RTIP Student Reports 2012 Global Symposium

Alexis Garske: Faithful handicappers are the cornerstone of our industry; without their support racing would be irrelevant. Horse players were surveyed to evaluate their satisfaction with the product offered. The findings identified both general and specific opportunities for the providers of wagering product.

Carl O'Connell: As in any sports industry, sponsorship plays an integral role in the success of operation of an organization or facility. This survey was conducted to identify what areas of the race track are available and currently used for sponsorship. An assessment of current sponsorship within the horse racing industry may identify new and untapped avenues to increase sponsorship revenue.

Matt Benton: Race programs across North America are filled with condition claiming races. More than 14,000 claim over five years were statistically examined to assess their profitability. Each horse was sorted and analyzed by two of the most commonly used claiming conditions (lifetime wins and state-bred status).

Rodney Nelson: Many racetracks hold promotions during live racing to attract additional customers and increase their exposure in the community. Racetracks across North America were surveyed to identify the different promotions they conduct and which of these are more successful.

Dougherty & Power: A joint effort between SISTA and RTIP, the interdisciplinary, action-oriented course involved students from both disciplines in projects meant to find technology-based solutions to the challenges. Two apps were developed through this collaboration. "Bet Buddy" is designed as an educational game where users move through levels, learning about the concept of racing, participating in races and learning the rules and terminology along the way. The second involved developing a game quiz and "fantasy racing" app which would allow users to follow and participate in virtual races, relying on a text-message-based voting system.