McKinsey consultants, Google executive to speak at Round Table

Two officials from the consulting group McKinsey & Co. will discuss updated figures from their analysis of the racing industry during the Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, according to the organizer of the annual conference, The Jockey Club.

Dan Singer and Mike Salvaris, the two McKinsey officials, will provide the details of the analysis during the second half of the Round Table as an update to a previous analysis that was called “Driving Sustainable Growth for Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding.” The Jockey Club frequently funds studies from McKinsey to analyze racing trends, and last year, analysts from the company called on racetracks to coordinate race times to maximize handle.

In addition, Chris Pollak, the head of sales strategy and operations at Google, will “discuss how leading sports and media companies are innovating their digital marketing tactics and ways horse racing could apply those techniques to fan development.” The Jockey Club launched its own fan-development initiative, America’s Best Racing, as a response to the 2011 McKinsey report.

Sharing the spotlight at the two-hour conference will be Simon Bazalgette, the chief executive of The Jockey Club of the United Kingdom, which plays a far different role in the U.K. than its U.S. counterpart. Bazalgette will provide a “brief history of the world’s oldest turf club,” according to the conference organizer, and will speak about challenges facing British racing. The U.K. Jockey Club operates 15 racecourses in the country under a charter “to act in the best long-term interests of British racing.”

This year’s Round Table is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, Aug. 12, at its usual location, the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The conference will be aired live on TVG2 and streamed live on the websites of TVG and The Jockey Club.

Other speakers include various Jockey Club officials who will provide updates on the organization’s various initiatives and programs, according to the organization.