Page 18 - March 2005 The Game

18 The Game, March 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
How to Treat the Media,Woodbine Style
By Peter Gross
Right off the top I have to lay my cards out. This is about Glenn Crouter and John Siscos, the two guys that members of the media will deal with most when writing or reporting on the thoroughbreds. And I really like these guys.
For the past several years, every trip to Woodbine has meant a visit to the media office on the sixth floor and I am always greeted with a warm smile. Well, actually, a lot of the times, it’s better than a warm smile. Knowing Glenn and John has meant that my life has been enriched on a month-by-month, year-by-year basis with free t-shirts, caps, pens, pads, souvenir calculators, watches, sweat- shirts, not to mention countless free meals (though, I guess I did mention it).
So as much as it might benefit The Game to have a hard-hitting scandal- filled, character assassination type profile of Glenn Crouter and John Siscos, it’s not going to happen. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Or gives you free racing forms.
However, to maintain some shred of journalistic credibility, at the end of this article, I will reveal embarrassing truths about each gentleman.
Glenn Crouter is the boss of the Media staff. His title is Vice-President of Media and Community Relations. Under Crouter’s authority, Bruce Murray runs the Standardbred media relations and John Siscos deals with the Thoroughbred bunch. They are all assisted ably by Chris Lomon, Sandy Hawley, Jeff Renton and office boss Christina Barth.
For a horseracing company that has changed its stripes dramatically since the early 90s, Crouter is the guy in the right place at the right time. He certainly came to the track with a full grasp of what was going on in the world of electronic broadcasting. When first approached just over nine years ago by Woodbine, Crouter was working for CFRB, subbing for his father, the legendary Wally Crouter and hosting his own weekend morning show. In this capacity, Crouter had seen firsthand just how poorly the media could be treated by the major sports interests in Toronto. So when Woodbine CEO David Willmot asked Crouter to run a com- bined Thoroughbred/Standardbred department, Crouter had some creative energy.
“I felt there was a void in this city,” begins Crouter, “The guys who were running the other sports operations sometimes treated the media like pains in the ass.”
Glenn’s right. The Maple Leafs never sent me a free puck.
“My goal from the beginning was to embrace the media,” he continues, “We needed to let them know that
racing was a great product to cover.”
Glenn Crouter
Guys like me didn’t need much persuading, but Crouter knew there was a fringe crowd that was just waiting for a little push.
“John Derringer of Q107, Roger Ashby of CHUM,” Crouter starts to rhyme off the names, “Ted Woloshyn CFRB, Don Landry and Gord Stellickat The Fan, John Oakley AM 640, Bill Cole of 680News. Humble and Fred at Mix99.9. They didn’t really know a lot about horse racing . Now we go into their studios live every Christmas and at the opening of each season.”
If you really want to see a guy busting his butt, follow Crouter around the week before Christmas. That’s when he becomes the sandwich man.
“Yeah, the sandwich run,” beams Crouter, “We deliver over 80 trays of sandwiches covering 40 radio and TV stations, as well as newspapers in the Toronto/Mohawk area.”
Crouter has clearly identified the number one item that connects all people in the media - Free Food.
As for John Siscos, in 1991 he had just graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor in Commerce. Barely out of his teens, Siscos was dreaming of working for a sports organization. So he wrote 50 resumes, addressed them to the Presidents and CEOs of every significant professional operation in North America. He got back a lot of rejections, even one from the Texas Rangers.
“It was nicely written,” Siscos recalls, “We will contact you if a position arises, and several years later, I pulled it out just to make sure and there it was, signed by the President of the Texas Rangers, George W. Bush.”
In the real world, Siscos also received a response from Woodbine. He was a summer placement in 1991 and made such an impression, he’s still there, now as Senior Manager of Media and Community Relations, Thoroughbred Division. Siscos‚ perpetual smile tells you there’s no other place he’d rather be.
“I absolutely love horse racing. The sport deserves all kinds of
John Siscos
attention. That’s why I’m so passionate about this sport,” he declares passionately.
Imagine if you loved sports, loved horse racing and for your job you got sent to Kentucky Derbys and Breeders‚ Cup races. That’s John Siscos’ reality.
“I’ve been to three Kentucky Derbys,” says John, who can rattle off every Breeders’ Cup he’s seen.
“I went to the 95 Breeders’ Cup when Cigar won his Classic. In 96, it was at Woodbine and the track had this mystical quality. It was like being in Neverland. In 98 I was at Churchill Downs when Awesome Again won the big race. In 99, I was at Gulfstream and that was Cat Thief’s Classic. 2001 was Belmont Racetrack for Tiz Now’s first Classic. 2002 I was at Arlington in Chicago and Tiz Now won again. 2003, I remember how hot it was at Santa Anita and in 2004, Lone Star was the track that most resembled Woodbine and it was a very big day for Canadians as Frank Stronach’s Ghostzapper won the Classic.”
Whew, I’m glad I didn’t ask him which Woodbine stakes races he’s seen.
The walls of the media office at Woodbine tell the story of John Siscos’ dream job. There’s a smiling Siscos with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Kylie Bax, Siscos with WWF Superstar Stacey Keibler, Siscos with Canadian Figure skating champ Jennifer Robinson. He’s also met Heavyweight Champ Lennox Lewis, and hockey stars Ed Belfour, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Ken Dryden.
Siscos says that his boss Crouter leaves him pretty well to his own devices. Not that Crouter’s day timer isn’t full.
“We like to think of ourselves as not just media friendly, but media ready,” insists Crouter. And he puts his mouth where his mouth is. Few local broadcasters have the funds to send a live reporter to every big race. Crouter goes to all the Kentucky Derbys and all the Breeders‚ Cups and he’s the reporter-at-large at no cost for anyone who needs him.
“I’ll call in to over 20 stations,” says Crouter, “These are morning shows or prime time afternoons.”
It’s all pertinent stuff: Crouter takes pains to emphasize the Canadian angle in every report, but he adds one incredible dimension with each phone call. Crouter has this extraordi- nary skill to make it sound as if your radio station is the only one getting his valuable information.
“If you want to have good relations with customers,” he explains, “Then treat them with respect because you want them to come back and speak highly of your company.”
About eight years ago, Crouter had a brainstorm. Recognizing that there was no single event in which all of the media could get together and let their hair down (or what remained of their hair) he organized the Festival of Racing Golf Tournament, which occurs the week before the Queen’s Plate. Now, just 7 years old, it has developed the reputation as the one golf event you must attend.
Crouter has pulled all the right strings to make the media feel special. Last year, thanks to his growing relationship with V-Tech, every golfer (150 of them) received a free cordless phone (mine is bedside and plays Lady Marmalade on each incoming call). Each of 18 holes on the course is sponsored, which means by the end of the day, most players have bags full of cigars, watches, golf balls, head- covers, exotic beverages, or (the lucky ones) phone numbers from the models who grace many of the holes.
The most important point of all this is that more than ever before, the media in Southern Ontario is embracing horse racing. But it’s even more than that. Crouter and Sandy Hawley make dozens of personal appearances each year, warming up the crowds at Kiwanis and Rotary clubs and livening up golf tournaments. Under Glenn Crouter, there is a buzz in this market about the game of horse racing.
So I guess I’ve buttered these guys up pretty good in the last several paragraphs. But you, the reader, have the right to know the good as well as the bad, to explore the dark underside of a seemingly bright and flawless situation.
So here it is. John Siscos, Senior Manager of Media, Thoroughbred Division can’t figure out what to do with his facial hair. Scrawny beard one week, moustache the next, then a futile attempt at a Van Dyke. There is no commitment, no permanent statement.
And Glenn Crouter, Woodbine’s Vice President of Media and community Relations. He wears braces. He’s 51 for Peteski’s sake! Braces!
Now you are fully informed.