Everyone would love to have Sea The Stars line up in the BC, but what would come of it from a marketing perspective? I understand, and you who are reading this blog understand, it's not everyday a horse puts together a year like StS just had and watching him race would be compelling, but outside of us.... who cares?
The Breeders' Cup are trying their darnedest to introduce us to possible starters through Win and You're In, and trying to make it easy for novice fans to get a grip of the sport. You all know I'm a quasi-fan of the idea of W&YI, but again it won't have a chance to succeed if StS comes to America.
The NTRA just finished its annual marketing meeting and the next stop is the Eclipse. If StS wins the BC Classic he would be a strong candidate for HOTY. How do you market a horse who made 1 start Stateside as our champion? Does that help the sport grow in America?
Some interesting questions, that I honestly don't know how to answer (or at least not change my mind 10 minutes from now). |
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2 comments:
Actually, if Sea The Stars came here and won the Classic, it's very possible that it would actually turn off new fans to American racing, as they could perceive that we don't have a quality product here and the number of "foreigners" coming over here and thumping our best horses prove that. Just saying it's a possibility...
I've come to believe over the past year that one horse—even the second-coming of freakin’ Secretariat—can’t save American racing at this point. Look, if the dynamic Rachel Alexandra can't, Sea The Stars certainly won't. The media coverage just isn't there. (Man, I sound like Debbie Downer)
I think "saving racing" is always thrown around a bit too much, and any part of that must include winning the TC, it's the only time you have casual sports fans watching our sport. We need a TC winner to go on and win the Travers - JCGC - and the BCC then come back as a 4yo early, like the Donn and Dubai. We get one of those, I think you'd see a bit of an uptick, not saving it per se, but a bit of an uptick.
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