This recent article on how to improve the Triple Crown made the hamster wheel in the ol' noggin start spinning.
The article is not worth reading. It merely scratches the surface by only discussing the Triple Crown. Its basis is wrong in believing the key to improving horse racing is by focusing on the Triple Crown, and those improvements can be accomplished through minor tweaks like spreading out races, larger purses and using the same network. All fine and dandy, but it doesn't get to the belly of the beast.
I have decided to dedicate a chunk of my life to answering the question of how to garner more interest in horse racing. Today marks the first edition of an ongoing mind warp. Let it begin…
One of the main appeals of sports is the rivalries. We enjoy the added competition, the hate for the opposing team or player. For instance, the only time I watch a regular season hockey game is if the Red Wings are playing the Avalanche.
I hate the Avalanche and particularly Claude Lemieux because of the rivalry started in 1996.
Horse racing needs rivalries. Luckily it embeds three prime opportunities to develop and exploit rivalries: horses, owners and trainers.
Today I will take a first look at horse vs. horse. It is an easy and quick way to drive interest. Street Sense vs. Hard Spun this year, Affirmed vs. Alydar, War Admiral vs. Seabiscuit. There are plenty of examples where broadcasters have drummed up rivalries between horses. This is most commonly seen after the Kentucky Derby.
Once the derby is completed, the horse racing media trumpets the Preakness as a rivalry between the first and second place finishers, in doing so, sacrificing the other contenders. Should the two horses not finish one-two in the Preakness, the rivalry is dropped and no other three-year old rivalry for the year is established. The industry places the entire season and crop in one race.
In order to build a true rivalry, teams, players or animals need to compete against each other. Sadly, in horse racing, the top-level long-faced-fellows typically only race against each other in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
Larger purses and longer rest periods may help attract top horses to run the three legs of the Triple Crown, but the horse racing season should not be sold short. The interested parties need to coordinate to develop rivalries throughout the season. The Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes and horse trainers and owners would all mutually benefit from a well developed and promoted rivalry.
Fans want to pick sides. They want to have their horse. They want to stick it in the face of their buddy’s horse. But the current system does not allow the rivalry to properly surface and allow the competition to come to a head.
More on this later…
-posted C.R. Dunbar
No comments:
Post a Comment