The Melbourne Racing Club have been the sole race club in Victoria trying to attract the next generation of racing fans in recent years, with DJs, NBA activations and other wagering related activities all engaging the younger audience. On Saturday the stark contrast between the Everest and Caulfield Cup race day offerings showed just how quickly V’Landys and the ATC have captured the most sought after audience and created a spectacle like no other.
At Randwick we saw and heard 50,000 people bang out Sweet Caroline, whilst at Caulfield we saw a poor attempt at a Robbie Williams classic. But you can’t knock them for trying and they rarely get it wrong at The Heath, so we’ll give them a break on this occasion.
Racing Victoria has for decades invested in growing the sport through jockeys and horses attending primary school’s, but that only goes so far, when it’s an end to end strategy that’s required. Content and the way it’s delivered is still neglected by the majority of industry bodies.
Importantly though, Racing has a heartbeat!
Tommy Berry summed it up best on Episode 8 of Racing Xtra, when he said, “If you go to Randwick on Everest Day, you’ll be hooked for life.”
You’d be hard pressed to find someone on Saturday (under the age of 30) that didn’t walk away and say, “lock me in for next year.”
Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club now have the challenge to recreate a similar race experience during the Autumn. While $20m in prizemoney has been the catalyst for this success, they have a captive audience ripe for the picking in April at The Championships.
The one constant across Randwick and Caulfield was the dominance of King Ciaron. His first runners in the Everest resulted in a win and down south he claimed his second Caulfield Cup, beating his main rival Chris Waller. If his owner communications were of a higher quality, it would be hard to own a horse anywhere else, but race day is the ultimate gauge of success, so roll up roll up!
