There’s been plenty of fantastic racing at Randwick over the past two weeks for the ‘grand finals of Australian Racing’: The Championships.
But as a board member of Racing Victoria tweeted – how can you call it the grand finals with crowds less than 30,000?
Even the CEO of Racing NSW Peter V’Landys has called for the goal of crowds exceeding 50,000 while also connecting the strategic imperative of enticing new owners to the sport.
V’landys said more had been spent on advertising and promotion of the autumn carnival this year than ever.
“Television, radio and newspapers, we’ve promoted it as well as any person can promote,” he says. “Anyone who didn’t know the Championships were on must have been hiding out. We’ve marketed it as a fun and exciting day you can have with your friends and at the same time see great racing.”
Taking those comments at face value it is interesting that the ATC only budgeted for 25,000 on Day 1 and 22,000 on Day 2.
I call bulldust on those numbers and especially the budgeted numbers that were provided as expectations to Destination NSW. Also the annual marketing spend of RNSW is about 20 per cent of the marketing spend of Racing Victoria who also have extra funding from the Raceday Attraction Fund.
So I think more can be done.
But how does racing in Sydney get a substantial increase on the road to 50,000 attendance?
V’landys again – “We’ve had third parties, consultants, look at it as well, but they tend to tell you the obvious. We’ve just got to make it more attractive and we’ve spent a lot on advertising and promotion in an attempt to do that. I’ll never give up on it. There’s got to be an answer.”
“We’re not the only ones who face this challenge, Victorian racing has suffered the same fate. But all sports are having trouble attracting crowds and in some cases the very futures of those sports are threatened.”
Interestingly the AFL had 37,500 across the road at the SCG. And Round 2 crowds were a record for the AFL.
In November last year I commented on the ATC annual report and challenged the board about the lack of details regarding crowd numbers in the ATC annual report.
As I wrote “the annual report fell short of reporting actual attendance figures for the year. What? Can you imagine the NRL or the AFL not reporting actual attendance and a detailed analysis?”
So first and foremost both RNSW and the ATC have to report and measure themselves regarding crowd numbers. It would great to see a press release that details crowd numbers, visitors, turnover, ratings and other key performance indicators.
Marketing needs to be integrated – did you see anything coordinated through Channel Seven and Sky Racing? The two biggest promotions were not run by RNSW or the ATC, but ‘Own a Champion’ by Aushorse and Fairfax – plus win a $50,000 free bet with the Daily Telegraph and Tabcorp.
Price of entry was certainly not an issue with the Golden Ticket promotion providing for six race meetings at a cost of $30. GA at the door was $40 – and considering the weather, walk-ups would have been substantial.
But certainly the options above General Admission are limited – in-fact only three dining options or reserved seating for the general public. Little Sydney out the back behind the Theatre of the Horse at $450 all inclusive. Racetrack views at Grandview Restaurant at $510 all inclusive. (The price this Saturday for All Aged Stakes is $320.)
And a reserved seat in the Centennial Reserve including a race book and parking for $110 ($45 this Saturday). The ATC has over 16,000 members whom you would think would want to experience the major two days as value for their membership subscription.
Members dining options were fully booked well in advance thus suggesting limited supply. Members guest passes were $185. They are $80 this Saturday.
A wide race of other price points and experiences would certainly provide more options – but it will require substantial temporary infrastructure investment for the two days. Yet events such as the Melbourne Cup, Australian Grand Prix and Australian Open tennis are examples of extended market options.
And calls for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill to be included in the brand of The Championships provide for a difficult review and what impact of extending plus another venue. My personal thought is the Golden Slipper day with five Group Ones should be able to stand alone regarding marketing and branding.
Certainly the resounding success was the staging of the Country and Provincial Championship races and the lead in qualifiers.
Maybe more crowd participation like Royal Ascot would do the trick?
If you have not attended it before, put it on your bucket list!
Roll on the 2017 edition of The Championships.
They certainly will have a leg up when it comes to marketing the great on track performances of Winx, Chataqua and Lucia Valentina. And the grand finals of New Zealand-bred stayers with winners in the Derby and Oaks!
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