Meet the Candidates - Barry Weisbord

The Thoroughbred Daily News has been kind enough to allow me to reprint their Q&A's with the candidates up for BC board election. If you enjoy the below check out their website, and they do offer one week free. Q: What do you think is the biggest issue facing the Breeders Cup today and, if voted to the Breeders Cup board, how would you propose this issue be solved? BARRY WEISBORD A: In my mind, the biggest issue facing the Breeders Cup is: how do we make our invested dollars return more to the industry? John Gaines' idea was a grand one, and he coalesced the industry into implementing that idea as a way not to just give our money back to ourselves, but to put ourselves on the sports marketplace map, and he was successful in doing so. In the 25 years since that time, however, the advances of other sports organizations have created an even more crowded marketplace, as golf, NASCAR, and even all of the major professional leagues have all expanded their footprint in the entertainment marketplace. At the same time, we are seeing enormously competitive forces from the gaming industry, which has exploded in the past quarter-century. And what we have learned, just like a lot of the other sports have learned, that a championship day in and of itself is not strong enough to change the habits of the public. It is therefore encumbent upon the Breeders Cup to add elements of rational and meaningful structure, including schedule and standings, to differentiate our best and most marketable product--the best races in order that people may better understand and follow the sport. Just as the Super Bowl without a preceding season would be far less effective, so, too, is a champi- onship day where no real champions can be formally crowned. How do we entice the best horses to run against each other on a regular basis in order that we produce a meaningful and effective television product with a serious impact on the American sports and entertainment consciousness? That is a challenge I would look forward to tackling.