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This year's panels reflected current trends in topics including racino and track operations, regulatory matters, wagering issues, marketing and stakeholder interests.
Although racing bemoans being an industry that appeals only to an aging demographic and is run by retirement age executives – the truth in the matter is much different. A number of young and forward-thinking racing executives are at the helm of tracks around the world and are getting noticed. Our panelists – who are in leadership positions and have a long term future at stake – do not buy in to the gloom and doom predictions for racing. These “young guns” representing tracks in the United States, Canada and France share their visions to move the sport forward.
Whether it’s a passion to bask in the success of a breeding program by standing in the winner’s circle with a homebred, the pride of having picked the graded stakes winner out of thousands of yearlings offered at auction, or the opportunity to enjoy the sport while operating it as a profitable business – knowing who the horse owners are and why they are participating in the sport is imperative to providing them what they want and what they need to stay in the game. Panelists who represent this cross-section of owners share their perspectives.
There’s no arguing that the digital age has made receiving and disseminating information almost instantaneous. Panelists will show how to take advantage of the information superhighway from the race track marketing department’s use of QR Codes to not only reach, but track their customers – to employer’s uses of E-Verify – to the racing regulatory body’s use of the SAVE Program that provides timely immigration status information to authorized agencies. An in-depth SAVE workshop, designed for racing regulators, is scheduled during the Thursday morning session.
A working group discussion about issues and solution to problems regarding the protocol for merging pools on an international basis. This meeting is open to all Symposium attendees.
What is the magic formula to develop a horseplayer? A timeless question for which all facets of the industry seek the answer. Technology dictates the direction and this panel addresses the current trends on-track and on-line. How is the racing industry developing bettors compared to the poker world? Find out here.
There’s more to having a presence on the Internet than just having a fancy website. How can you improve the chances that potential customers will find you and not a competitor that has found a way to poach your potential business? Do you even know the places to look to find out if this is happening, let alone how it happens? Panelists will lead you through the “hows and whys” of great Internet management.
Panelists look at takeout and pricing issues in horseracing, with an eye on where we’ve been and how the thinking on the subject has evolved, why it’s so difficult to find common ground for current discussions, and what it will really take to get empirical and useful takeout information to help in business decision-making.
Participants identify the most current and popular social net-working tools and how they’re used. Most facilities are using Facebook and Twitter, but what about GroupOn, LivingSocial, or BuyWithMe? Panelists will help attendees get a handle on some of the cutting edge tools available to racing facilities.
On one hand, the practicing veterinarian is charged with looking after the health and welfare of the race horse. On another hand, they work for the horse’s owner at the direction of the horse’s trainer. On the third hand, the racing regulator calls on the practicing veterinarian to report treatments given while also placing limits on the tools that the practicing veterinarian can use. In addition to being pulled three ways by these responsibilities, the veterinarian must also meet the requirements set forth by the jurisdiction’s Board of Veterinary Medicine which governs the overall practice of veterinary medicine. How can the race track practitioner satisfy his obligations to all the parties?
A number of alternatives to the pari-mutuel system of wagering have been discussed for North America. Speakers give an overview and update on these different forms of wagering such as fixed odds, single pool wagering and exchange wagering.
Practicing veterinarians, regulatory veterinarians and veterinary researchers – all are charged with insuring the welfare of the racing animal. Panelists discuss current programs, such as in-depth injury investigations, necropsy reports and injury databases used to combine the information from all of these parties to improve animal welfare.
No longer do we simply have a Tote at the track, the strategy is to create a networked system. Panelists look at how these systems, on a global basis, are being combined and configured to give wagerers more options, larger pools and more diversity.
A report on the results and implementation of the recommendations of this comprehensive economic study of our sport, conducted by McKinsey and Company in conjunction with The Jockey Club.
As the racing world continues to become more global in nature, racing rules and regulations are the hot topic at conferences worldwide. Panelists share how stewards in US jurisdictions view, and subsequently adjudicate, the action on the track and illustrate how those rules are put into practice.
There is no debate that the racing experience one gets when visiting a live racing venue is far different from that when parti-cipating in racing via an ADW. For many, the “trip to the track”–enjoying the company of others and seeing the competition live – is what draws them in. But can we attract others to the sport who value a much different experience; those who’ve grown up in the digital age and expect access to information and entertainment instantaneously? People who utilize social media to its fullest just may find that racing via an ADW platform gives them what they’re looking for and more. Panelists explore this potential market.
This workshop session is designed specifically to walk regulators and racing commission personnel through the SAVE Program.
Commissions are eligible to take advantage of this program as they fall under the requirements of being a state, or local government agency or licensing bureau that provides a public benefit, license, or is otherwise authorized by law to engage in an activity for which the verification of immigration status is appropriate.
SAVE provides timely immigration status information to assist agencies in maintaining the integrity of their programs and enhance efficiency while protecting sensitive information and complying with legislative mandates to verify applicants’ immigration status and ensure that only entitled applicants receive federal, state, or local public benefits and licenses.
Small, independent racino and racetrack operators discuss the challenges they face in this highly competitive environment along with the innovations and changes these operators are implementing to cope with the transformation.