Advertising – Why Advertise in HRU?
Why HRU?
The most engaged readers in harness racing
HRU boasts a subscriber list of the most engaged readers in the sport. Just look at our average email open rates (those that opened the email) and click to open rates (those that clicked on the link to access the HRU issue) as logged by our email distribution company Constant Contact.
In 2024, our average open rate was 52 percent and our click to open rate was 29 percent.
HRU readers are engaged with the publication and like how they receive it – meaning your ads are not only being seen, they are being seen by those that are invested & interested in the sport.
You receive the best value for your advertising dollars because we reach and engage your potential customers directly wherever they are, anywhere in the world.
Targeted digital advertising is without question the most effective way to reach your ideal customers.
There is no better way to reach individuals actively involved in harness racing than through HRU.
Subscribers Are Up
Even as the number of participants in harness racing shrinks, HRU is growing.
As of January 2025, we have increased our net subscribers total by more than 2,600 (over 45 percent).
Our net subscribers total only shows a part of the picture:
Each month there are new subscribers, there are unsubscribes (individuals no longer working in the industry or no longer interested in harness racing news) and we also regularly remove subscribers that have not actively opened emails in the last 24 months.
| Year | New Subscribers | Unsubscribed | Removed by HRU | Net Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,287 | 272 | 118 | 897 |
| 2017 | 941 | 298 | 178 | 465 |
| 2018 | 1,750 | 347 | 1,291 | 112 |
| 2019 | 1,324 | 372 | 262 | 690 |
| 2020 | 1,457 | 457 | 922 | 78 |
| 2021 | 1,014 | 465 | 163 | 386 |
| 2022 | 752 | 508 | 26 | 218 |
| 2023 | 362 | 391 | 23 | -52 |
| 2024 | 226 | 326 | 52 | -152 |
| Totals | 9,113 | 3,436 | 3,035 | 2,642 |
We don’t artificially inflate our subscriber list with dormant subscribers, over 50 percent of our subscribers open HRU every edition.
Since 2016, we have removed over 3,000 inactive users from our subscriber list.
So while there was a net subscriber gain of over 2,600 subscribers . . . we have gained over 6,600 brand new readers and removed inactive users to proudly maintain the most engaged subscribers in the harness racing world.
Don’t believe us?
Ask any other publication to share these details with you as a potential advertiser.
Digital currency
HRU brings the best of a traditional print publication – award-winning feature stories, engaging columnists, stunning photography – together with the immediacy and convenience of the digital world.
Simply put, HRU is more timely than traditional print publications and more in-depth than traditional industry websites.
Plus, we support every piece of original content with an active and growing social media presence.
Your ad dollars support increased coverage
By making HRU free to subscribers, we not only have increased the audience for your targeted advertising message, but we also rely on your support both to keep HRU free and continue to improve the publication further.
Thanks to the support of advertisers like you, HRU has made a number of improvements in recent years:
- Improved our website look and functionality dramatically, allowing readers to find content more easily
- Regular additions of popular columns to an already strong editorial lineup
- Launched the HRU broadcast department with popular hosts Heather Vitale, Jami Fellows and Heather Wilder showcasing videos of 2-year-olds in training and reports from the sport’s major sales
- Improved the readability of our results section and brought back both race replays and TrackMaster past performance lines
The bottom line
Unlike association publications, HRU is an independent publication and therefore free to cover the sport from all angles.
There’s a reason more than 8,400 subscribers (and growing) have signed up to receive HRU. The publication gives them something they either can’t get elsewhere or can’t get as well.
These are your customers.
HRU is best positioned to help you reach them.
For more information, contact advertising director Wilma today!
Wilma Van Vaerenbergh
[email protected]
(519) 476-5571
