Keep Them Happy

by Ed Meyer

posted on August 5, 2009 in General Discussion | 2 Comments >>

Do you remember the times when going to the track to see the horses was enough to get you excited? I do, but the price of poker has gone up…

I have heard of tracks having camel races, jockey boxing, and the popular Beanie Babies when they were hot.. The calendar of events is starting to look like a carnival, and it is not a bad thing..

Give the people an entertaining outing. With 700 channels, mega-movie theaters, and so many competing entities competing for the dollar, you must be three steps ahead just to get a small share. It is tough out there..

The track I work at is doing a very popular “Weiner Dog Summer Nationals” event. This is Dachshund racing with cute little dogs running 20 ft to the owner at the other end. It is great!  We begin in April, and race until September. I have been working on this since January…..

Well, we are ready to have our 15th annual rite of summer; 100 doggies with names like: Whilamena, Snickerdoodle, and Zoe do battle. They race ten at a time, and the winner from each heat goes to the finals. They stand to win: dog food for a year, dog toys, and a trophy that has a weiner dog dressed as Elvis, mounted on a trophy with the inscription “King of the Weiner Dogs.”  What a day… Of the great racing during the year, this will be our biggest day. We have more families coming out to enjoy some racing, and it is our chance to showcase our product. Hopefully, they will see what a cool place this is, and they will return and have drinks with the neighbors.. Now, that is going the long way round the barn to attract new customers..

Give them what they want.. After all, they are the patrons..

I remember the all-time best screw up at a local track. They had “Morticians Night” and there were even coffins at every gate… Love it or hate it, I still remember the idea twenty years later…..