ThoroFan: a Year In Review
03-08-2010 -- Michael Amo
ThoroFan in just eighteen short months has accomplished much. Chairman Michael Amo writes about what was accomplished in 2009 and what can be expected in 2010.
Fans Needed to Help Address Racing's Challenges
03-29-2010 -- Michael Amo
Dear ThoroFans
Today, Thoroughbred racing across the country is seriously challenged by a weak economy and competition for gaming dollars. But our love for the sport must overcome these challenges.
Those of us who so enjoy this wonderful sport must not be wallflowers and expect others to fix our problems. Fans must get involved whenever and wherever possible. ThoroFan offers a perfect vehicle for this to happen, a national organization with local chapters. Remind your racing friends of this jewel known as ThoroFan! If each of us brought just 5 new members to ThoroFan in 2010, ThoroFan would begin to reach the critical mass necessary to have our voice heard.
Recently, as Kentucky battled for VLTs at racetracks, small numbers of interested people gathered to voice their support. Although news photos showed the gatherings, few in attendance were average fans. The same was true last month when New York horsemen and breeders staged a protest at Belmont Park. Why?
The answer to this question is obvious. The racing industry does not see the fan as a stakeholder, but rather as a customer. They are wrong. With pari-mutual wagering on races, a percentage of every wager goes to purses and contributions to horsemen and breeders. This relationship is absent in all other sports.
Alex Waldrop, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Inc, said it best, “ Players [fans] not only see themselves as consumers, but as caretakers of the sport and this is something that separates them quite distinctly from fans of other sports.”
Thoroughbred racing is about much more than that race run on the first Saturday in May around the mile and quarter oval known as Churchill Downs. Behind the racing scenes are millions of jobs and hundreds of thousands of acres of green space found on Thoroughbred breeding farms. Although the bluegrass of Kentucky epitomizes this image, horse farms are an important part of the landscape in states from New York to California. When our message is framed this way people will listen and act. But, first, we must speak.
There are so many issues in racing that need attention if our sport is to survive, let alone strive. Here are just a couple.
The value to our sport of co-located gaming at racetrack is questionable by some. Barry Irwin of Team Value likens the intrusions to the Trojan Horse of Greek methodology fame. As state legislatures across the country try to balance their budgets, revenues from these seem attractive. But for the horse industry and the sport they are less attractive. Data show very little carry-over from gaming to handicapping. In a survey done by ThoroFan regarding VLTs at Aqueduct Race Course, fans were clear, VLTs are necessary to the near term needs of racing. Yet their long-term impact is questionable.
Nick Nicholson, Keeneland Race Course President agrees, "Expanded gaming has taken on more of a role than I think it should have; I would love to think of a way to get it behind us," he said. "It will never be a long-term fix or a total solution. It would just provide some capital at a time when the industry needs capital. It's a means to an end. It's not the end."
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s (NTRA) Safety and Integrity Alliance recently established a code for wagering integrity. To fans this is a major issue. It is hard enough to pick a winner of a race when everything is on the up-and-up. When it is not or perceived not to be, forget it. The Alliance understands this and is now demanding those racetracks that want to be accredited by the Alliance develop systems to assure wagering integrity. Fans should applaud their efforts. Perhaps we should even be cautious of playing tracks that are not accredited.
Finally in the face of all our difficulties, it is reassuring to know that Triple Crown season is upon us. The final preps are drawing to an end with the Wood Memorial (G1) in New York this coming weekend and the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and Arkansas Derby (G2) next weekend. Steve Haskin's Derby Dozen is a good place to refresh your handicapping thoughts. You can also create your own dozen and see how you stack-up against other fans. Try it.
As I leave you and pack my bags for Hot Springs and the Arkansas Derby, lets not forget the folk adage, “ even a bad day at the racetrack beats a good day most everywhere else.”
Michael Amo
Chairman
ThoroFan
Chairman's Letter for May 2010
05-10-2010 --
May 10, 2010
May Chairman’s Letter
Dear ThoroFan,
After months of work pulling together all the necessary documents to comply with the Internal Revenue Service’s requirements for our “Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code”, it was officially mailed on Saturday, May 8, 2010. This is a major step for ThoroFan’s outreach efforts. Let’s hope for a positive response from the IRS.
Now individuals and businesses can make tax-deductible donations to ThoroFan to support our efforts to “ThoroFan's mission is to foster the growth of Thoroughbred Racing by providing fans with an organization that will actively support their interests”. Hopefully, industry leaders will seize that opportunity to support the fans that make Thoroughbred racing possible.
The “Rally for New York Racing” at the Saratoga Race Course punctuated the importance of having a fan organization that speaks with a loud, singular voice when necessary. The 300+ attendees from the Saratoga community made their points of view clear. Racing is critical to Saratoga Springs and its businesses. Actions at all levels are needed, now. This is an example of what we, ThoroFans, can do across the country as our membership grows and chapters develop. It takes every one of us.
Our new website, is getting a great deal of attention from fans and industry professionals across the country. We hope you find it valuable. The front page has a few purposes. First, to provide a visually pleasant image of our organization to first-time visitors. Second, to provide information on what’s happening for ThoroFans (ThoroFan News), and information on what’s happening in racing (Racing News) including from the Bloodhorse, direct.
Finally, the ‘Home’ page acts as a gateway through the menu on the left , to a full range of ThoroFan needs. Two of these links of which we are especially excited are: Featured Articles and Handicappers’ Corner. Feature Articles’ page was inaugurated with a review of a book written by one of our members, Jerry Radford, entitled, “ One After Another.” The Racetrack Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) in an effort to introduce fans to medication use and abuse submitted the second article. If you or anyone you know might be interested in writing an article for this section please contact us at board@thorofan.com.
Handicappers’ Corner offers insight into specific premier races and to educate the fan about different approaches to handicapping. The page is sponsored and populated by the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance, an affiliation of over forty bloggers who engage the Internet daily. Their work is unique and informative. They are good handicappers, as well.
Finally, we are in only our 22nd month of existence. The response from industry leaders and fans has been encouraging. Our fan-base is growing, but not fast enough to respond to the many needs of our sport. As we begin our 3rd year, this July, our main goal must be to recruit new members. We need every current member to pitch in and help. Here is your challenge: “sign-up 3 new members by December 31st and we will begin to approach the “critical mass” needed to gain full industry respect. I know we can do it with all of you helping. Remember, racing needs each and every one of us.
Thank you for being a ThoroFan.
Michael Amo
Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The Fan Needs The Fan, Now More Than Ever
06-13-2010 --
Chairman’s Letter
June 12, 2010
Dear ThoroFans:
Starting any not-for-profit organization is a challenge. There are people to motivate, budgets to make, regulations to follow and plans to be made. Many times these organizations evolve out of an emotional need, e.g. Autism groups, educational needs, etc. In these cases motivation is not usually the problem. People are personally committed to the cause.
ThoroFan is clearly different, unless missing a Pick-6 is considered a traumatic experience. We have come together because of the love for our sport and the fear that we may lose it.
At recent meeting of the Saratoga Chapter of ThoroFan, members were asked why they joined ThoroFan. Although the discussion lacked statistical significance, it was telling. Socializing with other fans was an important driver. Concern for the Thoroughbred horse and the sport was frequently mentioned. Concern for the direction racetrack management is taking the sport was a topic. Near the top of the list, however, was giving the fan a voice on all these topics and at all levels.
When ThoroFan was founded in 2008, research could only identify two similar organizations in the country. The southern California group had made in-roads with track management and served as an advisory committee to them. The Kentucky group focused on fan activities and horse ownership. In speaking with the leaders of these mature groups, we foresaw our challenges. In the beginning enthusiasm was plentiful for both groups. As time passed, enthusiasm waned and they were held together by the volunteer efforts of just a few.
We thought ThoroFan could be different. We were beginning in New York which was in the middle of two racing crises: franchise bidding and an alternative gaming movement. Surely these would engage fans and motivate them to get involved. We thought similar issues would surface across the country that would attract fan interest in ThoroFan.
Initially, we were “spot on.” By the end of our first year we had members from 30 states, plenty of media attention and requests to start up chapters across the country. Our challenge in 2010 is to keep this wonderful concept growing. The industry needs the fan. Government leaders need the fan perspective in their policy and legislative initiatives. The fans need the fans, now more than ever.
There are so many issues that will affect the future of Thoroughbred racing. If our voice is quieted, then the voice of other interests will shape our sport on these issues. Without focus on the horse, sport and fan, horseracing could be a footnote in history.
The fan must stay strong and unite; we are the future of the sport. As our organized numbers grow we will affect the course of racing history. The true benefit to being a ThoroFan is not discounts or special treatment but rather having a real and legitimate voice in our sport.
So the next time someone asks you why they should join ThoroFan, tell them it’s the “Fan’s Only Voice.” Tell them if they really love the sport or depend on it, they must add their name to our roster. Only when ThoroFan has a critical mass of fans will we be able make a difference.
If that does not work, think of Sisyphus. No matter how heavy the burden, we must persevere uphill. The Thoroughbred athlete does not have a voice, fans do. Let’s continue to speak for all stakeholders, human or equine.
Michael Amo
