Limelight’s on Harness Racing

With the industry in major jeopardy, after the Meadowlands ordeal and what is currently happening in Pennsylvania and Ontario, there are a few changes I am going to suggest to make harness racing more like show business.

The reason to make it like show business is because the industry ranks in billions and close to trillions of dollars a year. In harness racing, you’d be lucky to make it over a billion dollars in profit. But the reason the thoroughbred industry is doing better than harness racing is because they imply some show business techniques that need to be introduced to harness racing. 

One thing is to change the distances and increase fields. In thoroughbred racing, everybody knows the Kentucky Derby is the greatest two minutes in sports. Harness racing needs something like that, big fields going abnormal distances. The Derby alone brings newspapers, new bettors and attention to the sport. Although there is the Hambletonian, we need something like the Hambletonian, except with an element they used for the Kentucky Derby.

Another thing is to bring the bettors onto the horse. By that, I mean show the average bettor what it’s like in the sulky through helmet cam or computer animation. Like in Nascar, they make it look like you’re on the track. Nascar is the leading industry in car racing and many people watch it because it implements methods of pumping adrenaline into the fans. This may also introduce more bettors to become horsemen.

The final thing is to make a challenge. With the Triple Crown, it gets bettors excited that a horse is doing something that is mathematically impossible. It also introduces new fans to put money into the handle. Harness racing does have a Triple Crown for both pacers and trotters, but not many people care about it. The Pacing Triple Crown consists of the Little Brown Jug, Cane Pace and Messenger Stakes, while the Trotting Triple Crown is the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity. But these races aren’t a serious Triple Crown.

Like Harness Racing Update said (Link to their story: http://www.harnessracingupdate.com/restricted/pdf/hru/hru052012.pdf) someone like the USTA, Jeff Gural or the Hambletonian society can, “Establish two new Triple Crowns with the right races, form a common nominating process for the three, seek a sponsor, try to create a bonus structure, throw your marketing resources toward the events. Pick up the phone. Get it done. Now.”

We can agree fully on what they said in that great article. That harness racing needs to catch up with it’s rival thoroughbred racing. A Triple Crown, perspective and excitement are all things harness racing may have, but needs more.