Macedonio: Playing by numbers
Every sport that has multiple athletes competing in the same field at the same time has numbers attached to the athlete, except for horse racing. Numbers are a great way to add promotion and marketing, so let’s do it!
Why can’t a driver have an assigned number? He can add it to his colors, and it would be an easy way to make merchandise more appealing to the fans. Yannick Gingras can now be #3 as well. Every horse that Gingras drives will be #3. Saddlepads will all be #3, and they will even be matching to his green and yellow colors!
Drivers would now be responsible for the saddlepads, it enhances your brand so stop complaining; it’s called a business expense. Everything looks good on TV when it all matches, too. You’ll be doing a brand tsunami by constantly referring to Yannick and his horses as the 3. Adding numbers is a very simple way to actually connect drivers to the fans casually.
Now how do we give out numbers?
Here’s what the rules could be, and it may be elitist, but you start at the top. Whether it’s career earnings/wins or 2017 seasonal earnings and wins. It’s like a number draft. Let’s say Aaron Merriman goes first since he had the most wins last year. He can pick any number he wants and that’s his career number. Let’s say any driver under 1000 wins cannot select a number under triple digits and drivers under 100 wins have to select 4-digit numbers to start out with.
Now I know the bettors have already tuned out, throwing their hands up, yelling at the screen, “How do I place a bet?” Well, I think it’s pretty simple, switch to letter format. In the program, you have the driver number listed in big branding numbers and their post position and betting letters in small font. On the TV, list the numbers according to post position, big branding numbers followed by the letter.
Too complicated for ya? Really? The betting stuff is only for personal use anyways. If you bet a D,F,A straight triple, that’s only for your knowledge, a key, if you will, to consult after the race. I want you yelling out, I need Gingras 3, Bartlett 22, and Marohn 57, or 3,22,57, instead of 4,5,6. Assigning numbers to the drivers reduces the dehumanizing aspect of betting, which can cause great negativity towards the game.
This idea is probably too wacky and zany! I hear that a lot. Just tell me how numbers have failed in every other sport first and how jersey sales are a thing of the past.