So often we refer to the world of horse racing as an “industry.” Granted, its economic and commercial qualities are industrial by definition, but is this label a hindrance to the growth of the sport?
We recently stumbled upon a Business Day article focusing on a similar issue. 20 years ago, horse racing was the only form of legal gambling in South Africa. Today, it’s an industry unjustly grouped under the same regulations laws as casinos and slot machine operators- something the American horse racing is all too familiar with.
"It needs to be taken into consideration that the sport of horse racing employs 24 times more people [per million of gross gambling revenue] than casinos, so there is room to say we need to look at this differently from a mathematical gambling machine."
Rian du Plessis, chief executive of Phumelela, Africa’s largest horse racing betting company.
We’ve interviewed people in every facet of the sport- owners, drivers, jockeys, announcers, trainers, handicappers, etc. There's a familial quality to horseracing that takes it beyond the label of Industry. And, more often than not, that closeness and intimacy extends to the voracious fanbase. This distinction, we believe, is one of the driving factors behind the passion enthusiasm that makes this sport so great.
Here’s to the Sport of Kings.
