"Sameness"

It was announced that Hollywood Park was closing down at the end of the year.  The southern California racing meet will now, apparently, be split between Del Mar and Santa Anita.

One of the unique aspects of thoroughbred racing is different meets. It allows both your customers and your horsemen to start fresh, and it is a part of the thoroughbred racing brand, in California and elsewhere. Kentucky racing is not Kentucky racing without a Keeneland meet. New York racing is not New York racing without Saratoga.

Tom LaMarra summed this up with a tweet tonight, that I thought was pretty sharp.

One issue with Hollywood closure is it will create monotony. (See PA). The public rejects it. KY has issues, but the 5-track circuit key.
— Tom LaMarra (@JerseyTom) May 9, 2013

I am not sure those who are analyzing the loss of Hollywood Park have thought about this. Without Hollywood there is a "sameness" for your customers and horsemen. I believe, like Tom, it can hurt your brand, and cost you revenues.

Notes:

This weekend in Harness Racing Update, there will be a story on "Why Thoroughbred Players Do Not Look at Harness Racing". Hint: One of the complaints was about "sameness". To the people who participated (the response to the question was huge), thanks for helping out. I think it turned out to be a really interesting piece. If you want to sign up for Harness Racing Update, you can here. It's free.