Horse Racing Fantasy Community

This was definitely a tough one to vote on. I voted for the second one because I really think getting the younger audience involved with fantasy racing will give them a better understanding on how horse racing works. Also watching it on TV will get them more involved and maybe even going to the track to watch races live could be another option.

~~~Sharon~~~

But Lukas said the challenge that handicappers have again this year with so many horses coming straight from synthetic surfaces to the real dirt at Churchill Downs may be an even bigger one.

"I'm not a synthetic person. I think it's caused a nightmare for the bettors," Lukas said. "The very lifeblood of our industry is the gambling public, and I think they've been put at such a disadvantage trying to sort this thing out.

"I think it will run its course and maybe in a couple of years they'll dig them all up and get back to natural dirt."
They have that Gamblers Anonymous for people who have that bad gambling habit. Polytrack will take care of that," Lukas said. "They won't need to worry about that anymore. People will quit gambling."

THIS IS THE PROBLEM IN THE BIG RACES. AND YOUR DAILY RACE CARDS ARE FILLED WITH SUCH POOR QUALITY RACES, THAT THE EDUCATED BETTOR HAS NO EDGE...... HARD WORK WITH NO REWARD = NO INTEREST DID YOU SEE HOW THE HRF COMMUNITY FREAKED WHEN THE GAME WAS CHANGED AND THEIR HORSES DIDNT RESPOND IN THE SAME WAY. LOL I REST MY CASE JOHN

My son is 9, and he likes horse racing! He kind of has no choice, as he is constantly exposed to it through this game, my books, videos, etc. Baseball isn't america's past-time anymore. Now it's football. I like horse racing, hockey, and football, in that order. o offense, but baseball, until the playoffs, is usually pretty boring. In fact, i often, in the summer, turn on a baseball game because it relaxes me, and i can fall asleep to it. Try falling asleep during a horse race-not possible.
The powers that be need to do whatever they can to give this sport exposure. Maybe the horses should fight each other, or wear colorful helmets and be allowed to check each other as they race. Maybe sponsors can place decals all over the horses, and have them wear blinkers with cool paint schemes! obviously, I am kidding. I think a dominant, highly visible triple crown winner would be the shot of adrenaline that this sport needs. Everyone wants a new triple crown winner, and I'm sure even Joe Public would jump on that bandwagon, provided the horse was really fast, marketable-a horse with a cool name would be a plus, and had some kind of cool back-story, or a flashy owner/trainer. I would love to see horse racing become more mainstream. Maybe this could be the year!
Beefy

This is a tough question. With the easy access to Casino gambling I feel that people are more willing to drop $100 dollars in a slot machine, some of which are somewhat entertaining. The racing industry is in jeopardy because they can't attract these gamblers to the track. They have tried to introduce casinos at racetracks which has simply caused a disrubtion in the distripution of the horses. Tracks that are unable to add casinos don't get the extra income to add to their purses while racinos are attracing better fields as they are able to offer better purses. I don't think that racinos is the answer, it is like telling the enemy to join you for dinner and a glass of wine. Also, I feel there is a hug lack of public awarness and understanding of the sport. There is a huge lack of advertising and typically I can only find it on TVG and HRTV. They aren't spreading their adds to other channels like they should for those of us who have a very basic cable package. There is also a huge lack of understanding in those who have not been around the industry very long. There needs to be more focus on telling the public what we are all about, addressing their concerns, and educating them about the sport. Horse racing is one of the most highly regulated sports in the world and the general public often don't even realize it. All the security measures with the horses are there to ensure fairness to the betting public and the well fair of the horse. I could go on for what seems like forever but these are my main concerns.