The Canadian Sportsman

With the stakes season now hibernating for the winter, so begins another long season of "How to Save the Industry" discourse. This annual tradition is equal parts disheartening, depressing and completely necessary.
 
We all know that we need to draw younger people into the game – after all, we discuss it every year around this time, along with improving the gambling product, keeping the stars on the track, expanding marketing budgets and the rest of the usual suspects.
 
Of our biggest problems, I have always been most intrigued by the graying of our participants and the efforts to attract the next generation.
 
Last month, I visited Diamond Creek Farm in Georgetown, KY and spoke with breeder Adam Bowden for a feature story in The Sportman.  During the interview, I asked Bowden, 28, how much the larger issues facing the industry, such as our aging population, weigh on his mind.
 
"As for owners getting out of the business or the people in the business getting too old, I think that happens every generation and then you get new faces in the game," he said, adding that he is encouraged when he looks around and sees a number of young people, including trainer Frank Antonacci, driver Tim Tetrick and owner Adam Victor, Jr. occupying roles at the highest levels of the sport.
 
"There are plenty of young people in the game. I think it's just hard to see older people leave because they've been around for so long. It was hard to see farms like Yankeeland or Armstrong Bros. close. It's hard because they've been staples of the industry, but that's part of life."
 
When I asked if his philosophy is a product of his younger mindset or because time is on his side, Bowden was unequivocal in his response.
 
"No," he said. "I'm probably just optimistic. I just maybe think things are better than they are."
 
Well, I'm optimistic, too, and agree that I also see a lot of young leaders on the Canadian side when it comes to the four pillars — owners, breeders, trainers and drivers. From Jody Jamieson, who is not only our leading driver but also a successful owner, to Seelster Farms' young leadership and exuberant driver Scott Zeron, I think we are in good hands.
 
Sadly, we aren't in such good shape when it comes to the next generation of fans and bettors.
 
I've been on the record in my glowing support of the various youth camp programs and how, at least at the grassroots level, they have been successful in grabbing and holding the interest of youngsters in the game. Programs like these require a firm belief in Tortoise v. Hare — that slow and steady will eventually win the race.
 
But are these kids more likely to grow up to be horsepeople or fans/bettors? Time will tell.
 
As for a solution that is both faster-acting and more far-reaching, I'm neither smart enough to come up with a novel cure-all idea nor powerful enough to implement it if I did. But I'm a big fan of trying to build on the many good ideas that already exist in one incarnation or another. That's the jumping point behind our newest blog, "Small Victories", where we are keeping a running list of good things happening around us and examining possible avenues for future progress.
 
To that end, we recently listed Standardbred Canada's National Handicapping Championship as a 'Small Victory'. The well-run contest with a guaranteed $25,000 grand prize is a step in the right direction when it comes to generating a little interest on the betting side. But could it be expanded and used to introduce or entice some younger bettors?
 
The thought of a youth gambling camp for 11 to 13-year-olds is probably not going to fly, but what about a second division of the Handicapping Championships restricted to entrants under 25 or 30 years of age?
 
I'm well aware that the kids like poker these days and all kinds of other immediate gratification, but a significant grand prize, say $10,000, isn't chump change for most college-aged kids.
 
Can a small victory become a bigger one? I think so. There I go being optimistic again.