The spirit of Ray Holmes at Churchill Downs

Horse racing needs a Ray Holmes.

On Sept. 15, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Holmes, a pilot in the RAF, spotted a German bomber threatening Buckingham Palace. When his machine guns failed and the situation became desperate, Holmes rammed the German bomber with his Hawker Hurricane. The bomber crashed before it could deliver its deadly message, and Holmes parachuted to safety, having saved Buckingham Palace.

Well, the situation is becoming desperate for horse racing. For June, handle on America’s races declined 16.89 percent from a year ago, to $993,578,873, according to Equibase. For the year, handle has dipped 10.48 percent from 2008. And, of course, 2008 was nightmarish, with handle declining 7.16 percent. At the end of this year, handle will probably check in somewhere around $13 billion, or the lowest total since 1998.

With the decline in handle, there has been a concomitant decline in purses, down 10.30 percent in June and down 6.04 percent on the year, from 2008.

And so everyone is looking for horse racing’s Ray Holmes. Where is the person or the idea to rush in and save the historic palace of racing?

Many, if not most, racetracks have looked upon slot machines as the Ray Holmes who would ram the economic bomber and save the day. And maybe they are. Certainly racetracks need the ability to diversify their product if they’re to remain competitive, especially those racetracks that face competition from nearby casinos and racinos.

But the last few years have taught the sport a cruel lesson. When gaming companies become racetrack operators, when casino satraps become general managers, horse racing usually becomes unimportant, or at least less important than the spinning fruit of the slot machines.

But this past Thursday, Churchill Downs identified another potential Ray Holmes when the track attracted a crowd of 33,481 for its final night of racing. No slots, no Kentucky Derby or Oaks, no Jonas Brothers concert, and yet a throng was on hand for the last night of Churchill’s experiment with night racing.

This newly identified Ray Holmes is an attitude, an approach that seems fundamental: Give the fans a good product, an enjoyable time, a special experience and a bargain, and they will indeed come out to the track.

For its first night of racing, Churchill attracted a crowd of 28,011, but, by all accounts, the track fumbled. Fans had to wait in long lines to bet and to buy concessions. It was a classic case of dropping the ball when there was a clear field to the end zone. But Churchill, much to its credit, rallied to make amends. For its next night, June 26, the track offered an extended Happy Hour, with dollar beer. And 27,623 attended. Apology accepted. And Thursday, a throng came out for the final night of racing. For the three nights, Churchill attracted 89,115, an increase of 318 percent from the corresponding dates a year ago. The increased attendance also led to significant increases in handle.

These difficult economic times present challenges, but also opportunities. Because racetracks, unlike many professional football and baseball and basketball teams, aren’t burdened by multi-million dollar contracts, and because most racetracks aren’t burdened by overwhelming debt, they can offer bargains.

Racetrack executives are fond of pointing out that their concessions are slightly cheaper than those offered at the nearby ballpark. But, of course, that’s an absurd comparison. Racetracks are faced with the unique challenge of entertaining people over a period of four hours while most of them are losing their money. Tracks can accomplish that only if they provide a comfortable setting and only by creating an unusual and exciting experience and, of course, by offering bargains. That’s the attitude that could be the newly identified Ray Holmes.

Comments

[Gary West]

LH, I suspect you're right about American racetracks losing money overseas; racetrack operators suspect you're right, too. But nobody can measure how much handle is slipping away, nor has anybody figured out how to stop it.

A few years ago, I did a story on Internet gambling, and at that time, as I recall, the overseas handle -- that is, dollars leaving the country to bet with offshore companies -- was getting up to $3 billion. Who knows where it is today, but I suspect it's much more, and I've heard it's much, much more. Most of that, of course, is bet on football, baseball and basketball. But enough, I suspect, is bet on horse racing to have a very negative effect on domestic handle.

[TurfRuler]

tig = Track Insider Genius

[LH]

The offshores are providing services the tracks and ADWs won't or can't. And offshore sites haven't hurt poker. In fact, they have stimulated the live game. Of course, one isn't restricted by the games available in casinos the way horseplayers are with signals. And Tracknet "just wanted a fair price?" Let's hear from some horsemen on how that organization operates.

[tlg]

Offshore bookmaking houses are pulling the plug on racing. TrackNet bullies?????? They just wanted a fair price for their product without exclusivity. You are as clueless as Mr West.

[tlg]

Too bad Don Amos retired, he could have hired and fired your worthless ass a second time.