Harness: Banishing kids from tracks is not the key issue

It was interesting and disturbing to me at the same time. Flamboro Downs in September will become a 19-years and older facility, limiting exposure to those younger to trackside locations.

Interesting in the concept that a racetrack was a good place to take a child and disturbing that some believe losing early exposure is the death of our sport.

Yes, I did bring my kids to the track when they were young, but there were two sides to that equation. For me, I just wanted my kids to see what I was doing. Since most of what I was in fact doing was handicapping and wagering on horses, going through the program and explaining my job was important.

It was a Sunday afternoon card at The Meadowlands, a day that was a bit more family friendly. My kids had already been to farms and seen horses up close so this day was essentially a “Press Box” visit for just a few races. My older daughter was six-years of age at the time and she looked through the program and picked out a name she liked. “I like Super Pickle,” she said. There was a private teller in the press box that pretended not to see when an underage bettor came to the window to place a $2 bet on a horse.

To my surprise and that of my daughter, it was a case of beginner’s luck as Super Pickle surprised the field at 19-1 odds returning $40 for the $2 wager. As my daughter went to the teller and surrendered her ticket, she was given what was an awful lot of money at the time.

I really didn’t want her to place another bet but you know how it is with curious children. Why stop now? So I let her search the program in the next race and make one more $2 bet. When that horse did not perform to the level of her Super Pickle, she didn’t react badly, but at the same time she really didn’t understand the entire wagering concept. “So I get my money back now?” she said, expecting a refund because the horse did not win.

At that moment I couldn’t have been happier to have my daughter see what I do and come away with a positive feeling about what goes on at a racetrack. She was so excited the next day that she wanted to share the news of her good fortune with her second-grade class. The reaction at school was more in line with what one would predict the general public would see the activity. Her teacher asked curiously, “I didn’t know they let 6-year-olds place bets.”

Perhaps there was a lesson that day for parents and children. Fortunately for mine, she was more inclined to be concerned about not getting a refund than perhaps missing a 20-1 shot.

Yet when I look at Flamboro or any racetrack where children aren’t roaming free, I do in fact question the concept of what we gain from exposure. Rides and dogs and camels and ostriches can all be amusing side shows to the activity on the racetrack. For curiosity seekers it’s like bringing the zoo to the racetrack and saving parents who gamble a trip there. Understanding risk-taking is a concept that needs time to mature and while I’m not certain 19 is the ripe age for a person to fully comprehend it, I would have to agree the age is not six.

Therein lies the quandary our industry currently and will always face. The idea of recruitment just by placing individuals in the same location as races can’t be our best idea for future success. There will always be underage gambling as there is underage drinking and underage smoking. Regardless of the rules put in place by society, early-bird risk takers will defy the objections of parents and willfully break the law. Of course we’d like to see more young people coming to the track. The problem is what we really need for future sustenance is not bystanders watching sideshows but participants engaging in wagering while enjoying the facility and the crowd surrounding them. It’s kind of difficult to make a racetrack more “kid friendly” when there are adults wagering on races, sports, casino games and instant lottery machines as they enjoy their favorite brew.

From my perspective wagering is more complex than some of the other vices. We most certainly need those willing to take risk and we need those who recognize and can contemplate huge rewards for action. We lack the simplicity of putting your money into a machine and watching wheels spin. We are more complicated than team sports where it’s a choice of two followed by the enjoyment (or not) of watching a sporting event surrounded by your element. What we are is a wagering vehicle where outcomes are determined in short order and the potential for large payouts is reasonable. What we need to be is a vehicle that provides solid entertainment during those two minutes or less when actual racing is taking place.

It’s gratifying that there are young people involved on the training and racing side of our business. It’s gratifying that there is enthusiasm for group-ownership and owner on-track participation. These are the necessary first steps towards building something better. My concern as someone who failed miserably at converting a 6-year-old into a gambler, is that we have not focused on making the actual races more entertaining first. Secondly, that not enough serious effort goes in to changing up the dynamics of individual races so to make them a bit less predictable and more competitive.

If horsemen truly wish to be a part of the solution they must at least look inward momentarily and understand that we do have problems that need repairing that were not caused by the slot machine industry. Presenting racing to any public needs scrutiny and the will to make changes. Pointing fingers at others is only a means of deflecting true responsibility.