One master scheduler for North America could save harness racing

by Dave Briggs

We know that handle is the lifeblood of harness racing, that handle is down and that means the sport is slowly bleeding out. Driving handle in today’s hyper-competitive gambling and entertainment environment is challenging and is often the ability to properly schedule races as much as anything. So, what if harness racing hired a master scheduler and gave that person the power to control exactly when all the major North American tracks raced?

The chances of there being a commissioner for all of harness racing have always been slim given that the sport is a series of fiefdoms – most notably state and provincial racing commissions and track owners. But, if it was in the financial best interests of all the major tracks to cede just the scheduling part of the equation to one individual, the chance of growing handle for all is infinitely more possible.

Leave the tracks to run every part of their operations except when the races are scheduled. Leave the commissions to regulate the rules of the sport. Leave the master scheduler to act as an air traffic controller and determine exactly when every race should go off to avoid other signals and attempt to grow handle for all involved.

The obvious person for this job is Gabe Prewitt, who has grown handle at Pompano, Scioto Downs, and Hoosier, in part, by ensuring his tracks find the sweet spot in both the yearly and daily schedule. All major tracks could kick in an equal share of his salary and then also tie part of his compensation – shared evenly – to a bonus for each track that he helps grow handle. Therein lies the benefit for every track.

Even the casino tracks wouldn’t say no to growing the handle from the racing product they all too often view as the albatross around their gambling necks.

Yes, you still need full, competitive fields. Yes, you still need compelling wagers that grow pools. Yes, you need someone that thinks like a bettor and appeals to them.

But a master scheduler would take all that into account for all tracks, not just their own, to produce a viable North American harness racing product that can produce the most handle by focusing most on those tracks best equipped to drive it.

Yes, that also means tracks will have to give up some control – and therein lies the most difficult part.

If the master scheduler decides it’s best for The Meadowlands to race Tuesdays beginning at 3 p.m., for Hoosier to race from January through June or for Woodbine Mohawk Park to ensure it has races ready to go when the Toronto Maple Leafs head into the intermission between periods, so be it.

Not enough horses for a full field? Don’t card that race. Instead combine horses into fewer races with fuller fields because racing short is clearly a detriment to handle.

Too many race dates? Consolidate them into fewer with higher purses.

Schedule races between the action of major sporting events.

Look to days like Christmas and Thanksgiving and other times when the sporting and entertainment schedule is lighter.

Race at unconditional times. Does it matter if you start a card at 10 a.m. if it grows the handle that keeps the game around for the participants?

Institute multi-track wagers.

The goal would be maximum flexibility for maximum fields, eyeballs and, ultimately, handle.

That includes being conscious of cards that run too long and lose bettor interest near the end. It will also involve analyzing the amount of time between races to find the sweet spot there, too.

Yes, I would love to eliminate post time drag, but that might not be practical with someone controlling an entire day’s worth of racing across the continent. Instead, just be honest with people about the expected time between races.

The goal is to have one person dictating when races go off to have them falling into the best possible slots throughout year, month, day, and night.

Then promote the entire thing as one North American harness racing product — with all tracks kicking in a share for the marketing.

Yes, this will also mean the live experience will suffer on most nights. But, if you’ve looked around at most tracks on the average night, it’s not like we’re packing them in. Save the fan experience for each track’s premier event days — Hambletonian, North America Cup, Adios, Hoosier Cup, etc. — and have the scheduler account for that in the schedule by having the other tracks augment, not compete with, those big-event days.

Grassroots racing at small and fair tracks would be unchanged and would focus on developing the next generation of participants and fans.

As for the major tracks, it would be all about coordination to maximize every dollar. Yes participants are going to have to be flexible, but growing handle has to be the first priority.

The sport’s sustainability depends on it.