What This Country Needs is a Good "Lifestyle" Racing Show!
One of the main points of discussion at the recently concluded 31st Asian Racing Conference held in Dubai, was the need for the sport of horse racing, (let’s call it the sport-not the industry; not the business) the sport- to reach out to a new, younger audience.
We who earn our living from the sport all know that racing for the main, has an ageing customer base. Other forms of entertainment clearly do not. Think lotto, casinos, aussie rules, the rapid emergence of soccer, etc…
Without a doubt, free-to-air television is the best way to get racing into the minds of people-both young and old. For example, who would have thought that a Melbourne gardener could become one of Australia’s most well known faces? But Don Burke did it when he almost single handedly got everyone out into their gardens after watching “Burke’s Backyard”. And what of the of the checkered cloth cap-the humble, everyday vet, Dr Harry Cooper with his phenomenally successful “Harry’s Practice”? If we didn't have a dog, cat, budgie or goldfish before Harry came along-our kids certainly made sure that we do now! And then of course, there’s the cooking shows that have been around forever, together with a growing proliferation of holiday and handyman shows etc.
What Australia desperately needs is a weekly, prime time half or one hour lifestyle show centred on racing.
Take a look at what has happened to snooker, darts and golf once they were properly promoted on the small screen. The former used to be a game played by old men in hazy, smoke filled billiard saloons. Darts was played with a pint in hand at your local pub and rarely anywhere else, and golf was largely misunderstood. Nowadays however, with the advent of TV, their heroes are heroes too-and most of them have become very wealthy as a result of it! More household names than you can poke a stick at-all stars-all millionaires, but most importantly, all household names and all bringing their talent and personalities into the homes of millions-thereby creating a BOOM in their chosen sport.
The good news is that racing is half way there. We get excellent coverage on the pay TV Channels-but to really get into the homes of millions across the country, and to give the programme ultimate credibility, it needs to be on free-to-air in prime time. Four days of the year for the VRC carnival is simply not enough.
So, racing needs a white knight. Surely one of the major commercial channels has enough nouse to create a weekly lifestyle programme centred on the sport of horse racing? Surely they can create new identities that can become household names-just as those over paid carpenters and handymen have become? And surely, they can make even bigger stars of the real heroes that those of us in the game go to see in the well groomed flesh week after week? The horses. Just the mention of the words Makybe Diva, Northerly, Marasco, Takeover Target, Choisir, Danehill or Phar Lap, are almost guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck bristle to attention. Blood rushes to flush and warm your cheeks. We know the feeling all too well, now millions more need to feel it too.
There are hundreds and hundreds of subjects and interesting stories that such a programme could flood suburbia with. Race clubs, syndication companies and the like would clamour to advertise and provide promotional products to give away on the show. That’s what’ll get the rusty turnstiles clicking over a little faster. A visual reminder that racing is a sport that everyone can participate in and enjoy-even as a spectator-and all-if necessary for free.
All it needs is a push. The vision is there, the money is there-all it needs now is the right people to step up to the plate
- Peter Morley
We who earn our living from the sport all know that racing for the main, has an ageing customer base. Other forms of entertainment clearly do not. Think lotto, casinos, aussie rules, the rapid emergence of soccer, etc…
Without a doubt, free-to-air television is the best way to get racing into the minds of people-both young and old. For example, who would have thought that a Melbourne gardener could become one of Australia’s most well known faces? But Don Burke did it when he almost single handedly got everyone out into their gardens after watching “Burke’s Backyard”. And what of the of the checkered cloth cap-the humble, everyday vet, Dr Harry Cooper with his phenomenally successful “Harry’s Practice”? If we didn't have a dog, cat, budgie or goldfish before Harry came along-our kids certainly made sure that we do now! And then of course, there’s the cooking shows that have been around forever, together with a growing proliferation of holiday and handyman shows etc.
What Australia desperately needs is a weekly, prime time half or one hour lifestyle show centred on racing.
Take a look at what has happened to snooker, darts and golf once they were properly promoted on the small screen. The former used to be a game played by old men in hazy, smoke filled billiard saloons. Darts was played with a pint in hand at your local pub and rarely anywhere else, and golf was largely misunderstood. Nowadays however, with the advent of TV, their heroes are heroes too-and most of them have become very wealthy as a result of it! More household names than you can poke a stick at-all stars-all millionaires, but most importantly, all household names and all bringing their talent and personalities into the homes of millions-thereby creating a BOOM in their chosen sport.
The good news is that racing is half way there. We get excellent coverage on the pay TV Channels-but to really get into the homes of millions across the country, and to give the programme ultimate credibility, it needs to be on free-to-air in prime time. Four days of the year for the VRC carnival is simply not enough.
So, racing needs a white knight. Surely one of the major commercial channels has enough nouse to create a weekly lifestyle programme centred on the sport of horse racing? Surely they can create new identities that can become household names-just as those over paid carpenters and handymen have become? And surely, they can make even bigger stars of the real heroes that those of us in the game go to see in the well groomed flesh week after week? The horses. Just the mention of the words Makybe Diva, Northerly, Marasco, Takeover Target, Choisir, Danehill or Phar Lap, are almost guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck bristle to attention. Blood rushes to flush and warm your cheeks. We know the feeling all too well, now millions more need to feel it too.
There are hundreds and hundreds of subjects and interesting stories that such a programme could flood suburbia with. Race clubs, syndication companies and the like would clamour to advertise and provide promotional products to give away on the show. That’s what’ll get the rusty turnstiles clicking over a little faster. A visual reminder that racing is a sport that everyone can participate in and enjoy-even as a spectator-and all-if necessary for free.
All it needs is a push. The vision is there, the money is there-all it needs now is the right people to step up to the plate
- Peter Morley
posted by Liam Webb at 10:30 am
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