Sat, 9 Mar 1996
Hi Al,
I'll try this a third time. If I get kicked out again, I'll try
later, when I've calmed down abit.
Right after sending you the info on Sam Houston, I received a flyer in the mail from them. Wow, are they ever doing great promotional work. Let me fill you in on all the promotions I missed earlier and better details on what I sent. SHRP is going the right way, for sure.
1. Pepsi/SHRP wallet--on 3/16/96, the first 10,000 admissions get a wallet, courtesy of Pepsi. All wallets contain some sort of prize, anywhere from free passes, to fast food coupons, to Pepsi coupons, to cash vouchers for $2-$1,000!
2. Sunrise at SHRP--this is a program for the whole family. Every Saturday morning, at 9 a.m., the group begins learning about horses and horseracing. They get to watch a horse being shod by a blacksmith, listen to a vet talk about what makes a horse run fast, learn how a trainer gets a horse ready for the races, meet the jockeys, both male and female, and watch the horses train on the track. In addition, the kids get to have their own race on the track (out of the gates), weather permitting. Kids get to take home a horseshoe (while supplies last) and the adults get free passes to come back to the races that night. What a perfect marketing scheme--exactly what the industry needs--new fans from the ground up. My own kids are dying to go, and we already have horses!
3. Houston Chronicle Horse Course--this is a FREE course given every Sunday at 3:30 p.m. all about handicapping. Each Sunday a different topic is discussed, and the group is shown how to use the information to pick a winner. Post time on Sundays is 5 p.m., so you can use what you learned right away. And everyone attending the course can enter that days HCHCHC (Houston Chronicle Horse Course Handicapping Contest). The fan whose imaginary $10 wager wins and produces the highest payout wins a voucher worth $50 in bets on his/her next visit.
4. SHRP has done the COOLEST thing I can imagine. They have created a new web page on which they offer tape delayed races. I have not yet journeyed to visit the page (at www.printnet.com/shrp), but I hope it is as good as it sounds. They seem to be the first track to take advantage fully of the power of the internet. In addition, the Houston Chronicle has an interactive virtual tour of SHRP on their site (www.chron.comm/content/chronicle/sports/horses/index). It would be great if all tracks would take a close look at doing similar things.
SHRP has done what all tracks need to do--be creative, take initiative to CREATE and DRAW the fans they so desperately need to survive. Not only does SHRP draw in new people, but they offer alot for the seasoned handicapper--live racing Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as simulcasting 7 days a week from: Delta Downs, Hollywood, Santa Anita, Fairgrounds, Bay Meadows, Hong Kong, Sportsman's Park, Oaklawn, Turfway, Pimlico, Penn National, Aqueduct, Suffolk Downs, Philadelphia Park, Garden State, Tampa Bay Downs, Gulfstream, and Hialeah. I am really impressed, and I can only hope the other tracks (in TX especially), will sit up and take notice.
I still have not found a way to get the other blurb I wrote to you. I would print it out and retype it in, send it to you the way I sent this, but my print cartridge in empty. I guess we'll see what works first. I am anxious to get this to you, as I have questions for you pertaining to corollary issues--and my questions won't make sense until you get the background. Oh well.
I hope the family is well, as well as the job search. Say hi to Jerry for me. Later. Jill
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/alauck)