Rees: Keeping those new Zenyatta fans

by | 01.02.2011 | 8:34am
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Louisville Courier-Journal racing writer Jennie Rees is still contemplating her Horse of the Year vote, and she’s taking into account the many emails she’s received on the subject.  Rees says no matter how she votes or who wins, racing needs to make sure the new fans created by Zenyatta’s magic stick around to participate in the future:

“The sizable majority of women emailing their opinion on HOY were women, several of whom said they were new racing fans and strictly because of Zenyatta.

The trick for racing now is to see if it can hold on to those fans – and how many become bettors. Video of Zenyatta being released into a paddock at her new home is well and good, and I don’t mean to sell it short. But it doesn’t put anything into purses, the lifeblood of the industry. At least not directly.”

» Read more at Courier-Journal
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  • emeraldway

    “The Zenyatta Effect”

    October 2, 2010
    Jockey Club Gold Cup Day featuring Blame
    Lady’s Secret Day featuring Zenyatta

    Belmont:
    On Track Attendance: 9671
    On Track Handle: $2,153,130
    Amount Wagered Per Person: $222.64

    Oak Tree at Hollywood
    On Track Attendance: 25837
    On Track Handle: $2,319,078
    Amount Wagered Per Person: $89.76

    They came, they saw, they didn’t bet, and they won’t be back again.

    I have posted this before. This is the cold, hard truth. Zenyatta does not do as much for racing as her over zealous fans think she does.

  • Mike in SB

    Zenyatta shows the importance of the horse to racing. One way to keep her fans and to find more is to come up with a way to have horses race more than four or five times a year. Look at the older male horses this year, Blame ran five times, and only faced Quality Road once before the Breeders Cup, he never faced Richards Kid, the best California horse, and didnt face Lookin at Lucky before the Breeders Cup. As a result the big fall races had very poor fields, the Woodward was terrible and the Jockey Club Gold Cup was not much better, only the Whitney had a decent field. How can fans get interested in racing if the only good races are restricted to the Triple Crown and Breeders Cup.

  • Caroline

    I agree #1, the facts on that speak for themselves, but it’s about trying to keep those fans and what they could bring in the future. If you maintain their interest in racing, keep them coming to the track and watching and learning, they are likely to wager more over time as well. Isn’t that true of all current gamblers? Does everyone start betting on horses with their first exposure at a high rate? That wouldn’t be very rational…

  • emeraldway

    March 13, 2010 – Santa Margarita Invitational Day – Average Wagered Per Person: $176.88 (Note: The San Felipe was also this day and was the feature).

    April 9, 2010 – Apple Blossom Day – Average Wagered Per Person: $106.69 (Note: This was the biggest attended event for Zenyatta other than the BC with more than 44K – too bad her connections didn’t travel with her more often)

    June 13, 2010 – Vanity Day – Average Wagered Per Person: $137.50

    August 7, 2010 – Clement Hirsch Day – Average Wagered Per Person: $120.97

    I think these people have come to see her time and time again with the same results. And now I believe that their interest in racetrack attendance has ended as quickly as it began. Of course there may be exception, but I am not sure it is worthy of such exaltation as it is receiving. Also these numbers are in line with any other day at a Southern California track like Santa Anita Derby Day for example. Unfortunately Zenyatta’s presence just doesn’t increase handle no matter how many times the person comes to see her.

  • Caroline

    Yes, I’m not surprised by those numbers – she was their focus and why they showed up. It is a shame nobody thought to figure out how to keep them coming, over the past couple of years, before she and they disappeared. I don’t think that’s the fault of those fans. If they showed up 10 or 15 times to see her run here in southern CA, and never show up again and never gamble even another two bucks on horse racing – really, who is to blame? It seems an awful shame to throw away on-track numbers like those without a concerted effort to keep and grow them, and grow on-track handle with them. But you and your numbers are probably right – the opportunity has already been lost.

  • Caroline

    Some of the new fans that Zenyatta attracted are congregating at her website, her Facebook page, etc. They can still be reached if someone would like to do it. How do you turn them into regular on-track racing fans?

    They love horses. Some were even introduced to horses for the first time by Zenyatta’s story. I met women on the backside of Hollywood Park visiting Zenyatta who literally had never been close to or touched a horse before. Is the right approach to mock them and put them down because they’ve never bet before, or would it benefit racing, racehorses, and those fans to reach out to them and offer them ways to pursue their new passion for racehorses – in general, rather than for Zenyatta in particular?

  • emeraldway

    I think the NTRA and the SoCal tracks missed key opportunities to have representatives out on those days to offer education on betting, ownership, events, and other ways to capture their attention (whatever those may be). However, I am not sure that it would have made a huge difference either. It seems that these fans only care about Zenyatta not thoroughbred racing.

    And I do not mock them for not betting. I am just stating fact. They don’t understand that our sport is simply driven by those who go to the windows not those who are the most passionate about a single horse.

    I almost hesitate to say this, but the “greatest horse ever” chant makes it all the harder to want to include them. It is a turn off. You are on of the few individuals I have encountered who can be spoken to rationally about this subject.

    I yearn for the day HOY is announced and we can get back to the Triple Crown trail and the fantastic spring racing season instead of the constant Zenyatta vs. Blame. The disparaging of both horses is unpleasant. They were both exceptional in their own ways. Let the turf writers decide it without harassment.

    There are exciting two year olds like Awesome Feather, Uncle Mo, To Honor and Serve, Boys at Toscanova, Dancinginherdreams, etc. to look forward to! That includes two undefeated fillies and maybe they could be interested in following them in 2011?

  • Caroline

    I absolutely agree on the key opportunities missed and the type of education that could have been offered. And not only on the days that Zenyatta raced here over the past couple of years, but also during the last two months that she lived here – there were scores of people coming out to see her and be close to her, and they had extraordinary access both to her and to her people.
    That concept should be generalized for fans somehow.

    One of the success stories of English ownership (in my opinion) has been the development of huge racing clubs, thousands of members paying annual dues and offering absolutely no financial return but an opportunity for very large numbers of fans to also be owners and participate in the sport. One of the great things that the clubs offer (and I’ve attended one) is “open days” at the yards of trainers where members of the club get up close with horses, their caretakers, the trainers themselves, and learn. Those days often are combined with an afternoon at the races. The reactions I’ve had to the idea of clubs as a model for motivating fan-ship and ownership here usually begin with the problem that backsides of racetracks cannot accommodate large groups of fans or with related security issues. Well – they managed it for Zenyatta. It’s not impossible.

    Find fan/horse friendly trainers, owners, etc. that are willing to host one or two start-up events for new fans of racing, put together an educational itinerary that interacts with an up-close backside tour, a social event/lunch, take reservations initially through new fans attracted to Zenyatta media, and start selling racing to fans of the racehorse.

  • Anne

    First we need to decide what we want. Fans or gamblers. If we want to bring in new blood, then we first need to give them a product they want to see. Zenyatta gave them that draw. Who will take over? What trainer will make their star accessable to the fans? What track will sell the product? What owners will go above the bar and give back to the game that gave them a nice income? So far one trainer and a husband and wife team seem to pop up as doing just that.
    Once fans get the bug, baring any tragic breakdowns, doping catches, etc. betting may follow. We have to sell this sport as being “humanistic”. If you listen to many, they hate the drugs, whipping, slaughter and the tragic breakdowns. Hard to fault that. Owners seem to only take a shank when the horse is a winner, after that it is the claiming ranks with trainers who just run them into the ground. Then we read where they were found at slaughter house pens. That does not help this sport in acquiring new fans. How many of us enjoyed watching Hedge Fund running and having fun after being rescued from the low level claiming ranks in the Finger Lakes by WinStar? He ran during the cold miserable winter days and any other day they felt to enter him. It wasn’t his breeder that rescued him. Hard to rate this game as “humanistic” when you know the truths.

  • Caroline

    Anne I think you answer your own questions with your pessimism about the status quo. If the sport is to become a better place for the animals at its heart, it must attract fans/gamblers who care about them and are invested in ensuring that racing provides a healthy, safe environment for them.

  • tonyaz

    Well communicated! The animals should be the complete focus of the sport, yes-even before takeout. In my opinion that is why the sport has lost hundreds of thousands of Fan$! Caroline I will buy you a milkshake of your choice!

  • Caroline

    I like chocolate best.

  • Pattie

    40 years ago, I was a horse crazy little girl. I loved going to the track to see the horses. Guess what…Little Girls grow up and YES, we become horse owners and trainers. So don’t knock them, instead take the time to educate them about racing. Horse Racing needs the fans, otherwise the sport will continue to decline.

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