Post Script: We wrote this piece last year in anticipation of California Chrome’s Triple Crown bid. Of Course California Chrome fell short of the Triple Crown. However, here we are, one year later, and thanks to American Pharoah, racing has it’s Triple Crown hero.
What can the sport do to capitalize on this once in every 37 year opportunity? While many of our thoughts from last year were Chrome specific, the general themes still hold true. The sport will benefit greatly from every additional start Pharoah makes and all tracks should do everything in their power to attract the star. While the $10,000 cost angle doesn’t apply, Victor’s American Dream story is certainly marketable and should be at the forefront of industry marketing.
And as a start, we love what we’ve seen to date from track marketing. Santa Anita already announced a poster give away. Churchill will have American Pharoah make a public appearance during the Stephen Foster card, and NBC Sports will broadcast it. Let’s keep this momentum going.
Let us know what thoughts you may have on how the sport can capitalize on American Pharoah’s accomplishment.
“And they’re not…going…to….catch him. California Chrome is running away from the field and into the record books. The Triple Crown Club finally has its newest member‼”
The rafters shake at Belmont. Twitter crashes. Horse racing is featured on the on the front pages of cnn.com, espn.com, and any other news site you can imagine. President Obama congratulates the horse and its connections. The Sport of Kings finally has its triple crown winner. It has once again captured national attention. Horse racing matters.
But then what? What happens when the fans leave Belmont? When Americans turn off their televisions? When another story replaces California Chrome’s achievement on news websites?
Countless journalists have opined that horse racing needs a triple crown winner. Well, lets assume for a minute, that as the clock strikes 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, the sport finally gets one, and an incredibly marketable one at that. What does the sport do with it? In a typical horse racing move, does the sport just sit back and expect that California Chrome has solved all of its problems? That would be a monumental mistake. A mistake similar to sitting back and opposing television deals when every other sport jockeyed for such deals forty years ago. A mistake as near sighted as blindly pumping slot machine revenue into purses as opposed to critically evaluating the best use for that money. Horse racing has another golden opportunity. But it cannot remain idol and assume that California Chrome fever has erased two decades of negativity.
This may be a cold dose of reality for some, but a Triple Crown, by itself, will have little positive impact on the sport six months from now. That is, unless, race tracks and others in the industry actively and strategically devise a plan to take advantage of this once in every 36 years opportunity. Here are some of our thoughts on how to capitalize on Chrome’s Crown.
- Capitalizing on California Chrome’s achievement starts, of course, with marketing the super stardom of the horse, and namely with keeping him on the race track. Given the low stud fee estimates for California Chrome, the incentives are there for him to continue to race. Tracks jockeying for his entry to their races, should be doing everything in their power to get him on their nomination lists, including raising purses. If the connections can see a four year old campaign paved with purse hikes, it could make their decision to keep their star out of the breeding shed an easy one. Monmouth, NYRA, and even Parx should all be making calls at 7:00 p.m. Saturday to devise ways to get California Chrome to their respective 3 year old summer show case events. Ensuring California Chrome continues to race should be the number one priority for the sport.
- Even if California Chrome does not step hoof on your track, there are still opportunities to capitalize on the horse’s popularity. Sell his merchandise. Devise promotions and give aways. Use America’s love affair with the horse to get people to the track. The connections currently have trademark applications for the horse’s name and likeness pending. If racetracks line up with their checkbooks for requests to use the trademark for promotion, it’s even more likely the connections continue to race the horse.
- Marketing efforts also do not need to be exclusively tied to California Chrome. Horse racing is currently on the minds of many Americans, so now is the time to increase the marketing budget and ensure that the sport remains in the forefront. The NTRA’s “Go, Baby, Go” campaign was relatively successful, but it started from scratch. Any similar campaign would have the benefit of starting from the good will created by California Chrome’s triple crown win. A uniform marketing effort by the entire industry would be ideal. However, recognizing the difficulty of achieving any uniformity on anything relating to horse racing, we would settle for individual track initiatives to increase the marketing budgets.
- The greatest aspect of the California Chrome story is the fact that two new owners, paid in essence just over $10,000 for the breeding of their first racehorse. And that horse became a legend. Sure, it was a one in a billion chance, but it’s also the American Dream. And the American Dream is the most marketable concept around. Racetracks and horsemen associations should offer more new ownership seminars. But instead of marketing these to the wealthy, target groups of friends and younger crowds. Use this story to get people dreaming big and to attract new owners to try their luck.
When California Chrome crosses the wire on Saturday, the entire industry has reason to celebrate. But it must also be careful not to rest on its laurels. There is work to be done if the sport truly wants to capitalize on this opportunity. Its leaders must take action and devise a strategy to carry California Chrome’s triple crown achievement well past 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
