You may have heard – California Chrome is racing in the Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday at Parx Racing. And that’s not all – Untapable is seeking to solidify, if not clinch, the 3YO fillies title in the Cotillion when she takes on StopchargingMaria and Sweet Reason. Both races are for $1 million purses and, for one day at least, Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania will stand at the center of the racing universe.
All of that is great, and it certainly is a coup both for Parx and mid-Atlantic racing in general to have the Derby winner and the Oaks winner racing in for big purses in key Breeders’ Cup preps. But we think it’s also fair to ask – what’s the point? specifically, what is Parx seeking to accomplish with the PA Derby and the Cotillion?
Occasionally I get copied on an email chain among several guys who know far more about the gaming industry than I do. During one of those email exchanges, the topic turned to the alliance that racetracks have made with casino gaming, and the practical impact of that alliance. One of the people on the chain made a point that, in retrospect, is very obvious, but that I thought was very insightful and which underscored where the relationship between racetracks and casinos is headed. The point was this: as gambling events go, putting on a day of thoroughbred racing is very expensive. You have to have a large, expensive-to-maintain facility, track maintenance, machinery and other equipment (i.e. starting gate, temporary rails, etc.), and many employees (pari-mutuel clerks, assistant starters, outriders, etc.). It’s much easier and cheaper to install a bunch of slot machines and let them print money for you.
Parx is a racino with an emphasis on the “ino” part of that moniker. It has two buildings, each of which are centered on traditional casino gaming. The building that also houses the racing grandstand includes a large poker room. You could easily visit Parx on a day when live racing is going on, and never even know it. Further, Parx holds a Category I gaming license in Pennsylvania—meaning unlike the standalone casinos in the Commonwealth (i.e. SurgarHouse and Sands Bethlehem), its ability to operate a casino is tied to it maintaining a racing operation. Parx cannot simply jettison the racing and proceed as a casino, although there is little doubt in my mind that if they were permitted to do so, they would. While Parx is required to dedicate certain revenues to “backside improvements” and to purse increases, it certainly is not required to hold million dollar stakes races and to pay incentives to attract star horses. So why maintain two $1 million dollar horse races and pay a $200,000 appearance fee just to have California Chrome (and another $100,000 for Bayern) load into the gate come Saturday? The only answer that I can come up with is fairly obvious – on that one day, the sure-to-be-drastic increase in on-track and simulcast handle will more than make up for the costs of putting up the additional money for the purses and for Chrome’s appearance fee. Then, come Sunday, racing at Parx will return to its station the other 364 days of the year – a sideshow proceeding out in the back of the casino, running race after race as oblivious gamblers continue to roll dice, bet on black, double down and pump money into slot machines.
Especially this year, Parx could use Pennsylvania Derby day as an opportunity to increase the profile of both the sport and the track locally and nationally and they might (here’s hoping). Early returns, however, are not good. We tried to apply for press credentials, as we have for other significant race days and meets, but there did not seem to be any procedure or direction for applying for these credentials. We sent a few email, but received no response. The phone number listed for the public relations department in the 2014 Media Guide has been disconnected. We eventually discovered (through calls to random people in the directory) that Parx had received one of our emails and granted the request. I’m not sure if they were planning on telling us that.
More significantly, there is little or no local advertising or marketing for the event. I live in Philadelphia, and I haven’t had a single conversation with anyone who doesn’t otherwise follow racing about the Kentucky Derby winner racing at Parx. I haven’t seen any billboards, commercials, radio ads, internet ads, nothing. I polled several others in the city who followed the Triple Crown series and love California Chrome, including a woman who lives across the street from Parx, no one had any idea. I spoke to a friend who is a producer at WIP 610, the leading sports talk radio station in Philadelphia. He knew about the race, but only because a friend in the industry informed him it was happening. The radio station had not mentioned it. I have to imagine that there will be a fair number of Philadelphians who would have paid attention to the Pennsylvania Derby who look at Philly.com or get the Sunday Inquirer and learn, for the first time, that California Chrome had raced in their backyard.
The easy rebuttal is that people in Philly do not know about Parx’ big day, because they don’t care to find out. I don’t think this defeatist response is accurate. Philadelphia is legendary for its sports fans. Sure, they may be obnoxious, but they are absolutely passionate and love sports. All sports. The city’s Arena Football team was always one of the most profitable in the league. Year after year, they nearly sold out an NBA arena at 6:00 a.m. on a weekday morning for a competitive eating debacle known as the wing bowl. And most importantly, the city was ready to explode when Smarty Jones rounded the final turn at Belmont. I have no doubt Smarty would have been on a float parading down Broad Street with confetti flying bur for Bird Stone. Philadelphians would absolutely care if they knew the beloved California Chrome was in the City of Bortherly Love.
Additionally, television coverage for the event is cobbled together, and in Philadelphia will be shown at the conclusion of the Phillies game, which will almost certainly mean a tape delay. Those wanting to watch it live will have to watch TVG or stream it from the ABR website. In most businesses, when you work hard to obtain a valuable asset, you market that asset so as to maximize the return on your investment. From my perspective, it does not seem as though Parx is doing that.
But what about the folks who will show up at the track on Saturday? There will undoubtedly be a significant spike in attendance at Parx, even if the marketing of the event has left a lot to be desired. This is a prime opportunity for Parx. If people come and enjoy a first class racing product with first class service, I for one believe that they will come back to the track for a regular Saturday or Sunday. As the NYRA fan advisory report regarding Belmont Day also showed, botching the fan experience on your biggest day can spoil all the hard work that went into putting on a big raceday in the first place.
From my discussion with individuals who have been on site at Parx all week, I am skeptical that Parx has spent enough time planning for the event from the perspective of maximizing the fan experience. The facility is not large enough to handle even a modest crowd, let alone the numbers I am hearing predicted for Saturday (despite the lack of publicity). I’ve heard, as of last week, Parx did not have any plans for temporary seating, no intention to add additional concessions, or proposals to employ mobile tellers. I hope these reports are inaccurate or have since been addressed.
At bottom, our view is that these lower tier tracks with singular big days (other examples include Longacres Mile day at Emerald Downs, Ohio Derby Day at Thistledown, Spiral Day at Turfway, and the Charles Town Classic at Charles Town) have basically one chance per year to put their best foot forward and try to attract new fans (and wagering dollars) to their racing product. We understand that Parx is now primarily a casino – and that’s fine. But they have to continue running the races, so it seems to make sense to us that if they have to run them, and they’ve gone to great lengths to attract the stars of the sport to Bensalem, PA, they should capitalize on this once in a lifetime opportunity. We think that California Chrome in the PA Derby presents about as big an opportunity to attract and retain fans as a track the caliber of Parx will ever get. Here’s hoping that Parx exceeds our expectations on Saturday.
