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A Simple Fix: Race When Others Aren’t

Our economies, our businesses, our families have all been affected in some way by this pandemic. Major sports were hit especially hard. Baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, and even the summer Olympics and Wimbledon had to cancel or postpone their schedules.

The same was true for horse racing, but because of its unique nature, horse racing was able to resume long before other major sports, although without the benefit of spectators.

The Jockey Club and Breeders’ Cup spearheaded an industrywide collaboration to position horse racing as a viable and entertaining sports betting option to a captive audience of sports fans yearning for action during this unprecedented time. Fox Sports, NBC, and TVG have jumped on the opportunity to provide live racing to their viewers, with insightful commentary and coverage all while social distancing. A national ad campaign was launched to showcase horse racing and the thrill of wagering on races, providing insight on how and where to bet. Racetracks, ADWs, and other companies are providing free betting tools and spending advertising dollars to attract fans.

And it’s working. Fans are viewing and betting on races online via ADWs. Because of the ad campaign, there have been nearly 50,000 pageviews to a dedicated landing page on America’s Best Racing, with 98% of them being new users. And according to executives at Fox Sports, racing has been invaluable during the pandemic. Total viewing of horse racing on Fox networks through May is up 677% over last year, and combining Fox and NBC networks, excluding last year’s Triple Crown dates, total viewing of racing is up 793%.

Although racing without spectators and on a smaller scale has resulted in most of our sport’s economic indicators’ being down, at many of the tracks that have re-opened, handle has almost doubled, and in some cases, such as Lone Star Park and Ruidoso Downs, it has almost quadrupled compared with last year.

Another positive is that field sizes are up.

Overall, year over year through the end of May 2020, average wagering per race day was up 38.94% and average field size was up 6.64%.

Year over year for the 15 tracks that ran in the first week of June 2019 and June 2020, average wagering per race card was up 12.11% and average field size was up 16.76%.

This is fantastic, but as more racetracks open for business, these trends are not expected to continue.

To keep them from reversing, racetracks need to work together to ensure the product stays healthy and attractive, not only to our tried and true fans, but to the new fans and bettors who have grown to love our sport over the past few months.

At the 2017 Round Table Conference, Ben Vonwiller, a partner at McKinsey & Company, discussed better race scheduling through big analytic data.

“Our hypothesis is that if you maximize the share of attention bettors can focus on any one race, they will bet more often,” Vonwiller said.

Based on a scheduling study it performed for the NFL, McKinsey created a scheduling model for horse racing that could predict handle using approximately 40,000 races from 2015. The model proved the hypothesis that if our sport can maximize share of attention through optimized scheduling, people are more likely to bet.

The need for better race scheduling was actually first discussed at the 2011 Round Table Conference. From Michael Lamb, principal, media and entertainment practice, McKinsey:

It has been well known in the industry that field size matters, but our extensive regression allowed us to quantify this relationship, from which we see a strong correlation between field size and handle. In this example, adding an eighth starter to a mid-sized race drives a handle increase of nearly 11%.
Another dilution problem is overlapping race schedules, which make it hard for off-track bettors and fans to follow the best races. For example, in 2010 more than 77% of races at top tracks–defined as those with average purses in excess of $200,000–occurred within five minutes of a race at another major track.
These overlaps reduce handle. As an example, we analyzed three Grade I stakes races that occurred within 22 minutes of each other at Oaklawn, Keeneland and Aqueduct. Had these races been spaced out to occur at least 15 minutes apart, they would have generated 6% more handle in total, with each participating track significantly better off.

Here we are in 2020 with handle and field size up as racetracks re-open, and what are some tracks doing? They are running their races on top of already scheduled races and on days when other tracks are already racing. They are taking attention from each other, confusing fans and bettors, and devaluing our product. Some tracks intentionally drag their post times to conflict with other races, which not only is unproductive, but also is dishonest and shows a lack of integrity.

Last year, Equibase launched a scheduling hub that enables racetracks to compare off times. Through the hub, racetracks communicate with Equibase and one another on race days to help clear conflicts. It’s up and running, it’s free, and tracks have signed on, but they aren’t making the most of the information.

On June 5, the day before what would have been the GI Belmont S., two major tracks had races going off at the exact same time, twice, and another instance where the post times were one minute apart.

If racetracks would focus on running races when other tracks aren’t, we could keep the positive trends in racing moving forward.

This has been proved by tracks such as Fonner Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Lone Star Park, Fair Meadows, and Will Rogers Downs, which all shifted schedules to decrease competition and have had great wagering on their cards for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Imagine the impact if tracks would also race later in the day or in the evenings, when sports fans are even more likely to sign on to ADWs.

As other sports start resuming play, horse racing needs to retain the fans and bettors it has attracted, who have realized that horse racing is an exciting sport that is fun to watch and provides a great wagering experience.

The NFL, MLB, NHL, and other major sports leagues know that overlapping schedules are bad for business. Racetracks know that, too, and it’s time for them to do something about it. With the Belmont S., this year’s first leg of the Triple Crown, being run this weekend on the same day that almost 20 other tracks will race with four tracks running graded stakes races, we owe it to our fans to give them the best experience possible.

There is a lot in racing that needs to be fixed. This fix is simple, and it should have been done a long time ago.

Jim Gagliano is President and Chief Operating Officer of The Jockey Club

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Royal Ascot Jockey, Trainer Owner Titles Up for Grabs

Despite the lack of spectators throughout its five-day run due to the coronavirus, Royal Ascot will still offer awards for the leading jockey, trainer and owner. Last year’s champion jockey Frankie Dettori will face fellow past champion Ryan Moore among others, but unique to 2020, there will be no transferable armband for the leading jockey throughout the meeting. Aidan O’Brien, a 10-time winner of the Leading Trainer Award, faces previous winners Sir Michael Stoute, John Gosden, Mark Johnston and Saeed bin Suroor. Created in 2017, the Royal Ascot Leading Owner Award has exclusively been the domain of Coolmore partners Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith for the first three runnings. All three awards will be determined on the number of winners over the five days, with countbacks to places in the event of a tie. The national anthem will also be played 15 minutes before the first race of the day.

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Despite Many Hardships, Billy Turner Tries to Stay Optimistic

Seattle Slew’s trainer left the racetrack in 2016, moved to Florida and settled in for what he had thought would be a quiet retirement. It may have started out that way, but in late April Billy Turner’s life started to come apart. Living at the Ocala Jockey Club in Reddick, Florida, Turner suffered a freakish injury that caused him to break his neck. That was bad enough, but it was only one part of the story. While being treated in the hospital, it was discovered that he had prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones.

Somehow, Turner has managed to stay upbeat.

“My spirits are very good because I have some very good friends in this part of the country,” he said. “It’s the people around you that make the difference and I am lucky enough to have some good people around me.”

But those same people are struggling to figure out how they can help Turner through the ordeal, particularly when it comes to his medical bills. Turner will need extensive medical help going forward, but doesn’t have the money to pay for it. To help with the medical expenses, a friend and neighbor, Rick Wallace, has started a GoFund Me campaign for Turner, with a goal of raising $25,000.

“He needs a lot of help from everybody to try to get him back on track,” said Wallace, a well-known equestrian.

To keep busy, Turner would do odds jobs around the Ocala Jockey Club property and was mowing one day in late April when he ran over a branch. Turner said that it flew up and struck him in the area of his neck. His wife, Patti, believes the cancer weakened his bones and made them susceptible to breaking when Turner had the accident.

After successful surgery to repair his neck, Turner was released from the hospital last week, but the work to get him back on his feet is far from over. Now 80, he still needs extensive rehab and in-home care, which could go on for as long as six months.

“He’s doing remarkably well and his mental state is surprisingly good,” said Patti Turner. “His injury was way more serious than just a broken neck. He was in rehab for four, five weeks learning to walk. He had a serious injury to his brain. His brain wasn’t communicating with his body for balance and he even lost his ability to swallow. He has recovered from that. He can talk and eat. We started the GoFundMe campaign because he needs serious professional nursing care in the home to get over this hump. If he can get several months of really good care we think he can move forward.”

His needs are extensive, Patti Turner said. Her husband needs physical therapy. He still cannot stand up or walk, remnants of the brain injury he suffered, so he needs nursing care to get through even simple tasks and he needs a wheelchair. Patti Turner can only do so much.

Normally, medicare would cover medical expenses for someone of Turner’s age, but his wife said he was scammed by a telemarketer who signed him up for a new insurance policy that negated his medicare. She said representatives of the new insurance company have said they won’t pay for the doctors Turner is working with because they are “out of network.”

“It replaced medicare and they don’t want to pay for anything,” she said. “It is a despicable organization. I need an advocate who can navigate this whole insurance thing.”

Turner is doing much better from a cognitive standpoint. Ask him about Seattle Slew and he can talk all day. He said he still follows racing on the big days and will be watching the GI Belmont S. Saturday, 43 years after he won it with Seattle Slew.

For now, the plan of attack is to work on his neck and brain injuries. Turner’s doctors hope that those issues can improve to the point where they can focus in on the cancer. Wallace said the expectations are that Turner can live for at least two more years with the cancer.

“But they have to get him back up, walking and active again before they can work on the cancer,” he said. “If they can do that, they think he will have two good years.”

For his part, Turner is focused on the day to day. He could have two years left, he could have more. He will try to enjoy each one in the comfort of his friends and family, ready to get better and appreciative of what he has.

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A Different Kind of Royal Meeting

It’s Royal Ascot once again, but not as we know it. No crowds, no fashion, no Queen. It is a case of “Royal Ascot At Home” for virtually everybody this year, even for the main players whose money makes it all possible. That said, at least there is still Frankie, Aidan O’Brien, Wesley Ward, Sir Michael Stoute and Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and all the other working equine and human cast and crew that make this week so special. One of Britain’s most brilliant racehorses of recent years, Battaash deservedly hogs the limelight on Tuesday in the

G1 King’s Stand S. on an opening card that has been reformed in light of the season’s delay. In 2020, we have the unheard-of situation of Derby and Oaks contenders prepping for the Epsom Classics which are normally behind us at this stage. While the Group 2 races, the King Edward VII and Ribblesdale, are traditionally elaborate compensation prizes for those who missed out on glory in Surrey on the first Saturday of June, this time the likes of Frankly Darling (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) are being fine-tuned ahead of the mile-and-a-half monuments.

For Frankly Darling and Mogul, read Gosden and O’Brien. The following five days are set to provide the customary see-saw of success between these two master trainers and their respective distinctive riding talents Dettori and Moore. While there will be swings of fortune in other directions, the main core of the action will almost revolve around the now king of Newmarket and the peerless premier of Co. Tipperary. Between them, they have amassed a combined total of 119 winners at this meeting with 104 of those coming since O’Brien really clicked into gear with his first Group 1 in the millennium year.

Frankie Dettori, who requires six more Royal winners to tie with the legendary Pat Eddery on 73, will be without the buzz of the audience close-at-hand that spurned him on to his famous four-timer on Gold Cup last year, but he feels the importance of the stage just as keenly. “I don’t think the standard of racing is any different. It is pure quality as always,” commented the six-times leading jockey at the meeting. “It is the Olympics of Flat racing, but it will be weird if you do win a race and there is only yourself and the trainer and not thousands cheering you on as you walk back. I thrive on a big crowd so I will miss it, but I can’t change it.”

Day one sees the Italian ride two hot favourites in Anthony Oppenheimer’s Frankly Darling in the Ribblesdale and Shadwell’s Daarik (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) in the opening Buckingham Palace H. Both are housed at Clarehaven Stables and the outcomes of their races will help to set the tone for the week. “With John everything he runs has got a chance,” he commented. “Ascot has never let me down before and though it will be different, I’m very excited.” Leading Ryan Moore by nine winners overall, he upset that rival’s momentum when reclaiming the leading rider title in 2019. Nevertheless, he is fully respectful of Moore, who holds the post-war record of nine winners in a single Royal Ascot meeting and who had topped the table eight times in the last 10 years. “I think it will be a lot tougher this year,” Dettori added. “Ryan Moore always sets the standard, as he is guaranteed four or five winners and you have to match him or get more.”

It is impossible to focus on Ascot without honing in on Dettori and his rides on day one offer a real insight into his current status as the world’s number one jockey. In the G1 Queen Anne S., he teams up with Godolphin on the strongly-fancied John Gosden-trained 4-year-old filly Terebellum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and if she is successful she will be his first Royal winner in the royal blue since Tha’ir (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) in the 2012 Listed Chesham S. Just over an hour later, he dons the Michael Tabor silks on Ballydoyle’s Arthur’s Kingdom (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the King Edward VII. Commanding these two bookings harmoniously, he is the man in deserved demand at the very apex of his sport. He even sports the colours of one-time employer Al Shaqab Racing for the ride on Wasmya (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}) in the G2 Duke of Cambridge S.

The unexposed Daarik and Mutamaasik (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) kick off a big day for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s operation in the Buckingham Palace, the seven-furlong handicap which was shed from the meeting in 2015 but is revived to cater for the category which has lost so many opportunities in recent weeks. The Queen Anne sees a trio racing in the royal blue-and-white headed by the Marcus Tregoning-trained 2019 G3 Greenham S. winner Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), while in the Duke of Cambridge the Gosden-trained Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is looking likely to start favourite after her impressive June 3 Listed Snowdrop Fillies’ S. success at Kempton. Of the latter, Gosden said, “She is back on grass, but she is a lovely, game filly that is improving all the time. I thought she was very impressive the other day. If she can transfer that level of form to the Duke of Cambridge, I expect her to run another big race.”

It is the King’s Stand that those connected to Shadwell await with the keenest interest as, despite being twice denied by the now-retired Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) in the past two years, Battaash is the clear standard-setter this time. Again handed his favoured post position towards the extremes of the field, drawn 10 of 11, the 6-year-old fireball can enjoy relative racing freedom with all options open to Jim Crowley. Next door in nine is the high-class 3-year-old filly Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}), who looked like a true five-furlong specialist when just lasting the extra distance of the June 7 Listed Cecil Frail Fillies’ S. at Haydock. Whether John Quinn’s G3 Molecomb S. winner can keep tabs on the favourite is another matter, but she at least offers some opposition to the division leader alongside another Northern-based sprinting filly in Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead). Bearstone Stud’s lightly-raced homebred may not have reached her ceiling and as the three-length winner of the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye in which Battaash was a notable flop, she commands respect.

Battaash’s trainer Charlie Hills is relishing Tuesday’s opportunity for the star of his stable. “We have a good team and they are very happy with him–we’ve had no hold-ups and I couldn’t be more pleased with him,” he said. “I’m very excited with his work and he has definitely shown me he’s as good as he was last year. He’s put in some fantastic performances in his career and when he’s on song he’s fantastic to see. The Abbaye run was on bad ground and we had a really terrible draw, but otherwise he’s been pretty much consistent throughout his career. He’s run two great races at Ascot beaten for stamina by a very good horse and if Blue Point hadn’t been there he’d already have won two of these.”

Glass Slippers’s trainer Kevin Ryan is not daunted by the task ahead of the 4-year-old filly and said, “She’s a high-class filly and has done fantastic from three to four. In a normal year, she’d have had a run before but I’m not worried that she hasn’t. She travelled great in the Abbaye and put it to bed very quickly.” Liberty Beach’s jockey Jason Hart, who is looking for a dream first Royal winner, said of the year-younger filly, “She won well at Haydock, but was a bit free early doors. She’s got a lot of natural pace, so the boss has decided to drop her back to five.”

Ballydoyle’s meeting gets underway with Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Queen Anne, where he bids to emulate the 2010 winner Canford Cliffs (Ire) and the following year’s hero Frankel (GB) in adding this to his G1 St James’s Palace S. success a year previously. Also successful in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp in September, he will be bringing up Royal Ascot winner number 71 for his stable if proving as effective over this straight mile. “We’re very happy with him,” O’Brien said. “We would have liked to have given him a run before, but he’s in good form. He’s a lazy worker who has physically done well and we think the tempo of mile races suits him better than further as he concentrates a bit more when running a bit stronger. We tried different things with him last season, but we are looking forward to keeping him at a mile this year.”

With a record eight successes in the Queen Anne behind them, it is safe to say that whatever Godolphin target at the contest has to be respected. It was therefore necessary to take extra heed last week when the decision was made by John Gosden to point the aforementioned Terebellum at the race following her success in the G2 Dahlia S. over 10 furlongs at Newmarket last Saturday. Campaigned solely at that trip so far, last year’s G2 Prix de la Nonette winner is a perfect fit for this race which favours those who stay further than a mile. “Terebellum won well at Newmarket and has a lot of speed. I think a straight, stiff mile will suit her and she has been in great form since the Dahlia Stakes,” commented her trainer, who is looking to record a first winner at the meeting with one from this operation.

Sir Michael Stoute remains the winningmost trainer for this year at least, with his tally of 81 nigh-on impossible for Aidan O’Brien to equal in just five days. His best chances seem to come in the Duke of Cambridge, which he won in 2010 and 2014. Both ‘TDN Rising Star’ Jubiloso (GB) (Shamardal) and Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal) have solid claims, with the former finishing third in the G1 Coronation S. here last year and the latter a promising second to Terebellum in the Dahlia.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah, is looking forward to seeing Jubiloso back on the track. “She ran a super third in the Coronation and we thought we were set up for a real bumper year with her, but she had a few niggling little feet problems. She’s come back and wintered well. She’s a very strong-bodied filly and we’re hopeful. Prince Khalid kept her in training in the hope of targeting these type of races. I think she will be competitive.”

For all the thrill of witnessing these great and potentially great thoroughbreds in flight once more, there is undeniably a shadow over the 2020 renewal. Trainer Mark Johnston, a perennial winner at the meeting over the past 25 years with 45 successes in total, feels it more than most as he actually contracted COVID-19 in the Spring and was one of the fortunates to come through the ordeal unscathed. “It is hard to feel it is as special this year,” he commented. “It is not the same. Weird is the word. My team will be depleted in numbers, as I am simply not going to throw darts at a board this year like I might do when it is the usual Royal Ascot.”

Nick Smith, director of racing and public affairs at the track, is putting the situation in a historical context. “We’ve had Black Ascot [in 1910], the year of Foot and Mouth and all the challenges that presented, as well as moving the Royal meeting to York, but it’s fair to see we’ve never seen anything quite like this,” he said. “It’s certainly a bit strange, but we’re now embracing the situation we’re in and getting excited about the week ahead.”

There will be no pre-racing parade and no flag-waving and hat-lifting. What there will be is an enhanced global watching audience in their homes due to the new partnership with HBA Media. As soon as the stalls burst open for the Buckingham Palace at 1:15 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, that familiar outpouring of magic will still be there for the ultimate five-day-long distraction for all.

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