NTRA, Jockey Club release new promotional video

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Jockey Club on Friday unveiled the first in a series of videos that the organizations hope to use to promote racing on social networks.

The first video, which runs for approximately one minute, promotes a fake energy drink called the “Derby” sold at the “Hoof Locker.” The video is available on Youtube and uses the Twitter hashtag #theothermadness.

The videos are part of a coordinated effort by the organizations to enhance horse racing’s presence online and on television through a campaign called “America’s Best Racing.” Last year, the consultants McKinsey & Company, in a report commissioned by the Jockey Club, recommended that racing put more of its biggest races on television and make broader use of social media and on-line platforms to reach out to new fans.

On Thursday, the Jockey Club said that it would launch a new horse racing promotional site, followhorseracing.com, on Sunday. The site will be tailored to promote racing to current and prospective racing fans, the Jockey Club said, and would eventually incorporate the promotional material available at the NTRA’s existing site.