Meeting a forum for commentary from customers, marketers

A special meeting of the Hambletonian Society focusing on the "Harness Racing Customer in 2025" was held Thursday at the Sheraton Meadowlands, and the theme was largely the same as that at other industry conventions and meetings: promotion, leadership and the product.

The first panel featured four people in their 20s, along with longtime Standardbred owner-breeder Seth Rosenfeld, 41. They all told of how they got involved in harness racing and why they continue to stay involved to this day. They also cited the various ways to attract young people to racetracks: cheap food and beer, entertainment, and an atmosphere that’s considered hip.

Rosenfeld, the elder member of the panel, also brought up two issues he considers negatives for the sport: whipping and claiming races. “I think there is a problem when you try to explain claiming races to fans,” said Rosenfeld, who suggested that when a horse in a claiming race changes hands it is a “hostile takeover.”

The next panel behind the gate, to speak, included handicappers plus Meadowlands executive VP Alex Dadoyan. They debated whether or not harness racing should only target people who like analytics, who are generally regarded as the most interested in playing the races. “Not everyone who goes to a racetrack is a scientific handicapper,” said Jay Bergman, former editor of Sports Eye, who now publishes The Playbook, a gaming magazine for casinos and racinos.

Dadoyan also said that he believes the Meadowlands harness product is not what it was 15 years ago. Back then, he said, “…the races were so competitive…there were so many horses entered, and horses shipped in from Canada and other tracks. It made for interesting betting situations and match-ups. When you have the same seven or eight horses facing each other each week, I’m not sure how good our product is.”

Bergman also said that while there is more quality racing today than ever before, there is no way to bet on some of those races because they take place at tracks where pool sizes are too small. John Massey, 21, a young New Jersey college graduate and handicapper, agreed. He pointed out that after the Meadowlands’ harness meet closes, the tracks that remain open don’t have the pool size to attract big players. He suggested that if fewer race dates overlapped, bigger pools might be created.

The first afternoon panel of meeting became a forum for racetrack managers, and the USTA, to discuss their marketing efforts to young people. Nicole Kraft of the USTA, Paul Lawson of Woodbine Entertainment, Jason Settlemoir of Vernon and Tioga, Amy Silver and Rachel Ryan of the Meadowlands and Kelly Spencer of Grand River Raceway gave a run-down of their initiatives.

After many ideas had been suggested, a panel titled “What Should We Do?” prompted remarks from two panelists that without leadership, harness racing doesn’t have any chance of moving forward. “The effort needs a leader…who is responsible for growth,” said harness owner and businessman Mark Hunter of St. Louis, Mo. “We’re a billion-dollar industry that needs a CEO and we have to pay for performance.”

Gil Winston, also an owner and a businessman, was equally blunt about leadership. “There’s nobody in charge; there’s nobody in control,” he said.

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