Horse racing is a sport that survived for generations, and today, it is in the best shape ever. It is a sport that probably your grandfather talked about while reading the day’s newspaper.
But times have changed. Horse racing is entering the 21st century with a couple of fundamental changes that might reshape the future of the sport.
If you look at horse racing 100 years ago, at first glance, there is not much that has changed. Yes, we have new technologies that make every race safer, accurate, and entertaining, but if we take a step back, you’ll see that the sport looks the same.
However, one thing that works behind the curtains of the sport has changed drastically. Yes, we are talking about the marketing aspect of the sport and the introduction of social media. On top of that, we have technologies that improve the entire process from watching a race to betting.
For example, you’d be able to see the previous winners of the Breeders’ Cup with just one click on the link here: https://www.twinspires.com/breeders-cup/odds/
Still, we are more interested in social media. Horse racing is a sport that is appealing to the older generation, and in order to survive, it needs to adapt and gain the interest of the younger generation. After all, they will be responsible for leading the sport in a couple of years' time.
The way you can do that is with social media! Let’s explore its impact on the Sport of Kings.
Social Media and Access to information
Horse racing might look the same, but it functions very differently from the past. Not too long ago, horse racing relied on traditional media outlies like television broadcasts and newspapers for updates, but that is a thing of the past.
Nowadays, you can find every information on social media. Even if you missed the Derby, you’d quickly know what happened only by searching for one thing.
This newfound access to information fosters a deeper connection between fans and the athletes they support, enhancing their overall experience of the competition.
Race organizers share important announcements on social media, on top of that, we have horse-oriented pages that cover horse racing content making every information easily accessible for the fans.
But that’s not all. Access to information also helps bettors make better decisions. So, social media not only makes the sport more accessible but also improves the overall betting process.
Enhancing Fan Engagement Through Social Media
In the past, you didn’t get much from sports. You can watch the athletes compete on TV or in person, and that’s about it. But nowadays, the situation is much different. Fans expect engagement and they like to be involved in the sport.
It is safe to say that if a sport doesn’t provide a way for fans to engage in discussions and share their opinion, the sport won’t survive.
Social media is definitely responsible for transforming fan engagement with sports. Organizers now have a tool to find out what the fans like or dislike and change things just to make the sport better.
Nowadays, people can follow certain teams, athletes, and sports organizations on social media, which offers a behind-the-curtain look at what they are doing and how they impact the sport.
All of this is crucial for making the sport more exciting to watch. Plus, if you feel passionate about something like horse racing, you’d want to engage in such conversions, and possibly have an impact on the sport.
Popularity of Horse Racing
Social media is one of the best ways to spread the word about something, in this case, horse racing. A video can have hundreds of millions of views, and there isn’t such a tool that has even near the same reach.
Horse racing in the past couple of years utilized social media to promote horse racing and gain new fans. Social media is one of the most useful tools for brand awareness.
Of course, this comes in the hands of organizers of horse races, and fortunately, most of them use social media quite effectively. For example, Churchill Downs, the organizers of the Kentucky Derby have paid social media influencers to promote the brand, even coming up with their unique emojis and AR stickers making the entire experience better.
The best thing about promoting horse racing on social media is the demographics. Social media is more used by the younger generation, which is the primary audience focus of horse racing. The sport needs young people to take it to the next level, especially since young people have started to lose interest in the sport recently.
Building Communities
We should never underestimate the power of a community, and social media is the perfect place to gather a bunch of people who share the same passion about something. Creating horse racing communities on social media can help the sport advance to a whole new level.
Some contributing communities can also have an impact on the rules of the sport, make necessary changes that will improve the overall popularity of the sport, and help it make horse racing future-proof.
It is always beneficial to have a strong community, after all, they have the power to change the sport for the better.
