Tuesday, October 13, 2009

If Wayne Gretzky was a Horse

Standardbred Canada, a harness racing site we all know, picked up Sea the Stars fever a bit ago. This horse was transcending breeds, like only a few do. "The Next Super Horse" was one of the titles of their stories. Anticipation was high for the Breeders Cup, or perhaps Dubai next year.

But the excitement was short-lived, as he retired. No more races for him, and we won't get to see him in North America, ever. In the words of the CDP's Vance Cameron: Boom, just like that; he's gone.

It brought me back to when I was a kid. I had heard about Wayne Gretzky, a young fella from Brantford, Ontario. He was supposed to be good. No one ever saw him, no one knew how he skated, or how he shot the puck, they just heard that he might be good. Everyone wanted to see him.

Take a look here. At age 16 or 17 in the pros.



Now picture if he retired after that goal.

Horse racing is one tough sport to market, folks.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's a good one: Fraser Downs first race tonight - Winner pays $237, exactor pays $96.

No wonder some people think it's all fixed.

Pull the Pocket said...

My goodness. I have to check that pool data. They probably had small pools tonight.

Anonymous said...

Most likely. I'm not saying it's a boat race, but it looks funny to the casual observer.

Most Trafficked, Last 12 Months

Similar

Carryovers Provide Big Reach and an Immediate Return

Sinking marketing money directly into the horseplayer by seeding pools is effective, in both theory and practice In Ontario and elsewher...