Topic of the Week A weekly panel of racing media, racing industry reps, and fans address topics of interest and importance pertaining to the horse-racing game This Week: The Gender Gap Real or Imagined? Is the horse-racing fan-base male-dominated and, if so, what can we do to change that?

Gender Gap: Real or Imagined? Is the horse-racing fan-base male-dominated and, if so, what can we do to change that?

It’s not unusual to hear or read the media portray a racetrack or OTB this way:

• "... they can't seem to shake their image as haunts for cigar-chomping old men in plaid sport coats"
• You'd think the place had a sign that said 'no women' as all the bettors were men."
• "There are virtually no women in the grandstand or clubhouse. The gift shops' only customers are cigar-buyers."

• Why aren’t there more female fans?
• What can the industry do to attract more female fans?
• Can racetrack, OTB and simulcast facilities be made more appealing and attractive to female fans?
• What made you a horse-racing fan and what holds your interest in the sport?

Debbie Arrington Sacramento Bee Thanks for the opportunity on a topic near and dear to my heart. I grew up around the track, escorted by my grandmother who came from a racing family. Being a girl at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park in the 1960s seemed liked the most natural thing in the world. As a kid, all my heroes were horses. Their pictures plastered the walls of my room. They were four-legged legends. That's what hooked me on horses for life. As racing moved into the OTB, the romance surrounding the sport drained away as the on-track experience became secondary to handle. It's hard to capture the pageantry and beauty of racing on a tiny TV screen. Without that on-track reinforcement, many potential female -- and male -- fans drifted away to other sports interests. Horse racing now is playing catch-up in its attempts to capture the female audience. NFL boasts almost 50 percent women in its fan base. NASCAR has 42 percent. At Thoroughbred tracks, men outnumber women three to one. At simulcast centers, make that almost nine to one. Yet, women have a natural affinity for horses and an interest in racing, particularly the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown. Viewers of Bloodhorse.com are 52 percent female. Contributors to Barbaro chatrooms were overwhelmingly women. The reason for this disconnect between track and interest? For women, it's not about the money. Gambling -- the driving factor in simulcasting -- is secondary to sentiment. Women are more interested in the heart-warming tale surrounding a particular horse, jockey or trainer than the odds. This is true in other sports. Newspaper research shows male readers of sports sections want numbers: scores, odds, statistics. Results are always the bottom line. Female readers want personality and back story. They want to get to really know an athlete or coach; what he or she is like at home, away from the game. What makes them tick? This works with horse racing, too. To reach women, play up the sport's stars. Promote charismatic jockeys and trainers; they're around more than one Derby season. When a genuine four-legged star comes along, ride it for all its worth. Bring back the romance of the sport's natural beauty and flair. Once women fall in love (again), racing will have their hearts forever. You can bet on that. Debbie Arrington... Sportswriter for the Sacramento Bee. Debbie's beat includes NoCal horse-racing. She is a member of the National Turf Writers Association.

Cindy Pierson Dulay Eclipse winning photographer Horse-races.net/Horseracing.about.com I first started going to the track in 1987 and I would say there are more female fans now than then, but there have always been more women at the track than they like to admit. Sure, many of them are probably only there to watch the races and not bet, but they could probably be enticed to wager if someone took the time to try and convert them. It may be because most of the time I am at tracks for big events, but I always see lots of women in the grandstand and clubhouse, close to half the people, and the gift shops always have customers for t-shirts and other souvenirs. You do see the old cigar smoking hard core bettors, but they usually hang out in specific parts of the track where they have quick access to the windows and are rarely in the clubhouse or grandstand seats. What got me hooked on racing was the horses. I was horse-crazy as a kid and when I got older and made my first trip to the track, I got hooked. This is likely the way to get more women hooked as women traditionally like horses. Get them to come for the horses then work on getting them interested in betting. Maybe have seminars for women taught by women to help them learn about betting so they won't be intimidated. Play up the pageantry and the beauty of the horses and then work on getting them to bet. Cindy Pierson Dulay... Writer and photographer for Horse-Races.Net and Horseracing.About.com. She was the winner of the 2004 Eclipse Award for Photography and has been covering horse racing for over 10 years. Mary Shepardson Del Mar, Director of Publications I’m fortunate to be plying my trade at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Our track is one of the very few that attracts a balanced crowd of men and women, and is one where women are likely to come on their own or with other women, rather than only when being brought along by a husband or boyfriend. Our challenge here is primarily to convert our female visitors into racing fans rather than to attract women in the first place. Newcomers’ seminars and events, including those aimed primarily at women, ensure their experience is as positive as possible. Many female fans – typified by regular posters in Del Mar's Chat and Fan Forum as well as by my own experience -- were horse enthusiasts before they became racing fans or horseplayers. As a small child, I clipped out pictures of horses from newspapers and magazines and followed the careers of well-known Thoroughbreds, along with horses of many other breeds. My first visit to the track was as a young teen, attending a charity fundraiser at Del Mar with my family. I was fascinated. Later I attended the track with a friend who was a fan and took a fascinating course in "Thoroughbred Horse Racing for Recreation" in a college extension program. (The "final" was a trip to the track where we could try out our newfound handicapping skills.) Playing on an interest in horses could certainly be a key to drawing women into racing, but the environment needs to be welcoming and demystified for them to keep coming back. This doesn’t necessarily mean linen tablecloths and decorative chandeliers, but a friendly and un-grubby environment where they feel safe coming alone or with friends. Classes and seminars, especially lead by other women, can break through the wall of complexity that surrounds handicapping and wagering. For that matter, a comfortable environment and keys to the "mysteries" of racing wouldn’t hurt in bringing new, younger male fans into the game as well. Mary Shepardson... Director of Publications at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, where she has worked in various capacities for almost 18 years. She started as 'society publicist,' working with charity groups, primarily made up of women, holding fundraisers at the track. She now is responsible for desktop publishing and overseeing Del Mar's popular web site.

Georganne Hale Maryland Jockey Club, Dir of Racing/Racing Sec I believe horse racing is a male dominated industry. I think you see more and more women making careers in racing. Trainers, vets, jockeys, owners, outriders, and racing officials. I do not think we are growing any women as gamblers and bettors. It still seems to be a man's world in that aspect. I think we need to make it more enjoyable for women to come to the races, have dinner, and enjoy themselves. I will say what we have done here at Laurel park, and it has been very successful in drawing more women to the races, is having DIVA DAY. On Diva Day we had a panel of three women in racing and they answered questions from a group of 30-40 women who paid for lunch and a day at the races. The women are also taken to the winner's circle, taken to the start of a race, to the paddock, and to the jock's room. They were taught how to handicap races and bet. They loved it! Hopefully that will keep being popular with the women. Georganne Hale... Director of Racing and Racing Secretary for the Maryland Jockey Club, Laurel, Pimlico, & Timonium Race Tracks. Georganne has worked in the racing office since 1984. She began her career as an assistant horse identifier. Raised in the racing world, her father was a trainer and her mother was a show rider. Jennifer Morrison Freelance writer and handicapper Racing blogger When I came from the backstretch to the press box in 1989 as the handicapper for a Toronto paper, I brought with me a passion for horses, racing and handicapping. At that time, a woman in racing, in particular the press box, was almost considered a joke. I was not taken seriously It is different these days at the track, certainly, but the grandstand still lacks women. And getting a woman to the track is difficult. I think the magic of the horses and the personalities are a draw but getting women to bet is another story. What I do know is that, as a host of handicapping seminars at Woodbine, women are just as eager to learn the techniques of handicapping as men, it's just a matter of teaching. The DRF and stats of a horse race are intimidating. Let's show women that combining the beauty of a racehorse and the details of picking a winner is an irresistible way to spend an afternoon. Jennifer Morrison... A freelance racing writer and handicapper in Toronto. Jennifer maintains the racing blog Thorough-Blog.

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