Andrew Cohen said...

Great point, Warren. I would LOVE to see tracks invest a little energy in offering between-race analysis. I mean, have you ever watched the Little Brown Jug commentary? It's fantastic. And it's not like the pieces aren't in place to make it happen.

Good post.

posted at 6:16 PM on Apr 21st 2008

Warren said...

You know, the HD would only do good if the folks in the booths could give us something too. 2 minutes of action followed by 20 minutes of the worst broadcasting imaginable. What is your typical simulcast show? Race. Results and prices. Silence. 3 minutes of some dude reading his program. Silence. Race. Repeat. Can't they find anything to fill the gaps? With all of owners, trainers and other horse people at the track, there has to be someone there with something interesting to say. Without naming names or tracks, I brought this subject up to one racing executive. His response was,"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I kid you not.

posted at 6:11 PM on Apr 21st 2008

Evan Bernstein said...

I can not believe that the quality of the picture is going to bring new people to Harness Racing or make the people we have now bet more money.
I am 50 years old and have been around Harness Racing since I was a child. I have worked at Roosevelt, Yonkers and others and in all these years I have always made money betting. I watch every step taken at the Meadowlands and bet very very selectively. Most importantly I know what I am looking at and understand it well. And that is the point. New people will come only if they feel that they understand the game. The most important and only way to attract new people is if they think they have some chance or hope. That is what makes people bet and they will only do it if they are taught what the game is really about

posted at 12:38 PM on Apr 19th 2008

CarolNJ said...

I think from the info provided by Stan Bergstein, the cost for HD [or even digital] is probably out of the range of most if not all racetracks. But it would be nice if the racetracks with sub-standard track lights and camera equipment would update what they have to offer the best video product possible. There's no reason with modern lighting technology not to have nearly daylight conditions for the video offered by night tracks.

posted at 6:24 PM on Apr 18th 2008

Bill Mulligan said...

Andrew: Most if not all telecasts of sporting events contain ongoing comments of the action and participants which enhance the viewing of the action. The art of race calling is so important and, if well done, will generate interest in our sport.

At most tracks there is room for improvement. Likewise, additional comments in between the races about the stars-- be they people or horses-- I believe would do much to attract additional interest in our sport.

posted at 10:53 AM on Apr 18th 2008

Allan Schott said...

I don't think being in HD will get more people to watch racing though it would improve the experience for those that do watch racing already.

What needs to be done is get something on TV which would get people to tune in the first time and get interested. Why can't we get something similar to the V75 or V64 going in the United States and get that televised? While it would be nice to have it as a live show, perhaps get a weekly 1/2 hour to one hour show showing all the races involved in the week's card on ESPN or similar network.

posted at 8:04 AM on Apr 18th 2008

tim mansfield said...

Andrew,

In response to your question with regards to either HD access and reasonable fees to access, most definately. Better and higher quality access to our product is what we need to merely maintain the status quo.

We really need to move past the current paradigm that gives us bits and pieces on TVG, et al. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the coverage that I do get.

Look at the great things that NASCAR has done with their media verses our old and antiquated coverage. Not surprising that others are gaining market share while we stagnate.

Keep beating the drum, Andrew.

posted at 12:02 AM on Apr 18th 2008

Andrew Cohen said...

Thanks for writing, Paul. You are correct about the digital/HD twist in my column and I'm glad you pointed it out. My point was that if the tracks were required to go to digital next year they'd be that much closer to being able to afford the HD leap.

posted at 10:48 PM on Apr 17th 2008

Paul Siegel said...

Just my personal opinion but, I don't see HD making harness racing more appealing to a significant extent...certainly not enough to justify tracks making multi-million dollar capital investments.

Andrew, as an aside, I think I've detected a little bit of confusion in the digital/HD discussion started in your column. The February, 2009 conversion for broadcast television requires over-the-air television signals to be broadcast in digital format. While all HD broadcasting is digital, not all digital broadcasting is HD. Even if racetrack signals had been swept into this requirement, they still would not have had to convert to HD.

posted at 10:24 PM on Apr 17th 2008