JC / Railbird - Breeders’ Cup

Breeders’ Cup Archive

Let’s Call it a Swap

If Curlin goes to France for the Arc, perhaps Epsom Derby winner New Approach can ship to California for the Classic:

The Breeders’ Cup Classic will this year be run on a new, synthetic surface at Santa Anita, one far more congenial to European raiders. And with Curlin possibly heading this way, and uncertainty over Big Brown, there is a very tempting vacuum among the home defence.

Intriguing. Get undefeated Zenyatta in the mix too, and this year’s Classic might not be the worst since 1984, a possibility Bob Mieszerski fears.
Speaking of Curlin, it looks likely he’ll make his first turf start in the G1 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont next week, which is good news for NYRA and us New York racing fans. Anyone want to predict crowd size? I’ll go with 10,375 …

Posted in Breeders' Cup on July 5, 2008

Associating with ESPN …

Can be bad for ratings. I rarely come across anything in Sports Business Journal that I’d call fascinating, but this week’s cover story qualifies — it’s a solid piece of reporting on the criticism ESPN faces from rival networks and sports leagues, a compelling read that opens with the tale of a PowerPoint presentation making the rounds that argues leagues rarely benefit from their association with ESPN as much as the network does. Midway through the article comes this familiar example:

ESPN’s biggest ratings drop — and another oft-mentioned example from rivals — comes in horse racing. The Breeders’ Cup was on NBC from 1984 to 2005. But when it moved to ESPN in 2006, its ratings tanked. The event posted a 1.5 rating/2.002 million average viewers on NBC in 2005, but dropped to an 0.7 rating/994,000 viewers on ESPN in 2006, losing more than half its audience.

ESPN, however, says the television ratings number does not tell the whole story. ESPN provides much more coverage than NBC, including Friday and Saturday windows, whereas NBC only provided Saturday coverage.

Though the total TV audience was more than cut in half, the male 18-34 demo actually grew on ESPN. NBC’s last Breeders’ Cup race in 2005 attracted 1.139 million 18-34 men. Last year, ESPN and ESPN2 reached 1.401 million men with its coverage.

“Horse racing organizers are sensitive to their aging demo,” an ESPN insider said. “They’re pleased to see growth in that younger demo.”

Unless the increase in the number of young male viewers meant improved ratings or traffic numbers elsewhere, track attendance, or dollars wagered, losing half the audience seems like a poor trade. There may be some credence to the complaints about ESPN, with worrying implications for racing’s potential future growth — especially considering how closely the BC has tied its marketing efforts to ESPN (PDF).

Posted in Breeders' Cup on March 17, 2008

Petition Update

More than 130 racing fans have signed the Take Back the Race petition, including Barry Irwin, who found time after celebrating Visionaire’s Gotham Stakes victory to add his name. (Thanks, Mr. Irwin, and congratulations!) And over on Post Parade, Sue comes out in support. Well, partial support — she couldn’t bring herself to pledge no Friday wagering. But surely, you’re stronger — click here to sign.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on March 14, 2008

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