by the USTA Communications Department

Las Vegas, NV—The future of the USTA marketing efforts in social media, wagering, and racehorse ownership was the focus of the Communications/Marketing Committee on the first day of the USTA Board of Directors annual meeting Sunday (Feb. 26) at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Allison Conte, USTA social media/publicity manager, takes the Communications/Marketing Committee of the USTA Board of Directors through the new Harness Racing FanZone website.

Allison Conte, the USTA’s social media and publicity manager, showed the committee the plan for the USTA’s social media marketing efforts after the Association dissolved its contract with Converseon Inc. last September.

She said that the organization will focus on four “pillars”: SHARE harness racing content, WATCH races, WAGER on races, and OWN horses. Each pillar will be hosted on a redesigned Harness Racing FanZone website, which Conte showed the committee.

The new version of the site, www.harnessracingfanzone.com, will launch publicly later this spring.

The SHARE page, which is also the homepage, will remain as a hub for harness racing fans and participants to share their favorite parts of the sport. The WATCH page will include all USTA original video content-both current and historical-and links to live video at racetracks that offer it. The WAGER page will include carryover and Strategic Wagering information, tutorials for novice and intermediate handicappers, and a list of available advance deposit wagering sites on which to wager. The OWN site will include informational and instructional videos on how to become an owner, information on different types of ownership, and a list of fractional ownership groups that are accepting new clients.

T.J. Burkett, executive editor of Hoof Beats magazine and chair of the USTA’s Ownership Committee, showed the committee that the group attracted more than 200 contacts that expressed interest in owning horses. Burkett said the committee worked to provide information and answer questions for these contacts and put them in touch with USTA members to help them become owners.

He then showed how the USTA helped set up and market new owner educational events throughout the year.

Burkett also brought on three people to talk about three different groups the USTA helped to recruit new owners in 2016: Todd Haight, who spoke about the New Owner Seminar held last year at Batavia Downs that turned 26 attendees into at least two new local owners; Steve Oldford, who discussed the efforts by On The Deck Partners in south Florida to attract new high net-worth owners through its series of open-house events; and Anthony MacDonald, who gave an update on his fractional ownership group, TheStable.ca, which went from 77 partners on 22 two-year-olds in 2016 to more than 200 partners on 41 two-year-olds in 2017.

“The USTA Ownership Committee is built to help market and support programs created by you at your track or your farm,” said Burkett. “All of these speakers took the bit and saw the importance of attracting new owners. We want to be a part of that.”

USTA/Mark Hall photo

John Ford, CEO of BetAmerica, shows the committee that handicapping contest players also help raise same-day pari-mutuel handle.

John Ford, CEO of BetAmerica, showed the board how hosting handicapping contests can boost pari-mutuel handle at racetracks. He showed figures of some 200 percent higher pari-mutuel handle by handicapping contest players compared to all harness racing players on their website.

“BetAmerica’s year-to-year growth in pari-mutuel activity on harness tracks with contest offerings outpaced growth on tracks with restricted content,” he said.

BetAmerica has also partnered with Meadowlands Racetrack to sponsor this year’s World Harness Handicapping Championship, set for April 29.

Ellen Harvey, director of Harness Racing Communications, gave her annual report of the publicity efforts at the office she shares in Freehold, N.J., with Ken Weingartner. Harvey said her team was responsible for two stories that reached a national audience. The first was a story about 40-year-old Standardbred Waco Hanover and his caretaker, Donnie MacAdams. A segment appeared in Jan. 2017 on “CBS Sunday Morning.”

After its airing, it was shared 5,632 times on Facebook, was liked more than 14,000 times, and recorded 781 comments. The story was later picked up by the Boston Globe Metro section and a local television news affiliate in Burlington, Vt.

“We got all this from one tip from five years ago,” said Harvey.

The second story was an appearance at Freehold Raceway by Richard Roth, a foreign affairs correspondent for CNN. He learned to call a race from announcer Ken Warkentin, which appeared on CNN in May 2016.

Harvey reminded the committee members that her office is standing by to help promote their events or help share their stories with the media.

“We can’t find all these good stories ourselves,” she said. “I really want to know if you have a good human-interest story, let me know and it makes my job easier.”

The general session of the USTA Board of Directors Annual Meeting will convene Monday (Feb. 27) at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Highlights of the session include elections of USTA president, chairman and vice chairman. To watch the live stream of the General Session, click on the banner near the top of the USTA website home page at www.ustrotting.com and to view the full agenda please click here.