Dateline: 09/25/97

Poll Results: How Did You Get Involved in Racing?

The results of this poll are quite interesting and really show the aging of the fan base despite only getting 51 respondants. Most were introduced to racing as a very young age by a large margin either by a visit to the track or by being part of a family involved in racing (the "other" category). The majority are now in their 40's and their current exposure is spread around over many categories with OTB/Simulcast winning by a short nose. Most people said their friends got into racing by attending live races and over 70% are in the 30-50 range. An overwhelming majority preferred live racing for both entertainment and betting. For the people with full-card simulcasting already, about 50% of their wagers were on simulcasts but most said they would attend less often if live racing disappeared. For those who didn't have much simulcasting available, the majority would not bet any more money if full-card simulcasts were introduced. The average amount they would bet on the simulcasts instead of live racing was 23% and 2 out of 3 would attend less if there was no live racing anymore. Full results are in the table below.

Many commented that live racing was the real thrill and simulcasts just didn't compare. Several also wanted more TV coverage and most especially viewing and wagering from the home. Check here for a selection of comments. Check here for a list of locations attended by the respondants.

I can speak from personal experience about the effect of losing live racing. I attended regularly when there was live racing here in Alabama despite the nearly 3 hour round trip drive to the track. Since live racing disappeared here 2 years ago, I have been back to the former horse track (now dog races and simulcasts) only 4 or 5 times. There is another dog track about 20 minutes away that also simulcasts horse racing but I only attend rarely because the atmosphere there is very bad. Most of my racing contact now is via the internet and the occasional phone wager or out of town trip to the races. I defintely wager much less since I prefer live racing to a steady diet of simulcasts.

How did you first develop a serious interest in horse racing?
Visit to live races at a track	56%
Network and/or cable TV broadcast	10%
OTB or simulcasts	2%
Books, magazines, or other printed media	14%
The Internet	2%
Other	16%
How old were you when you were introduced to horse racing?
10 or less	36%
11-20	42%
21-30	10%
31-40	6%
41-50	6%
51-60	0%
61 or older	0%
What is your current primary exposure to horse racing?
Live races at a track	28%
Network and/or cable TV broadcast	6%
OTB, phone wagering, or simulcasts	30%
Books, magazines, or other printed media	4%
The Internet	16%
Other	16%
How old are you now?
10 or less	0%
11-20	0%
21-30	14%
31-40	20%
41-50	41%
51-60	20%
61 or older	4%
Of the racing fans you know, how were most of them introduced to racing?
Live races at a track	79%
Network and/or cable TV broadcast	6%
OTB, phone wagering, or simulcasts	4%
Books, magazines, or other printed media	2%
The Internet	0%
Other	9%
What would you say is their average age?
10 or less	0%
11-20	0%
21-30	2%
31-40	33%
41-50	38%
51-60	19%
61 or older	8%
For entertainment purposes do you prefer live or televised racing?
Live	86%
Televised	14%
For betting purposes do you prefer live or simulcast racing?
Live	72%
Simulcast	28%
If you currently have full-card simulcasting in your area:
What percentage of your total wagering is on simulcasts rather than live racing?	49%
If live racing was to disappear from your area but there were still plenty of simulcasts available, would you still attend as often?
More	4%
Less	60%
Same	36%
If you currently have live racing but little or no simulcast product available in your area:
If full-card simulcasting was introduced would you bet as much?
More	23%
Less	15%
Same	62%
If your answer is the same, what percentage of your total wagering would be on simulcasts rather than live racing?	23%
If live racing was to disappear from your area but there were still plenty of simulcasts available would you still attend as often?
More	6%
Less	61%
Same	33%

Previous Features