by Bob Carson

Editor’s Note: The USTA website is pleased to present freelance writer Bob Carson and his popular “Outside the Box” features. This monthly series is a menu of outlandish proposals presented with a wink — but the purpose behind them is serious. The views contained in this column are that of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the United States Trotting Association.

Bob Carson

In 1895, a San Francisco car mechanic named Charles Fey invented the slot machine. The machine, called the “Liberty Bell,” had three spinning reels with diamonds, hearts, spades, and one Liberty Bell (showing a crack) painted around each reel. If the player got three bells in a row, he hit the jackpot, receiving fifty cents in the form of ten nickels.

At first, people thought Charles Fey was loony. He wasn’t loony, he was leading. He wasn’t chasing. His goofy machines appear to have more attraction and staying power than horse racing.

The relationship between harness racing and casinos that feature Charles Fey’s contraptions is more dysfunctional than a fake reality TV show. Racing needs the revenue from casinos; casinos often need racing for political reasons. Aside from gambling, we have about as much in common as Lady Gaga and Ghandi.

Nevertheless, it is often suggested that harness racing follow the lead of slot machine engineers. The thinking is that harness racing should use the sights, sounds, smells, cues, placement and psychological principles that have made these metal machines both our savior and our curse. This might be like chasing the tail of an old dog. By the time we catch it, if we ever catch it, it will be a brand new dog.

Casinos realize full well that a new generation of gamblers must be cultivated. The next crop of gamblers will have grown up playing interactive video and computer games. The next generation of gamblers will never be content to just sit and stare at spinning cherries for hours on end. Slot machine and game constructors are hard at work catering to the generation that has developed their hand and eye coordination to the max. Casinos are doing R & D every day.

Autumn Ryan graphic

These forward thinkers, in effect our competition, will soon be introducing a new trend — slot machines that require skill. This introduction of a new platform in the casino business will not be difficult. Casinos already recycle the machines approximately every five years. Casinos know what harness racing seems to have a difficult time grasping — the same old product going round and round will eventually fall out of favor.

We should not chase. We should lead in the race to find customers that will be looking for more technologically sophisticated gambling options. And horse racing has some advantages that slot machines cannot duplicate.

One trend that holds great promise for harness racing is the model of linking several players together in competition. This innovative trend allows players to compete with each other. Players can compete as individuals or they may opt for competitive teams. Studies show that young people are drawn to communal games. The excitement of competing against a peer group enhances the experience. The ability to back up their skills with monetary rewards would ratchet up the intensity even more. The integration of a real-time, live competition with social networking is a potential gold mine. And the gold mine could be found at horse racing ovals.

The first order of business would be to hire game engineers to model a computer presentation worthy of the attention of people that spend much of their life looking at a tablet, cell phone or computer screen. Pilot programs would be run and analyzed until the gaming platform is launched. Building a new model in the gaming world can often be a long-term, costly proposition, but our rudimentary prototype could be child’s play compared to most new games.

Imagine this rather crude description.

A dozen gamers take on a new challenge. They try, Sulky Twelve point six, a new interactive game. The concept is rather simple; each day, races one through six at a designated racetrack will be their playing field. The players must deposit $25 into an account held by a third party (Racetrack? Betting site? Gaming site?). That puts $300 up for grabs.

Each player has until one hour before the first post to submit the order of finish — first, second or third — in each of the six races. Each winning horse will give them 10 points, each horse that comes in second will earn 6 points, and each third place pick will earn 2 points.

For example, if player Smith has correctly picked the perfect order in one of the six races, the player will be credited with 18 points on that race. A running tally of points that the dozen players have amassed will be displayed on race night and the points will be recalculated after each of the six races.

After the sixth race the player with the most points will receive $200. The second place player will receive $50. The host site will divide the $50 with racetracks and horsemen (and possibly local governmental coffers) for putting on the game. Basically this is a small, interactive handicapping tournament. This unique program for gambling on harness racing via internet gaming has plenty of ingredients to lure new fans and new money.

• A multi-player, gaming approach to wagering on harness racing would offer a reason for “players” to truly learn the intricacies of harness racing to find an edge to bolster their “play.” The idea of new people spending time studying a program to get an edge on their competition has been a serious problem for harness racing.
• A dozen or so players competing for points or money on a night’s racing program would result in gambling being less solitary and more of a social activity. In the twitter world, players could chat about why they made their horse selections, what went right, what went wrong, how they were unlucky. It would be just like the old days when guys in fedora hats and cigars explained why they never picked the wrong horse…”I wuz robbed!” Except these players would be people twittering, “I would have won except that the six horse in the fifth race got locked in and…”
• The costs of implementation would be small. We do not need to change harness racing, we just need to build a new platform that does not collide with what exists today. The downsides are virtually non-existent.
• The time frame of implementation would be short. Computer gamers can turn out incredibly complex games in a relatively short time. A harness racing interactive, gambling platform would be child’s play compared to Halo III.
• A new “buzz” in cyberspace can spread in a matter of minutes and the spread can be far, wide and deep. Should a communal harness race gambling platform take root, the benefits to our sport would be unbelievable.

I’d love to play. My thinking is simple. For $25, I would have fun making my choices. I might spend five minutes, or I might spend five days (getting the program, reviewing scenarios, reviewing past race replays, etc.) on the upcoming competition. I will only have to worry about a dozen other interactive players. I think I can beat them. I have a very good chance to win a few hundred dollars and a second place finish will let me play two more times for nothing. Watching the races on my computer on Friday will be exciting. Even if I don’t win, there is always next week.

Interactive harness racing would be a whole new world that could co-exist with our traditional footprint. What a blast. We just need a modern-day Charles Fey to get the wheels rolling.