performed for the benefit of insiders who care little for the spectator. It has come to pass that racing secretaries think its their job to provide unbeatable gimmicks with nameless stuffed animals and to manage a collection of the “miserable” mired in drugery. You can’ take advantage of TV, the internet or anything else
with a purposeless, repetition of mediocrity. It doesn’t work anywhere else, why do we think it will work in horseracing. This is the only game in world with the philosophy of “when its doing bad we give you more of it.” Watch Zenyatta and Rachael save us….for a little while!.
February 20th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Thanks for pointing these out Brad. As for Bob Hope above . . .
“Sounds like a suitable scenario for the unemployed and those without a real job!” Sounds like you’re a little out of touch, Mr. “Hope”. This is 2010 not a 1940’s road movie. See below from Wikipedia when you Google “Fantasy Football”:
Fantasy football has become an incredibly popular phenomenon. Just prior to the 2009 NFL season, Colin Cowherd of ESPN said “more than 27 million players play fantasy football. They spend an average of nine hours a week (during football season… playing fantasy football).”
Not saying this will become anywhere near as popular as the football version. But at least it’s more action than writing the same tired drivel on a racing message board. Bottom line is a fantasy racing game that offers 10k a month as a prize is good promotion. Vinery should be commended for taking the risk.
February 20th, 2010 at 8:26 am
The Run for the Roses Stable put on by Churchill Downs has been running for years. It is alot of fun and has a large following. Sign up today, the game has just started for this year.
I have played the game every year for the past three years. It is a shame your credit was an afterthought. The site is easy to use and the game runs till Derby, so your interest grows till the first Saturday in May. Triple Crown production should have a site that follows through all three races. Breeders Cup should do the same thing.
February 20th, 2010 at 8:37 am
thanks for the note NYC Horsefan. I am not against games. But I am against live horseracing played at its worst. If horseracing had the disciplines and presentations of national football, its ratings, attendance and acceptability and handle would be restored. There is also more wagered on National Football than on horseracing, although illegally. It is interesting that football hypes its sport and not its handle and don’t need to. If you look after the quality, class and presentation you just have to hype the sport !
February 20th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Understood Bob. Apprecaite the response.
Lots needs to be fixed. Just don’t think attempts by independent entities like Vinery and WinStar trying to get something going should be greeted with negativity. Too much of that on these message boards which house more toxicity than Love Canal. At least they’re doing something - and with their own jack!
Let’s get this horse racing ship steered in the right direction Bob! Whaddya say? You and Deeno come pick me up in your convertible and we’ll make our own road movie about fixing racing one track at a time!
February 20th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Certainly sounds doable and delightful NYC Horsefan ! You are on the right track !