Is The Kentucky Derby and Horse Racing A Big Deal?

I have heard over the past few weeks how the Kentucky Derby is no longer the race it once was. That the race has lost some of its luster over the years, and that horsemen and women are more concern with the long term goal of their horses rather than winning the Kentucky Derby. The idea that the Kentucky Derby is no longer the marquee event that trainers and owners alike want to shoot for if they have a quality three year old is so ludicrous. The Kentucky Derby is what the Oscars are to movies. Every actor and actress wants that shiny gold dude on their mantle. It is a sign of acceptance. A big notch in the belt of well done. I remembered being in college and majoring in theatre directing. When I won that little award called the Tyrone Guthrie award for best directing I was on cloud ten and higher. Then one day has I watched the Tony Awards, and saw my fellow classmate walk away with a Tony for Rent, it validated all the hard work we all put in those four years. Horse racing is a sport that has been taken over by some many entities that the tracks nowadays can look like a battle field with only a few strong men and women standing. The racing industry needs anything it can hold onto to bring the sport to the masses. The Kentucky Derby is one of the few things in horse racing that the common man would know. He probably wouldn't know the difference between an exacta and trifecta, but the Kentucky Derby he would know, and if you ask just the right person they may even know who won the previous year derby.

At some tracks the purses are going out the roof because of the introduction of slot machines. This is one of those false positive for racing. The purses are rising not as a result of patrons loving the product but because they are digging the appetizer. Horse racing needs to find that meat that people are going to love to eat. On one day in May the sport gets to show that. The derby shouldn't be this thing that appears and then falls asleep until the following year. It should be an advertised event year round, just like potato chips or fast food commercial hits me over the head every few minutes. Where is the money being generated by the sport? start investing into the industry and draw the masses to the sport. Nascar is one of the biggest money makers in the world of sports. They are making money because they have built their fan base and treated them well over the years by allowing them access to the stars. Horse racing needs to showcase their athletes. Wise Dan needs to be showcased. He needs to have the wide appeal like a Zenyatta had. People should know when this equine superstar is going to hit the track. Publicity is the hunger of horse racing that is not being fed. Nascar never runs away from its accidents and misfortunes. Drivers dying on the track. Some of the most horrific crashes, yet they shine. Horse racing is afraid of the petas of the world. Horses go down. Jockeys go down. It is a part of the sport that we shouldn't runaway from but educate and invite closer scrutiny. Another aspect of the sport that needs attention are the jockeys. Why isn't the jockey guild telling its participants that in order for then to make more money and have a higher profile that they need to learn the language. I am sure this isn't the most political correct thing to say in our day of being political correct but lets deal with the elephant in the room. I have watched coverage on the biggest day of horse racing and the jockeys sometimes can't answer the questions. I am not talking about having everything sounding perfect because that isn't the real world. A few years ago a young jockey won a major race and when approached by the announcer he looked at her and everyone around him like what is this person saying. The announcer was professional. She said he was so choked up he couldn't answer. I have seen jockeys made remarkable growth in the language since their beginnings on the track. Javier Castellano is growing and have grown tremendously. That is effort and his workman like attitude is also shown in his riding skills. Rafael Bejarano and Joel Rosario are too other jockeys whose command of the language has grown leaps and bound, and one should never forget Johnny Velasquez whose first interview at Breeders' Cup Day is night and day from his command today of the language. Nowadays he could talk forever. Julien Leparoux is another beacon in this area. We need to market our stars, and to make them marketable we need to present them in the best light. The NBA tells it players to come to the arena in sports jacket and tie. They understand the rules. They understand product selling. Those are the rules of the world. It just is.

The Kentucky Derby will have celebrities walking the carpet and parties will flow during the week, but once they have packed up and leave town the sport will still go on. The other legs of the triple crown should then take up the torch and run with it. The Preakness should be the next step that occupies everyone thought process. We should make the Kentucky Derby winner the second coming of Christ. We need to build him up like the superstar that he is. We need to see him breezing and eating. We need to see commercial asking whether or not he is going to do it. Will he win the second crown of the jewel? Who is going to stop him? People needs to be excited about something for them to watch it. I watched this past Super Bowl with my team the New York Giants sitting at home. I was still excited about watching the game. I found a reason to root for someone in the game. I needed a villain for me to watch. I found one and enjoyed the game immensely. The Preakness, the second leg of the triple crown needs heroes and villains.

After the Preakness is over then the Belmont Stakes takes center stage. If we are lucky to have a horse win the first two legs of the triple crown then the marketing of the even for New York Racing Association should be easy. Use some of that slot money and splurge on the event. Buy spots on television and invite the audience to watch your sport. If we are without a triple chance, then market the event as such. Let the audience know that the grueling task of winning the second jewel took down the derby winner, but he is back in the Belmont Stakes trying to show he is the best horse. Have it be  an event based on the winner of the first two legs of the triple crown.

After the triple crown season is over we move into Saratoga and Del Mar. Sell sell. Have people understand the magnitude of Saratoga. Introduce people to the history, and while doing this make a case for the Arlington Million and Haskell. Sell! Have people excited about the sports until the Breeders' Cup rolls around. The Breeders' Cup and the build up should be one of the easiest sell for the industry. This is a worldwide event and it should be sold as such. Let people know that the world is showing up to take on America. That is a winning point. America versus the world, so when Tom Durkin say Tiznow wins it for America it should resonate deeply. This is us against them. Sell!!

Horse racing is alive and well and those who think the sport is dying are the ones who are still living in that dense fog that doesn't allow them to see beyond their own hands. The sport has turned a corner and headed in other avenues with HRTV and TVG becoming the Mutuel Teller of todays horse racing, but the sport still have plenty of room for growth. The various parts of this sport needs to align themselves together. Too many cooks in the kitchen. We need one commissioner to oversee the on goings of everything. We need commonality throughout the game. One set of rules for all. We need small tracks to have inviting purses like their siblings. Get rid of the step child mentality and function as one. When one dies the entire sport suffers.

The Kentucky Derby is that moment each year that I look forward to. I probably look forward to it more than the Super Bowl and definitely more than the NBA championship, especially when my Knicks are not in contention. I enjoy the prep races leading up to the big dance. Who will make it and who won't. Can a horse get the distance or not? All the jockey juggling. This sport is no longer just for kings and queens and deep pockets. The life blood of the sport are the small people who are just in love with the science. The life blood of the sport are the Kentucky Derby and its appeal and all the side dishes that are offered throughout the year.

In the movie Field Of Dreams, Kevin Costner character was told if you build it they will come. Horse racing has the components in place to be successful. It is a product worth selling but management and direction is a thorn that will let the sport bleed to death if common sense and knowledge doesn't rear its head.