by Frank Cotolo

Part 1 is here.

Chariot racing thrived under the governance of Rome’s Emperor Caligula. He was its biggest fan and throughout his four-year rule it became the biggest entertainment attraction the vast Italian territories would ever host.

The phenomenon’s attraction appealed to the violent atmosphere of Caligula’s Rome. The young ruler’s appetite for outrageous versions of human wickedness in many areas of the culture were embraced by the population as they hailed their mighty leader’s quirks. So, when it came to chariot racing the great dangers were sensationalized as part of the action. No rules made every race a free-for-all life risk for man and beast.

The wagering public drooled at the possibility of their opponents’ drivers and horses collapsing in combat no matter what forms of injury ensued. Winning was the product of more than speed and endurance or driver strategies. Violence by the racing entities made the stakes higher and quenched the thirst of a blood starving audience.

These aspects of the sport were not products of the right tension but statistics showed their emotional remnants survived the ages. It is true today that the suspense element of Caligula’s unruly chariot races is still a fair lure to attract new harness racing fans.

In 2012 a study by professors John Solow and Peter Von Allmen verified that the likelihood of car wrecks increased viewership and that audiences increased near 6 per cent for each crash per program. The study also revealed viewership was not affected by the popularity of the sport’s stars, drivers.

Motorsports officials became concerned. They did not want the good chances of carnage to be a celebrated feature. But when the sport introduced new competition safety rules there was an immediate reaction. Many race outcomes presented what fans deemed “little drama.” Some drivers admitted the new restrictions affected their performances to the extent where race winners became foregone conclusions.

Fan surveys continued to show collision expectations persisted. Crashes still made up an important part of the TV ratings. I understood without doubt or question because every 9-year-old memory of playing with my Ben-Hur chariots included near-violent and destructive scenes. Those types of thrills swelled from other sources of entertainment like movies and comic books’ adventures.

The delicious anxiety of near-to-total annihilation is a natural blood-pumper and since the digital revolution in gaming it added direct participation. Playing popular racing games like Mario Kart, a player takes the impending disaster theme to the hilt and it is especially titillating since a player can crash endless times and only lose points in the process. That is also true for many online video games where violent action offers scenarios far from the comic visuals of the Mario clan. War games and gangster games glamourize brutality in authentic recreations of reality.

Is it any wonder boredom emerges in gamers when they become an audience for — dare I write it this way — a bunch of horses running or trotting or pacing in a circle? No less to risk money on an outcome? Let us face it: Horse racing survives on pari-mutuel wagering; winning or losing money as a spectator fuels the meaning for the competition (unless you are one of the minority of fans smitten with the equine species or some individualized elements in a particular theater for their talent).

Hunting for new fans is a reflection of a product demanding a strong approach to reaching a young generation. Proving this is the recent campaign by the United States military. It suffers a strong shrinkage in recruitment. Today it is engaged in a mass-media promotional push to attract young people to join its ever-shrinking population. The brilliant plan aims at the gamers’ generation. Gender does not matter because this current coming-of-age group is tech-savvy and approached adulthood having been raised in the digital age. The virtual skills of military technology are wildly expanding and should be well managed — in war and in peace — by the children of binary math.

But the target audience is also a gaggle of gamers. They command their action figures through a controller. And they wander through virtual action scenarios — wars even — honing their senses and loving it. The Pentagon is recruiting soldiers; people who work under the clouds of world conflict and deadly combat. Their YouTube commercials offer adventures as well as benefits.

The standardbred industry engaged top business promotional professionals in the mid-1990s. The goal was to address various routes that would entice a younger audience’s attitudes of the “old man’s sport” of harness racing. The promo professionals met with failure and cost the USTA far more money than the efforts generated. While I was an editor at a major standardbred magazine I championed the Caligula Angle aimed at youngsters. With help of some influential members of the standardbred community we attempted a theme that needs support again.