Page 103 - April 2017

Chairman of the AQHA Rac
AQHA Chief Racing Officer Janet VanBebber
“We’re really doing a better job with that,” VanBebber said of Q Racing’s Facebook page. “I think all of us know that that’s where you need to be right now. People are on their phones constantly, all day long, checking social media, and I think we’re having a broader scope.”
Part of the broader scope has included the translation of several racing articles from Eng- lish to Spanish. The translated articles are then posted on the AQHA Española website, giving AQHA yet another way to reach potential new racing owners and fans.
One group that is focusing exclusively on bringing new people into the fold is the Next Generation Initiative Subcommittee.
“The Next Generation folks are more in tune with social media and things like that, that you can reach people and do things with limited bud- get,” Childers said. “They are tapping into some of our resources that have been around—the question-and-answer program with Russell Har- ris that they just kicked off—to have a resource for people to get answers. Why reinvent the wheel if you can learn something from the people that have been around and utilize that experience?”
Called “Been There, Done That,” the vid- eos, which will feature racing industry veter- ans, will eventually be available on the AQHA website and will be shared on social media.
“It’s an opportunity to ask a seasoned, successful professional a few questions that a beginner might ask,” said VanBebber, who in- terviewed Harris for the inaugural video during the Convention. “We’re going to tap into other people like that and get a few of those going.”
VanBebber hopes the videos will appeal to young professionals, who might have an inter- est in racing but do not know where to turn to find answers to their questions.
“While the kids are important, and it’s critical that we develop that interest in our industry at an early age, it’s also important that we address the
AQHA Executive Vice President Craig Huffhines
30, 40, even 50 year olds,” VanBebber said. “The Next Generation Initiative is a little different.
It’s not just the kids we need to be grabbing, but it’s the people who have their careers going and may be interested in investing in a racehorse or investing in a partnership or there’s even these racing clubs that some tracks are doing. I’d like to see AQHA get involved in these marketing cam- paigns where we’re generating new interest and new owners and new participation into racing.
ON THE LOCAL LEVEL
In addition to actively seeking new members, the Racing Committee addressed supporting the industry’s existing members by providing more resources to affiliates through the Racing Affiliate Subcommittee. According to Childers, the Racing Committee heard from 14 different state affiliates at the committee meeting during the Convention. Many of those affiliates had participated in an af- filiate workshop during the Racing Conference that was held in conjunction with the Bank of America Challenge Championships at Los Alamitos last fall.
“It was well-attended, and everybody wants to make sure we do that again, so we will,” VanBebber said of the affiliate workshop in California. “In addition to that, AQHA is having an affiliate workshop here in Amarillo that’s for all disciplines, and they’re going to have a breakout session for racing.”
The Racing Affiliate Subcommittee also dis- cussed breed-specific model rules, and VanBebber indicated the affiliates were helpful in connecting their local racing jurisdictions with AQHA to start the conversation about medication rules.
Redefining the AQHA’s role in medication rules, enforcement, and disciplinary action has been a pri- ority since the Multiple Medication Violation Policy was rescinded last year. Rather than acting as a regu- latory body itself, AQHA is developing partnerships with various racing jurisdictions to work in tandem with the agencies that oversee the racing industry.
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status of the program. The toughest problem we’re having, in order to move forward with this com- mittee, is we’re waiting on queries in-house that will tell us some of the things that we need to look at in an up-to-date fashion, such as geographic rep- resentation between those that nominate and the actual participation that we’re getting in the races.”
VanBebber was not the only one to point toward the limitations of AQHA’s current computer system in generating the data the committees need to completely consider vari- ous issues. Several committees voiced similar problems with acquiring the desired data from the current system. On the good side, AQHA Executive Vice President Craig Huffhines
has indicated the association’s new computer system is close to completion, which should be a welcome relief for both staff and members.
SELLING OURSELVES
The Race Marketing Subcommittee dis- cussed the need to increase the racing industry’s marketing efforts in order to better attract new members. While AQHA unveiled a new mar- keting campaign last year entitled “You Hold My Heart,” racing industry participants felt the need for a campaign specific to the racetrack.
“We’re going to revise the ‘Dig in, hang on and let the dirt fly! America’s fastest athlete’ campaign, because we just think that that was really effective and specific to our discipline,” VanBebber said. “While we are aligned with other marketing campaigns the AQHA is doing, we also realize the great importance of doing something that is specific to racing. So, we’re go- ing to repurpose that for today’s marketplace.”
The Race Marketing Subcommittee also gave an update on its social media presence, primarily through Facebook. VanBebber indicated that, in the last 90-120 days, Q Racing’s Facebook page has gone from 5,000 followers to 15,000 follow- ers thanks to increased posting and interaction.
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