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The free-to-play poker site model has proven huge and now the horse racing sector is looking to capitalize with the Jockey Club’s $10 million marketing commitment.
Not all that money will go towards the free-to-play mock betting site. A good portion will be committed to underwriting a television series in 2012 in addition to the creation of a social-networking game for horse racing lovers. The television project could involve a reality show or series of televised races.
The projects are being funded in an effort to reverse an erosion of racing’s fan base, officials said Monday.
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“One of the big problems that racing has always had is the intimidation factor,” noted Jack Liebau, the president of Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. “[Free-to-play sites] have been very successful for poker, in helping people learn the game, learn how to play it right. I think that’s the sort of thing that’s got to work.”
Chris Scherf, the executive vice president of Thoroughbred Racing Associations, a racetrack trade group, said that the TRA would work with bet-processing suppliers to simplify betting interfaces and would add several topics to the TRA’s annual simulcasting conference relating to the recommendations. He characterized the recommendations as “practical steps” that would be unlikely to create significant reversals in racing’s popularity, but he said that the industry would be remiss if it failed to embrace the measures.
“Anybody who believes that we can maintain the status quo right now is delusional,” Scherf said. “None of these recommendations are a magic bullet, but they certainly give us a way to take incremental steps to building the fan base.”
A McKinsey survey of 1,800 racing fans noted that only 46 percent of the respondents said they would recommend racing to other people, compared with 82 percent of baseball fans and 81 percent of football fans. An interesting result of the survey showed that poker players also engaged in a form of self-loathing with only 55 percent saying they would recommend the game to others.
Beginning this month, G911.co embarked on an aggressive horse racing content campaign that will include coverage of upcoming races from across the globe as well as the latest betting odds.
“This past weekend’s Arlington Million was a huge draw for the site,” notes Payton O’Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor. “We definitely see growth in this sector and massive potential.”
The Kentucky Derby accounts for the largest conversion rate for sponsors outside of the Super Bowl at the G911 website.
Gambling911 will be partnering with TwinSpires.com and other horse betting sites over the coming months.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
