For many years horse racing was camera shy. Horse racing was close to the only game in town when it came to legalized gambling over a half-century ago and the sport didn’t open its arms to the new media called television. Things changed and before long more than a generation had been introduced to other forms of gambling but not horse racing, and today horse racing is paying the price for its past posture.
Horse racing had its chance to gain more attention with the introduction of the Breeders’ Cup in the mid-1980s. The Breeders’ Cup, when added to the Triple Crown and a few other races on television would surely help to increase awareness. But after a quarter century it doesn’t seem like the Breeders’ Cup television coverage has done much to boost overall horse racing involvement.
The only horse players that watch the Breeders’ Cup on television are those that cannot get to the track that day, or like me, they play online with an advance deposit wagering account. For the non-players to tune in to the Breeders’ Cup and to watch with interest there must be coverage that will bring them closer to the sport itself. When a horse racing novice views the Breeders’ Cup, he doesn’t instantly see an adversarial relationship-the sport does not have two teams playing against one another. “So, who do I root for?” That’s the first question the non-player asks because they don’t understand that this sport is different than others. The only quick fix is to create an emotional reason for choosing one horse over another. That is what television and the media in general did over the last two years with Zenyatta. No doubt the media’s effort created excitement, enthusiasm and people paid attention. Most of those new eyes watching the television set were pulling for Zenyatta to win, while people like me were trying to find a way to beat her on a pari-mutuel basis.
When Zenyatta was taken back to the barn how many new horse players were among the track patrons from coast to coast? My guess is that it was not that many. Those temporary fans had an emotional interest that died soon after the last Breeders’ Cup Classic. What they remember is a truly great female runner that whipped the boys one year and almost beat them again the following year.
The most emotional tie to racing surrounding a horse is Secretariat. Greats like Zenyatta will be remembered by a few ten years from now but her legend and others will never endure like Secretariat’s. Many people that sell books on handicapping devote a chapter to Secretariat, even though his legend will do nothing to help someone pick a winner. It seems like the Breeders’ Cup television coverage is of the same mindset as the guy selling the new book. I love The Breeders’ Cup and its two days of racing. I’m glad we have television coverage of the events. But racing will not secure a new legion of track faithful if the Breeders’ Cup coverage continues to only stimulate emotional interests and provide stories of an Arabian Sheik or a movie star being a horse owner. It’s time the Breeders’ Cup coverage gave people a real education on horse racing since it is in the perfect position to do so.