Watching, first, the Golden Globes, and, more recently, the Grammy Awards, we couldn’t help wondering why there couldn’t be the Golden Horseshoes or The Horsie- a black tie and red carpet global awards show for the best in horse racing for the year- and hosted in Hong Kong.
Why not, when, right now, many of racing’s black tie “gala nights” are seen by many who are coerced into attending as being as dreary as watching The Days Of Our Lives or studying the mating habits of penguins?
After watching the Grammys, we also couldn’t help wondering who might Get Lucky and be racing’s answer to Daft Punk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgjteE5iJrE
Topping the early Nominations from our end would be Australian trainer/party boy and self-styled Hong Kong wagering expert and know-it-all James Cumming, Sheikh Mo Rattle And Roll and Hong Kong’s own Andy “I am still a trainer” Leung.
Racing’s answer to the very twitchy and spasmodic moves of Lorde?
Leading the nominations is Darren Flindell having heard something else very weird from “Lucky” Davis which has given him a nervous tic.
Seriously though, horse racing- from a global perspective- needs a drastic image re-haul to lose the perception of it still being an addictive mug’s game with little “celebrity value” to attract the next generation of race-goers.
ONLY through them will come a new and more forward-thinking group of sponsors who, in turn, will bring with them bigger budgets, new ways of looking at naming rights and added value, making all those on-track presentations no one watches actually worth watching, and, very simply, pushing that creative envelope that will- ding dong- make the sport far more entertaining viewing- on and off the track.
Of course, we know ding dong racing executives who don’t wish to see that the wheel has been broken for years nor upset the apple cart by- gawd forbid- doing anything different.
After all, they’re busy counting the days before they ride off into the sunset singing Happy Trails with their ding dong satchels bulging with retirement packages for doing practically nothing.
However, surely, there are a few good men and women in racing out there who still take pride in their work and don’t wish to be known as being “useless” and continually dismissed as having no clout and, even worse, no internal fortitude?
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