What We Have Here Is A Failure To Promote

The racing industry whines about a lack of attendance at their tracks. They try to lure people in with slot machines and bright blinky lights. What they don't try to lure the public in with is the reason for having a track in the first place: the horse.

I live in the land of PR - that thirty mile zone called Hollywood - and any failure for something to get out and turn into a phenomenal success is a failure to promote. Owners, tracks and writers need to get the word out to the media that matters: mainstream media. It's why Sarah Palin is so big. She has great PR. Seabiscuit had a big mouth for an owner and got his little mug in the papers constantly. Not just the racing papers either. The animal beat out Hitler for print space. People across the country hung on his every tail swish.

Racing has been too hush hush. We have another possible great coming after Zenyatta: Uncle Mo. The only publicity he's getting is Facebook and DRF. The industry can't make the mistake with him that was made with the Queen. When Zenyatta won the 2009 BC I chided ABC for not even mentioning her on Good Morning America when they actually bring the winner of the Westminster Dog Show on set. ABC owns ESPN. Zenyatta wasn't important enough for them to bother with because no one promoted her or her sport. CBS had to do it finally. And they did it too late.

Face it, the racing industry has to get it's collective self together, stop being so regional, stop being so local, and hire a good PR firm to nationally promote racing. Not as an abstraction, but find a horse or two to hang out there and hype hype hype. Find a rivalry like the RA vs. Z we had going. Keep the hot shots in the paper. Keep the big winners up front and personal. We need to send out a release to Rupert Murdock personally when the animal sneezes. Market race horses as the only pure and honest athletes left in a world of 'roid enhanced, adulterers.

Listen, PR firms can turn the stuff you find on the stable floor into the latest must have. I'm certain they can do it with the animal that deposits it if the racing industry gets it's head out from under the horse's tail.