"Horse Racing is Dead"

dirtyshirt

I heard this many times today, and that's just not true. Horse racing has been around as long as horses and will always be "The sport of kings." Sure, we might get less cheap races, and we might lose venues, but my money is on horse racing lasting longer than MLB (fate depends on America alone) or NFL (Same?).

Horse racing is changing if anything, but not dead. The finest bloodlines will always exist.

Rant over.

John Greenhaw

Not dead at all!

4 days to opening at Santa Anita and just 18 days or so till opening of Oaklawn Park. BTW, Lucas sent put a bevy of two year olds yesterday and word is they are getting better after early efforts at Spa last summer and fall at CD and Keeneland. Mostly owned by Zayat and Calumet, it looks like Wayne will be loaded this OP meet?

Rant just beginning.

DiscreetCat

Handicapping is a joy, or at least it can be. More fun than actually watching the race, a lot of times. There's just a lot more that goes into it, compared to the other major sports. I definitely feel like it's under-appreciated, especially by the major networks. I think the main problem is the growing lack of attention span in this country (with regard to the down time between races). That'd be my guess, anyway.

I do agree that we've heard all this before, and horse racing continues to survive. Even flourish, in some respects. I do know that Churchill Down's stock price has been climbing almost non-stop since i began following the market a few years ago. More so than the casino industry in general (which has also done well, btw).

dirtyshirt

Attention spans are fucking everything up. Many of you know I work in television, and people really can't even focus on a show for 20 minutes.

Most youth now have what I call a "vine" attention span, which lasts about 6 seconds.

KP-HR2k9

Horseracing is not dead it will never die thanks to the god

Horseracing Is changing but the world is very different now, And player/ fans are confuse because they don't understand but it's clear that more you learn the better the understanding:yes:

Horse Racing is 4ever.......:clap2:

in my world is the best 2 Minutes on the planet

jjohns7777

Personally, I think despite all the opinions to the contrary, the actual fact is horse racing is gaining in popularity, not declining. That is for graded stakes racing, anyway. Here is a link to an article about that, and the key bullets that make my point:

The Jockey Club--Dedicated to the Improvement of Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing Since 1894

The core values of racing are still strong, notwithstanding the numbers we just showed you:
- The premier events in racing are still popular:

- Kentucky Derby attendance is up by 8% since 2000; television ratings for Breeders' Cup are up 6% since 2006.

- The best racing is still compelling: Grade I and Grade II handle per races is up 23% per race over the past decade. This is consistent with the "flight to quality racing" that was discussed at last year's Round Table and which Jim just also mentioned a minute ago.

- Race betting is still extremely exciting: When we asked fans what they like about the sport of racing, they responded with what they love about gambling. For example, fans of Thoroughbred racing are most attracted to the sport by the sense of camaraderie at the track (45%), respect from others while on a winning streak (37%), and the chance to win "big money" (34%).

I, myself, am very optimistic about the future of this sport. I'm also holding out hope that the state of Georgia will legalize horse racing. Otherwise, when I retire, I'm moving to Florida (maybe sooner).