Bob Carson

It’s hard to hear. It’s plain to see. Harness racing needs to grow. There are no magic bullets.

At the risk of being painfully obvious, reaping new fans should be top priority for our sport. This is not easy. It is not easy in any sport. Attracting new fans is a hard, laborious, complicated process where the positive results are incremental. It is a process that is vital to our existence. Technology is important. However, when it comes to digging out new fans, grass root connections remain the most effective tool.

Right now, many efforts at luring new harness race fans are like fishing in a tuna fish can with a fly rod. We should not waste our bait on the choir. We have to dedicate our resources toward the untapped ocean of people with disposable income who are susceptible to a game they have probably never heard of — harness racing. We have a great game for them to get hooked on.

We need to fish in new streams.

Autumn Schmidt graphic

The first step is to forget about our hard-core harness race junkies. They are hooked. They may whine, but they will stay. Miles Wolff, the guru credited with rejuvenating the niche sport of minor league baseball said to me once, “If I spend my time worrying about my few hundred regulars, I will soon be out of business.”

Next, let’s forget about the sports arena as a place to cast our nets; it’s too crowded with players who have already made their sporting selection. Instead of other sports and the converted — harness racing should pitch advertising, stories, blogs, books, films — everything and anything we think of, in new waters. Untapped waters like the business community, the political community, the arts section, the travel community, youth groups, u-tubers, bingo lovers, and retirees — people who do not know a sulky from a Subaru. These are the places we need to light a harness race spark.

A spark is not the final answer, not even close. These sparks have one purpose — to grow the casual fan base, to at least become a blip on the radar screen. Only when a person comes to the racetrack (or at least the computer screen) can we have any hope of starting the ultimate process — turning the first timer into a second timer, then to a very casual fan, then into a semi-casual fan, then a frequent fan and finally an avid fan.

So here is an old fashioned idea that has legs, real legs, six of them — a missionary and a horse.

Let’s assemble groups of enthusiastic harness race people and send them out to spread the gospel of trotters and pacers. Every local racetrack should have a stable of these people. There you go rolling your eyes again. Stop rolling your eyes, look ahead and think about becoming a missionary.

It begins when you get a call from the PR director or the NHRMF (National Harness Racing Mission Foundation) headquarters. You are given your assignments. Your audience tonight will be the fifty-plus club at the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. Next week you will be speaking at the Junior Kiwanis Club and the following week at the Friday Night Fish Fry for UAW workers local 407.

You find you love your calling. You are a true believer looking for converts.

You pull in with a horse trailer and a pacer named “ComeondownZ.” In the truck you have free vouchers for admission, free wagers, t-shirts and hats. You have a selection of DVDs to distribute with fascinating overviews of the sport and exciting races. You have local owners and harness race fans in the building or parking lot to offer testimonials. You give exhibitions on harnessing “ComeondownZ.” You give rides on the dual sulky. You tailor your exciting presentation to fit the specific needs of the audience. The audience can pet “ComeondownZ” and ask questions.

The free presentation is a wonderful diversion for any group. You hit the road every week. It’s hard to tell if you are effective, but it sure is fun for you and the audience. Some presentations will merely be pleasant diversions with no converts. But if we keep at it, sometimes, somehow, sparks will fly.

A fire will start.