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TRIAL INITIATIVES
Racing for Change announces its first steps to broaden the sport’s appeal
Racing for Change, on 5th January, announced ten new trial initiatives designed to deliver positive change for the sport and its customers. All ten will be implemented by the end of June 2010.
These initial actions are part of a long-term strategy to capitalise on the sport’s strengths and promote them more effectively. They aim to improve the racing experience for current customers whilst also raising the sport’s appeal amongst new ones.
The Racing for Change board will shortly update on its progress in relation to the fixture list and the strategy for racing’s premium events.
Summary
- Trial of decimal odds at several race meetings over one weekend in spring 2010.
- Funded media training for jockeys and trainers, together with an appearance fee budget set aside for non-racing media work.
- All jockeys and trainers to be listed on race cards by their first names and surnames.
- The outcome of photo finishes to be displayed on screen at the same moment as the judge’s announcement. Saddlecloth numbers will be larger to improve visibility.
- Race names to be simplified and racecourse announcements to be modernised.
- On-course bookmakers encouraged to offer standard each way terms and enhanced customer service via agreed minimum service standards.
- Racecourse initiatives to improve the enjoyment and understanding of a day at the races for both new and regular racegoers, linked to a new independent quality assessment scheme.
- The establishment of a new free membership club for younger adults that will offer discounted admission to many racecourses and shares in several racehorses.
- A new website launched to promote horseracing to new and novice customers.
- A central PR campaign from January to promote racing more effectively to a wider audience.
The Initiatives in Detail
Of all the initiatives, perhaps the trial introduction of decimal odds will be the most controversial in some quarters. The current fractional odds - the meat and drink of established punters - link back to the days of pounds, shillings and pence. However, fractional odds are alien to young punters and betting exchange players who grew up in the decimal age. This is why Racing for Change plans to trial the introduction of decimal SPs at several meetings over a weekend in spring 2010 and plans to assess customer reactions.
A sport’s ability to connect with a wider and younger audience is dependent, in part, on the accessibility of the key players – this is one reason why sports personalities are contracted to engage with the media. The current reluctance by some of racing’s stars to work more closely with the media is having a detrimental effect on the positive publicity that can be achieved. Racing for Change is keen to promote the sport’s stars more effectively and will be offering funded media training for jockeys and trainers. Participants will benefit from access to a £100,000 appearance fee budget to reward them for interviews with the non-racing media, although interviews with the racing media will be excluded from this scheme.
Horseracing is short of household names and very little effort has been made to redress this, even in our celebrity-focused society. In all other major sports, the key players are known by both their first and second names. From March 2010, Racing for Change will provide racing fans with a more informal, inclusive and consistent approach to identifying jockeys and trainers so that the ‘stars of the show’ become better known to the public at large. Race cards will list jockeys’ and trainers’ preferred first names and, when possible, jockeys’ photos without helmets.
The photo finish is a major part of horseracing’s drama but until now TV viewers and racecourse customers have little access to the detail. From early in 2010, the judge’s announcement of the outcome will coincide with a visual display of the photo finish on the racecourse and on television. As a further enhancement, larger numbers will be displayed on number cloths for improved visibility.
A trial of televised stewards enquiries, another major part of the race day drama, is also under discussion but no decision is expected before the spring.
Information for the casual or new racegoer is currently very complicated. Many current race names include detailed descriptions of the race entry conditions - descriptions that have not proved necessary on race cards in other countries. Racecourse announcements will also be simplified and changes introduced by April 2010.
On-course bookmakers are obliged to use standard each-way betting terms but can vary these provided that they display a notice alerting customers to their revised terms. In rare instances these terms can be very disadvantageous to customers. Racing for Change will be working with the Racecourse Association (RCA) and the Federation of Racecourse Bookmakers to agree minimum service standards.
The RCA and its members are working with Racing for Change to introduce a range of initiatives designed to improve the enjoyment and understanding of a day at the races for both the regular and new racegoer. A Raceday Experience Project Manager will coordinate and manage activities.
Initiatives include improved food and drink provision, new sales and marketing promotions (including more free and discounted days), enhanced raceday information with an emphasis on improving the quality of showmanship during the day. Improvements are also being planned in the use of on-course TV, the betting experience and in the marketing of racecourses, individually and between one another. Racecourses will be encouraged to promote each other’s fixtures, a marketing tool that’s already proved very effective in cross-selling racedays in Scotland and Yorkshire.
As part of this, racecourses will be encouraged to seek accreditation with the national Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS). Two courses, Musselburgh and Hamilton Park, have already received awards through the scheme.
A new racing club will be set up with the specific purpose of attracting thousands of younger people into the sport. The club will promote all aspects of racing but will place particular emphasis on race going and ownership. Online membership will be free and will entitle participants to discounted entry at many courses. Working with media partners and other organizations, the club intends to lease several racehorses for club members to follow throughout the year. Racing for Change will be liaising with the National Trainers Federation and Thoroughbred Breeders Association to find suitable candidates.
Racing for Change will also be introducing a new website aimed at attracting new customers to the sport, whilst also offering existing customers an easy way of gathering information and finding special offers. The site will feature free play racing games to offer newcomers tuition on the racing product and an introduction to racing’s rich language. The website is expected to go live by the end of May.
Finally, Racing for Change has set up a central PR function to support the wider racing industry and promote interest in the sport via editorial publicity in non-racing media. The PR team will work to link and support the various commercial interests in racing, such as courses, sponsors and industry bodies, in order to maximize positive publicity for the sport. The year long campaign starts in January and will be overseen by the new director of consumer PR. It aims to capitalise on racing’s assets, equine achievements and news stories in order to get the sport talked about more often outside of the sports media. This will help to draw in potential racing fans. As part of this, the campaign will also aim to harness the growing number of social networking opportunities via avenues such as Facebook and Twitter.
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