Harness Racing Insider

August 11, 2008–by Kimberly Rinker

Georgian Downs rules! In my book at least. The often-ignored Innisfil Canadian oval certainly wasn’t (ignored) this past weekend. Their Saturday night, August 9th card was one of the most unique I’ve seen from a promotional standpoint.

Touted as “Xtreme Horsepower II,” Georgian featured races of all distances, plus a “deal or no deal” program that focused on having fans interact directly with trainers and drivers for various amounts of money. The fans got very animated, as did the horsemen.

Jackie Warner, Georgian Downs marketing and public relations manager was quoted in a press release as saying “Take everything you have ever known about harness racing and forget it.”

That’s just what Georgian Downs did–and the fans responded by crowding the apron and cheering on the horses and the people involved in the various contests. Race distances were altered as well as the sizes of the fields and in one case, horses raced in the opposition direction (clockwise).

This type of promotion is what can help to change fans’ notions about our sport. The one-eighth mile dash was especially exciting and could become a viable event at all tracks. It provided for a very tight finish, and seemed to invoke the best response from the crowd and the horses.

Odd distance races should become more acceptable in this country. It would prove to fans and non-horse racing fans alike that the sport of harness racing is not stale, and that we have a lot to offer, as well as showing the versatility of the Standardbred.

Another highlight was the “deal or no deal” segment, which featured a select fan and a variety of trainers, drivers and Las Vegas-style showgirls holding boxes containing various amounts of cash. The customer was prompted to either continue picking the boxes or entertain the notion of a “buy out” by the winner’s circle announcer. The response from the surrounding fans and the horsemen involved was tremendous.

In my opinion, more tracks should follow Georgian Downs’ lead and implement some of these promotions. Kudos to this Canadian oval for being innovative!