Growing racing's customer base in the face of increasing challenges from other forms of leisure and entertainment is the biggest challenge facing horseracing right now, and racing administrators around the world have been challenged to attack the issue first in their own jurisdictions. That was the message given to delegates of the 32nd Asian Racing Conference in Tokyo today (11 November) by Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation.
Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said the marketing base of racing is "too narrow" and he called on his fellow administrators from around the globe to start seeing themselves not so much as a gambling business but as a sport, and as a worthy member of the leisure and entertainment industry.
"This is a challenge," he said, in reference to the proposition of building the racing business in the wake of the so-called tsunami of the world financial crisis. "But every challenge is an opportunity. What we are advocating is a strategic reassessment. What are the strategies we can embrace? What are the points [about horseracing] that can differentiate us from our competitors?" he asked.
Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges told delegates briefly of research already conducted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, seeking the view both of existing customers and those who currently do not go racing as part of their preferred leisure activities.
"We have to do the work to understand what these people might like, what they would prefer, and not assume we think we know their likes and dislikes," he explained. "We need to understand why some strategies are successful and why some are not," Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges continued, adding that many organizations are simply not "geared up" to either seek out new customers or to make sufficient appeal to them once they've made a connection.
Splitting the agenda into two broad divisions of Regulatory and Commercial - he noted the many hurdles that had been placed in the path of various jurisdictions, Hong Kong included, to achieve the goal of global commingling of betting pools.
He encouraged delegates to make stronger connections with their governments, as most governments are bottom-line stakeholders of every racing industry. "A lot of what the racing industry wants cannot be achieved without the amendments to the regulatory framework but against that, with government help, most of these things can be achieved very easily," he said.
"But if we get this right, it will become a winning proposition for all stakeholders - for the customers, for the racing industry professionals and for governments through wagering taxation income."
He again explained that the "double taxation issue" that has prevented Hong Kong participating in commingling pools with other countries is a wall that must give way. "While double taxation of commingled bets exists, the proposition is simply not commercially viable," Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges summed up.
He called on the bigger racing jurisdictions to mentor the smaller ones in "the spirit of the Federation" and dreamed aloud what could be achieved with global co-operation.
But it all came back to attacking what he called the biggest issue of all - a shrinking customer base. "Without attracting new customers, we will become a dinosaur," he said pointedly.
The way casinos have reinvented themselves gives horseracing a valuable lesson, the CEO said. "Once, casinos were about little other than hard-core gambling," he said. "But in order to broaden their appeal, they became much more. They became entertainment and lifestyle oriented. And as far as the way they service their VIP's, they are much more advanced than racing."
In his welcome address at dinner the previous evening, Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges warned delegates of the importance of the forward-looking approach. "This is essential because as much as we are entitled to look back on past successes with pride, our true obligation is to look to the future and how we may take our sport and industry to new heights. With the admission of two new associate members to the Federation - the Saigon Racing Club and the Jockey Club of Russia, Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges believes it helps representing an exciting expansion of the footprint of world racing and bringing horse racing to a new horizon.
