The Canadian Sportsman
August 05, 2010
“I am falling asleep or switching channels, and it is very difficult to watch the product that they are putting out there. It’s too long between races; an eight or nine-horse field going one mile with very little passing, big long gaps with just numbers flashing up on the screen and no talking head analysis that I think many sports fans are used to or yearn for. (There is) poor lighting at many racing venues, a blurry picture on the television screen. We never use the side angle from the start car or a low angle, which almost all sports shows use now... Our competition is just basically much slicker. They are high-def in most cases, and even going 3D. I know there is a big funding issue out there to improve this, but I am just thinking maybe in a slot-enhanced jurisdiction this is no longer an excuse.”
— Blair Burgess (above), trainer and owner in the third in a daily series of quotes pulled from our Round Table Discussion entitled 15 Essential Ideas for Saving Racing. Dave Briggs’ Last Call Online column about the Round Table is available here. The entire Round Table Discussion booklet is available to download as a pdf by following this link and clicking on the “Now Available” item in the bottom left corner of the page.
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August 04, 2010
“We need new owners and we need new capital, because one of the great problems with the business is we have way too much insider baseball. Everybody involved has been involved forever and is largely a prisoner of their historical thoughts and perception about things. And, particularly in the slots-aided jurisdictions, too many people don’t see the need or the urgency for change. Because of artificial support, they have a comfortable lifestyle.
“Too many of the participants in the industry are anesthetized by the slots support and so don’t see any real need for change, and are quite happy to just recycle the money, which is abundant, amongst the folks that are already playing the game. And, in some cases, it is because they are oblivious to the fact that there is a challenge from the outside. And, in some cases, it is because they are old enough to say, ‘This will go on long enough to see me through my time.’ But we need new people to bring new money, new energy and ask the hard questions, and not be prepared to accept the old answers.”
— Clay Horner (above), partner Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, LLP, horse owner and vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) in the second in a daily series of quotes pulled from our Round Table Discussion entitled 15 Essential Ideas for Saving Racing. Dave Briggs’ Last Call Online column about the Round Table is available here. The entire Round Table Discussion booklet is available to download as a pdf by following this link and clicking on the “Now Available” item in the bottom left corner of the page.
August 03, 2010
“We talk strategically within Great Canadian about moving players along what we call the player life cycle, which sort of begins with someone who knows nothing and we assume it ends with a player who is fully engaged, using the myriad of product offerings that are available be it online... The reality is that is not where the player life cycle ends. The player life cycle ends when we educate a player to the point where he decides that this is no longer a good bet for him and he or she walks out the door.”
— Chris Roberts (above), director of racing operations (Ontario) for Great Canadian Gaming Corporation in the first in a daily series of quotes pulled from our Round Table Discussion entitled 15 Essential Ideas for Saving Racing. Dave Briggs’ Last Call Online column about the Round Table is available here. The entire Round Table Discussion booklet is available to download as a pdf by following this link and clicking on the “Now Available” item in the bottom left corner of the page.
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