Thoroughbred racing is an intricate sport that has long daunted would-be fans or participants in terms of the level of knowledge required to follow along. Many of the biggest stars in the sport are now working to combat that perception by making use of free tools that boost their visibility, accessibility and ability to engage with the public.
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, and the racing industry is not immune. Many racetracks, farms and connections such as owners, trainers and jockeys use the tools to reach out to the public, providing a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse into the business.
“I’ve seen a lot more chatter between casual fans and industry professionals, especially on media like Twitter,” Penelope Miller, social media manager for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said. “You get a lot of insight — with owners and trainers tweeting or posting pictures on Facebook — into the day-to-day life in the training barn, a lot of what goes into taking care of these horses as a living. People can see that they’re not just taken care of on a random Saturday; there’s a lot of care and hard work that goes into it.”
The unprecedented levels of accessibility can allow fans to make a more personal bond with a horse or its connections. During champion Uncle Mo’s racing career, the colt’s official Facebook page was followed by more than 8,000 fans, many of whom sent personal messages about how they began following racing because of the colt or were inspired by him.
“We’d have people writing about how he brightened up their day because they had been in the hospital,” said Kelly Wietsma, president of Equisponse, a leading marketing and public-relations firm that has provided its services to many prominent personalities in the racing industry.
Wietsma encouraged jockey Rosie Napravnik, who earlier this year became the first female rider to win the Kentucky Oaks, to launch a Twitter account because of the opportunity to connect with fans.
“Whether you’re a little girl who aspires to be a jockey or a huge fan of one of the horses that she rides, it’s being in touch in a way you’ve never been able to with the athletes,” Wietsma said. “And that’s true of an MLB player or a football player — it applies to all sports.”
One prominent racing entity making use of Twitter as a breaking-news format is Zayat Stables, whose grade I winning colt Paynter has been battling illness for several months. Rather than issuing press releases, Ahmed Zayat and his son, Justin, have taken to their personal Twitter accounts to post updates on the colt and to answer fans’ questions.
“We are doing this for his fans,” Justin Zayat wrote in one update.
The Zayats posted detailed updates on a near-daily basis from the time Paynter initially developed a fever in July, to a battle with colitis and laminitis, to surgery in early October, and to his release for continued recovery.
“The Zayats’ saga with Paynter this summer and their absolute transparency on how the horse is coping with his various illnesses and their willingness to talk to the public — it’s an unbelievable amount of accessibility and clarity to those who otherwise wouldn’t have that advantage,” Miller said.
The impact of social media in racing was perhaps never more visible than when I’ll Have Another, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, arrived in New York for his attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. He made the bid in a changed media landscape. When Big Brown captured the first two legs of the series in 2008, Twitter, still in its nascent stages, had 3 million registered users. In May 2012, that number had swelled to more than 500 million.
After the Derby victory, I’ll Have Another’s team contacted Wietsma for public relations support.
“I tell all my clients, ‘You think it’s crazy once you win the Derby; wait until you’ve won the Preakness,’” Wietsma said. “The media frenzy escalates to the Today Show fighting over you with Good Morning America. It goes through the roof. ... If you have the only horse in the world capable of winning the Triple Crown [in a given year], if you have that, then you have the world on you. You could have a full-time person just managing nothing but Facebook and Twitter. That’s the kind of following.”
Trainer Doug O’Neill’s team had already established an official Twitter account for I’ll Have Another prior to the Derby and continued to post updates and messages to fans throughout the Triple Crown run. O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez were also active on the platform.
The run came to an end when the colt was scratched from the Belmont Stakes with a tendon injury the morning before the race, and the Twitter account, which has over 7,700 followers, has been largely silent since the colt traveled to Japan, where he will enter stud next year. However, the torch has been passed. The team currently maintains an account for stakes-winning juvenile Know More.
“To me, it’s the biggest tool that we in the industry have to help grow the sport and engage new fans,” Miller said. “You can go one-on-one with people who may have a passing interest in the sport and really are able to draw them into the world that is Thoroughbred racing.”