Michael Varney - In no rush it seems

Ah, Rob Faux

You seem to be an Old Toppie (Like me).

"At that time we all agreed that the fashion shows ,cars,drum majorettes,skydivers etc had no long term benefit at all because it wasn't how many ,but what they spent, on going that mattered".

I agree. It is no use having all these events, but no increase in bets laid, and money spent !

I wonder why "It's a Rush", think increased "feet", will lead to increased spending ?

You can bluff some of the people some of the time, BUT NOT ALL THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME !

Just more waste of money chasing a goal that is pointless,even if they achieve it!

Yes, Rob. And now its seems as if this Goal hasn't even been defined !

If you don't know where you're going, HTF will you get there !

Blondie - my apologies - not meant to be suspicious! lol

what I mean by on 'the inside of the circle' = people who are employed in racing, service providers, or families and friends of these people. People who have grown up in racing, who experience some sort of knowledge about horse racing via some connection in their daily life.

People on the 'outside of the circle' are those members of the public who have NO links to horseracing whatsoever, perhaps go riding or jumping as a casual involvement, or even less exposure. In fact, people who don't know the front from the back of a horse! They can't tell the difference between a palamino, boerperd or thoroughbred. Or a pony!

Don wrote: Rob, as you know we are trying with the Ambassadors Programme as well and found that a sensible increase in information reaps success in terms of understanding handicapping and being able to apply it. That learning process is quite long for a beginner. Hence the betting buddies only dealing with basic knowledge, racecard stats and win/place bets on the first encounter. This is what Mike Varney meant by 'very little, not to confuse them'.

We all agree on the 'pomp and frills' not equating to conversion - however, racing is trying to raise the bar on the race-day experience at the same time as converting visitors but without forcing it down their throats. At the very least it must be equal to going to eg. a wine farm as an outing (for those who are not a punter, or who will never be a punter). The service must be good, the food must have value, all of those points must have been attended to and bettered.

(I have not heard of the Ambassadors programme and fascinated to know who are the Ambassadors?)

Don ,the learning process is FOREVER as the issues aren't stagnant................after 40 years I still learn,as does every enthusiast or punter.
The trick is only to WHET the appetite, and when people are hooked they tend to search and research on their own initiative!!!!
We will have to agree to disagree on the value of the race day experience.........you see it as a NEED to have ,I see it as a NICE to have!
If what I read is correct ,English racing has no problem with getting people to the track, but have the same financial challenges as us..............is that not a clue?

colors, he's trying. And if everyone helps, it can work. There is a budget, not much but something. But perhaps its better the budget is small rather than big because then the boxing has to be clever, not hard.

Robyn wrote the week before last about the Ambassadors Programme in SPost...will look for it and post here somewhere ok?
I agree about the ongoing learning. I agree about the WHET, VERY MUCH! The problem with this at the moment is - can RACING output the answers to the hard and fast questions it will generate? no! not ready!!
I think we agree more than disagree ---Value of raceday experience - look to HK, Japan, UK, AUS,how they fare on service and roll-out on their big days, on their medium days and their small days. Our big days = their tiny days. But,we can get there. Not placed to deliver, yet. I would like to stress that raceday experience is not more important than punters off-course. The delivery channels must have equal importance.

until the operators and the nhra put the right structures in place for the current punters and owners, for those that have left the game and for those you are trying to introduce to the game it will not succeed even if you had Richard branson at the helm...unfortunately Michael varney hasn't the power to implement these changes

Pirates, what structures do you mean - are we on the same page?

Don wrote: Pirates, what structures do you mean - are we on the same page?

Structures mean a lot of things. For example

Like the dry Boerewors Roll, and the prices ! The Excuse - It was a Vendor!

Like the "Uncommunicated", "Unkown" "Inner Circle", It's a Rush Initiative ! The Excuse - The Man was hired and given a Mandate.

Not good enough !


No report of Action to be taken, Follow-up etc etc .... NOTHING !

Leseding, with respect = the report, follow up etc is for the team that is doing the delivery. Are you on that team?

I'd like to think that, if you are on the receiving end, you will experience the result soon enough!!

Don wrote: Leseding, with respect = the report, follow up etc is for the team that is doing the delivery. Are you on that team?

I'd like to think that, if you are on the receiving end, you will experience the result soon enough!!

Don, with the same respect to you, I am not complaining.

I am stating the obvious in an attempt to get matters brought to your attention and fixed up.

What you are now saying, is the same as Hollywood Bets saying "The matter will be escalated".

Does not mean a thing to me.

Nothing gets communicated !

We, as in the Punter and the General Public are mostly treated like mushrooms.

"Kept in the dark, and fed a lot of shite !"

I don't know Michael Varney but I do know that he has the toughest marketing job on the planet right now.

Betting operators across the globe have not managed to attract new customers for nearly three decades and this is not something that this poor guy will do in three months this side.

He needs all the help that he can get and I am talking both internally and externally but he does need to be seen to be projecting all the right messages on a variety of social and main stream media platforms.

Racing is in a crisis in most parts of the world and this needs to be acknowledged just like an alcoholic cannot start the road to recovery before admitting his problem.

Betting operators must get serious about finding genuine racing solutions alongside their diversification successes as subsidisation will lead to the demise of racing over the longer term.

"Racing, it's a Rush" is a noble and necessary endeavour but needs support as the message is tired without backing it up with the experience. And I am not talking about the big day experience as these are mostly world class. The everyday experience, the product experience, the information experience, transparency and top class service is what will ultimately determine the success of a new outreach.

Make racing relevant, interesting and affordable to the broader public and accept that you cannot do the same things expecting different results.

Racing needs people with vision and a pioneering spirit to try new things aimed at a new market, not the tired old market of which I and most of us are a part of.

Racing in general I relate to the sinking of the Titanic.

1)Remain possitive.....and join the band.
Even if you know your freezing,watery grave awaits.

2)Be negative.....and cling to a railing and hurl insults to the prick that was on duty and never saw the iceberg.
Even if you know your freezing, watery grave awaits.

3)Sit on a deck-chair......and observe the whole event.
Even if you know your freezing, watery grave awaits.

4)Be part of the team.....and make a meaningfull contribution.
By raising the Titanic and leaving a legacy of our amazing/beloved sport for future generations to enjoy.

Now, I know, most would opt for nr 4 but will he be scratched or will he run ?