I Need Your Help

In the mid-70’s, I hopped into my Amish friend’s family buggy for the first time when he was enticing me to invest in the family horse that was bound for the racetrack.

The clippity-clop of the hooves and the power of that magnificent animal sent chills down my spine. I was hooked on Standardbreds. I quickly wrote my check and became a 50% partner.  I was in my late 20’s, divorced, had a promising career as stockbroker, was an animal fanatic, and always wanted to own a horse (although I did not know much about them).

Throughout the years, I put on my three-piece suit in the mornings; but after the market closed, I was headed for the State of Ohio Fairgrounds where I began to learn about my new-found love. My new-found wife, Loveda, the love of my life, read the Care and Training of the Trotter and Pacer to me as I figured out where all of those harness straps went. Two years later, I was driving at county fairs.

Although I loved the sport, there were many who did not. Trying to find partners was frustrating when they told me harness racing was boring, plus the jockeys (that is what they called the drivers) cheated by leaning back in the chariots (they also called them wagons, carts, etc., but not sulkies) to hold the horse so someone else could win.

In the late 70’s, as a stockbroker, I realized that the day would come when other states would realize the financial value of legalizing gambling. To warn the horse industry, I wrote articles for Hoofbeats, but most people did not care or did not realize the possible future ramifications.

Horseracing pretty-much had a gambling monopoly for decades in the US, and as a result the leaders in our industry fell asleep. New forms of gambling took the market by storm, and harness racing was able to stay afloat primarily because of subsidies from the casinos – but the magnificent sport experienced a dramatic decline in fans.

I do not like predicting doom and gloom, but if something drastic is not done to promote the “sport,” it will soon become similar to other horse related sports being enjoyed by only a few.

Also, for decades, harness racing was supported by patrons who usually lived within ten miles of the racetrack, and who did not mind the cost of parking, buying a program and paying high prices for a hot dog and beer. It was fun, but that has all changed.

Similar to neighborhood bookstores forced to close by the foresight of Amazon, harness tracks have been put on the back shelf. Time to take the show on the road via modern technology.

Harness racing should not be merely a venue for gamblers. It has tremendous appeal as a sport that features a magnificent God-created animal.

Just think about all of the people throughout the US who know nothing about our sport because they have never been formally introduced. The amount of money that could be generated by moving into modern times is mind-blowing, if and only if, the sport is promoted creatively and enthusiastically. Not only would we benefit from increased wagering, but we could also increase revenues by enticing millions in advertising. Of course, people could wager, but the sport would bring in advertising dollars, just like other sports.

At age 74, my mission is to reinvent our sport and to take it to the nation via modern technology. I hope I can depend on you to help.

Please accept my 50 years, of being a business analyst and consultant, as having value. The answer to saving HR has nothing to do with what you and I want or like. We have to look at this from the standpoint “what the customer wants.” The customer has made it very clear they prefer slots. Putting slots at a racetrack is like putting slots at a football stadium. That is why harness racing is failing. We have failed to give the customer what he/she wants. We are not going to change what they want, so we must change to give them a better show. Enticing people with giveaways, paddock tours, concerts, etc. will not work. If we can make the sport more exciting, we will not need these cheap tricks.

I hope you will get on board with me to take the sport national via modern technology.

I am sure if we could get national enthusiasm, new racetracks would open that would compete with other forms of gambling without a hand-out from slots.

Collectively we can do this.