The Jockey Club has released an update on action it is taking based on recommendations from the McKinsey and Company report unveiled at the Round Table conference in August 2011.
The Feb. 1 progress report called “Building Sustainable Growth” focuses on communications, a televised racing series, alternative television properties, a new website for Thoroughbred racing, a free-to-play game, a social game, a race scheduling tool for racing offices, new tools for Thoroughbred ownership, and an integrated customer relationship management system.
The Jockey Club said it plans to distribute “periodic updates to keep the industry apprised” of progress on the recommendations. The organization also said it will re-engage McKinsey and Company “to measure and report on our overall progress as an industry.”
On the communications side, NTRA Communications, which was expanded in 2011 with assistance from The Jockey Club, has been successful placing stories in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Bleacher Report, according to the progress report.
The televised racing series leading up to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) was finalized and released earlier. But The Jockey Club also is working on “multiple television programming options that have the potential to attract new racing fans and bettors.” The organization has committed $100,000 to fund “preview reels” that will be used to pitch networks on racing coverage.
The Wolper Organization and Content & Co. have been selected for the project.
The CRM system is a joint project between InCompass, a Jockey Club subsidiary, and North Gaming, which already has racetrack clients. The Jockey Club said the CRM system “would be the first part of a broader strategy to provide a range of consulting services to racetracks.”
The full progress report is available here.