Racing Panel Calls for Unity

Compromise and unity were the buzzwords of the day as approximately 100 industry insiders gathered in the Keeneland Room at Keeneland Sunday evening for a panel discussion on the state of the American Thoroughbred industry presented by the KTA-KTOB's Vision 20/20.

KTA/KTOB Executive Director Chauncey Morris set the tone for the evening with his introductory remarks, cautioning, “The people who came here today are all folks who want to improve the game. There is always a variance of opinion and we should strive to accomdate that.”

The panel featured Glen Hill Farm President and CEO Craig Bernick, Churchill Downs President Kevin Flanery and Mark Lamberth, chair of the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The discussion was moderated by Lucas Marquardt.

Lamberth highlighted the progress the sport has made in terms of unified medication regulations and safety, but issued a call for all parties to put aside their differences for the good of the industry.

“This industry is very fractured,” Lamberth said. “And until the industry decides to pull together and bring all the parties to the table, I'm afraid a lot of our big issues are going to continue to flounder. My emphasis as RCI chairman is to try to bring all these entities together from across the map in the industry. So, while I think we are in the right track and we're making good progress, I do think this industry needs to come together as a whole. Compromise is not a dirty word. You've got to compromise. There are things that all of us have in common. I think we are all after the same thing; the health of the horse, the health of our riders and the people who work with the horses. But we have got to come together. We can't have 10 different entities trying to go their own way. It's kind of like herding cats. You've got to pull everybody together.”

Lamberth said the RCI is organizing a series of town hall-style meetings throughout the year to culminate with a congress to “to hammer out the reforms that we really need in this industry.”

All three panelists suggested that federal legislation to regulate the industry seemed to be unlikely at this time.

“The answer needs to come from within so that when we go to the federal government, at least we are all on the same page,” said Bernick. “But right now, it's a lot of reiterating everyone's position and not seeing the big picture and reason to compromise. Until people that are allowed to make decisions for their constituents come together with a goal to compromise and try to make it better, we are going to be in the same spot for a long time.”

Among the things the industry is starting to get right is improving the racing experience for fans.

“I think the entities that recognize they are in the entertainment business are doing well and we need more of them,” Flanery said. “I think the industry is starting to realize that we're not competing just with other racetracks, but with every other form of entertainment that is out there.”

Flanery cited Churchill's implementation of night racing and added emphasis on family events to attract new fans.

“We spent $4 million putting in lights at Churchill Downs,” he explained. “We only turn them on about four or five times a year. Why? Because when we turn them on, we want it to be different. On those nights, we are basically tripling the crowds that we had in the past and doubling the on-track handle. That's important. We've invested in family adventure days–let's do someting really special to get the families out to the races–and we went from getting 15-20 kids to getting about an extra 2,000 people per family adventure day. But the most important part, about 85% of the people buying tickets had never bought tickets through our system before.”

Bernick agreed improving the experience of both fans and owners was paramount to growing racing's popularity.

“The only two groups who really don't need a horse are the person gambling on it and the person who owns it,” he said. “Every trainer, jockey, everybody who drives a van or shoes a horse, everybody who works on the backstretch, everybody who works on the frontside, everybody who works on a racing commission, everybody who works anywhere in the industry depends on an owner paying his bills and a gambler betting his dollars. So we need to have a product for both those people. Those are the two customers that really matter.”

He continued, “I think the best thing we can do to make horse racing a bigger game than it is today is to fix it from within and make it better for the people who gamble on it and for the people who own and breed horses. Our core customer has to come from our exisiting customer. Not from someone who might like horse racing if we did these five things. But if we fix it for the people who are involved, I think more people will come in from the outside.”