Horseracing needs to get with the programme of modern family life and bid for the leisure hour. The rest will follow.
Today is Saturday. The weather’s great. You have things to do. In life outside of lockdown, it’s an important family time after a busy week of work and school.
SABOAT.org’s Joao Da Mata writes in the Sporting Post Mailbag that he genuinely believes that we have an amazing product.
By product, I mean the venues / horsemen and women and the horse.
With that in mind, how about considering the following?
South Africa is not Australia, the USA or the UK. We have a population divided by social economic factors that are going to take decades to resolve.
When it comes to horseracing and the glory years of full tracks and a good show, one must recall that racing was indeed a spectacle and that times were different.
It’s ever so easy to blame the casinos for taking the ‘leisure rand’ but I don’t think that is a factor at all and, if it is, then is a very small factor.
Where I feel racing has failed is in moving with the times.
The homelife versus worklife balance is massive and has been so for many years. But has certainly taken precedent in many homes in the last two decades.
People have stuff to do and have to spend time with their family.
Then you add in SA’s wonderful climate and as a sport racing is not only competing for time, but it competes with the climate as well.
With SA being such an outdoor nation and, with the social economic divides mentioned above, racing compares with all those activities.
So how do we fix this?
We make going racing the same as going to the movies.
After all racing is entertainment is it not ? Or is it?
I have seen many trainers with a runner in the first race of the day, win the race and then in the interview say ” that’s it for today I’m off home now” .
We don’t even have the power to entertain those that love the game – how are we going to entertain the masses (not really) of SA society?
I have an idea.
Let’s look at one of my typical Saturdays – it’s probably not far from yours:
- A : Shopping
- B: Jess to Karate
- C: Visit friend/s
- D: Domestic chores
- E: Get the car cleaned
You get what I am saying?
Now add racing and I have to convince my partner that for 6 hours I am unavailable.
How long before I’m separated or stop going racing?
What if I run my own business and my horse is running? I have to take half day off or just go in and out for my race!
What if we thought out the box?
Let’s programme 7 races 20 minutes apart from 08h00 t0 10h00 most days.
Breakfast with the family in a nice environment – you are going to Bem Bom anyway or Vovo Velo today?
After that we could host an afternoon meeting in another centre from say 15h00 – 17h00. Thus freeing up the precious hours to do other things!
The chances of getting a whole family to the races for a 2 hour session at 8am on a Saturday and having proper footfall on the course is far greater than getting them there for a 5 hour session.
In those 2 hours people are captivated with our wonderful sport, they are engaged , it flies by quickly and they want more.
This and many other things float around in my head.
It’s the leisure hour that racing needs to bid for. The rest will follow.
