COULD RACING EVER BE A TRUE SPECTATOR SPORT?

A popular view that I also support is that racing is not a spectator sport in the true sense of the word. The acid test is whether the average person would pay to merely attend a race meeting for the sole purpose of watching the races on the card.

The answer to this is fairly obvious, hence the view that racing is not and will probably never be a sport alongside the likes of football, rugby, cricket, athletics, golf and many more that attract people purely for what it offers as a spectacle.

It is however important to note that although it cannot be classified alongside most other spectator sports, racing is not short of incredible spectator value. It has in fact got the ability to generate almost instant and very strong spectator value, as a keen interest in the outcome of any race or series of races is immediately created, the moment that an individual places a bet.

A further interesting and useful aspect to consider is that the interest created is actually similar regardless of whether a $5 or a $5000 bet is placed which creates wonderful opportunities to market the game to a more diverse customer base. It also illustrates the relationship between participation and attendance or viewership which makes it absolutely vital to market and promote an active stake in the game as opposed to purely creating exposure at the few big race meetings available annually.

This seemingly insignificant fact could however present the most critical objective in a racing turnaround strategy and should be given far more serious attention by betting operators. Broader participation has to be specifically targeted, not purely new exposure, as the relationship between participation and spectator value is clearly extremely significant in racing.

Products that incorporate common sense in their design will make the above reality an objective well worth targeting and promises to yield very positive results. 

IS CO-MINGLING THE ANSWER TO CONSISTENTLY BIGGER RACING POOLS?

The theory behind co-mingling is that its use will inject greater liquidity into pools and should result in more attractive dividends and greater participation.

This theory is sound and many betting operators are experimenting with co-mingled events on some occasions with somewhat mixed results surprisingly.

Why has co-mingling not produced the intended results on a more regular basis?

There are a number of challenges that contribute to the mixed results:

- System related issues

- Non standardised rules in different racing jurisdictions

- Time zone challenges

- Currency challenges

- Sacrificing local knowledge

Despite the above co-mingling makes a great deal of sense and if correctly packaged will deliver impressive results in future and lead to great industry gains for all participants.

Could it be improved?

Absolutely, and betting operators need to work towards establishing a more effective co-mingling environment.

The introduction of new products with a standardised set of rules and the capacity to create mega jackpots should be considered. This way pools will benefit from economies of scale from both the format of the game and the benefit of co-mingling. This will give racing an opportunity to compete more aggressively with other gaming formats offering more impressive prize pools. (Poker tournaments and soccer pools for example)

A format that will allow participants to compete on a revolving circuit will be far more effective as it will give all players the occasional home ground advantage and be much less of a disadvantage when taking part in away events.

Co-mingling is definitely a positive step for racing and a number of opportunities exist to take further advantage from this approach.

Efforts to introduce co-mingling specific products over and above the general range of products will unlock very profitable opportunities to grow racing in terms of both turnover and more importantly new customers.