T8 Racing is building a new audience for horseracing and that includes children

Horseracing in South Africa offers opportunity and can, in my opinion, unlock enormous economic growth going forward. While the operators, investors, and administrators work out their plans we (Triple 8 Racing) believe the sport must also find solutions to issues that sport businesses around the world are dealing with. One of these key issues concerns children. Modern sport businesses relentlessly target young fans for the simple reason that they are the base for the survival and growth of sport.

For Triple 8 Racing the development of a young fan base is a priority. Currently, many racing events in SA have a no under-18s policy and this needs to be addressed. To run no under-18s racing events and then attempt to target fans when they turn 18 makes no sense. Other sport and entertainment businesses are working relentlessly on acquiring young fans from the earliest possible age. T8 Racing does the same for horseracing as it simplifies the sport and turns jockeys and horses into global heroes. Triple 8 Racing events are family friendly (which is also a key attraction for corporates and sponsors) and caters for fans of all ages. The standard short-format and team-based structure is designed to appeal to racing virgins.

There are two ways in which sport businesses aim to build a new fan base. Firstly, they strive to make their stars heroes for young fans. Children are most likely to follow a sport when they recognise and admire individuals within that sport. The Rugby World Cup of 2019 provided a plethora of new heroes for Springbok rugby with Siya Kolisi being at the forefront of engaging with a young, passionate fan base. The second way in which sporting bodies strive for engagement is through participation. Sport entities and sport businesses want children playing their sport. Mini cricket, school soccer, swimming, inter-school athletics, inter alia, all provide opportunities for attracting new fans as they learn to understand and enjoy the sport through participation. Sporting bodies know that very few children who participate in their sport will go on to become professionals, but they invest in grassroots programmes because these lead to the growth of the fan base.

Make no mistake, the fight to gain the attention of the youth market is increasingly intense. Gaming, social media, streaming, and a vast array of internet options can all be used to build a sporting brand but without heroes and active participation these tools will have limited success.

Ideally, the attraction of powerfully branded heroes and participation in a sport is combined and used to attract children. Horseracing does neither. Arguably, in many horseracing countries, while there are children who are fans of the sport, lots of these children are related to adults who work in the industry. Compare that to football in Europe, cricket in India, or motor racing around the globe where only a miniscule number of fans will be directly involved in the sport. Most fans for professional sporting teams come from outside of the industry. Many will have played the sport when young. Basketball, baseball, and football, in the USA have deep rooted community ties through schools and universities. It could be argued that professional soccer in the USA only succeeded in getting off the ground (after an initial failure) when the grassroots kids and women’s leagues found strong support.

Over the last 10 years racing events in South Africa have struggled to maintain or grow their numbers (the Durban July being the usual exception). However, the Gauteng Summer Cup grew exponentially over the last 5 years. The decision to make it a family friendly day with entertainment including a carnival and half time show before the main race attracted thousands of people who had never attended a racing event.

When it comes to families, children, and corporates, this is what the T8 Racing picture will look like; family friendly venues, children focused entertainment, and fans completely focused on the sport itself. Kids must want to wear their T8 Racing team shirts with their hero’s names on the back (the jockey on the team that they adore). The best horses must be household names. The entire T8 Racing experience will make companies feel that this is something they want to be part of.

However, as outlined above, this will not be enough to build a sustainable fan base. Participation is key and T8 Racing will run Tiny 8 Racing and Teen 8 Racing training and racing leagues for children in every country in which it operates. Weekend mornings will see official T8 Junior leagues being run with children riding ponies and learning the basics of riding. Parents want their kids to be active and healthy, and off their devices. Getting children to learn basic horse-riding and horse care from as young as possible through active participation is imperative. Running 100m races on ponies for the Tiny 8s and longer races for Teen 8 Racing in local communities will build a base for the growth of the sport. Kids will progress gradually to riding in short races on teams in team-based leagues representing their teams and schools.

Broadcasters, sponsors, and investors want to see fans fighting for the sport they love. It begins with fans. And T8 Racing is built for a new audience of fans who can participate and enjoy the sport from before they can walk.