Artificial intelligence may not be able to replace human intelligence, but it does provide a troubling signpost and a brutal warning for horse racing administrators around the world.
As racing struggles to attract the younger generation, compete with cashed-up rival sports and find a progressive and sustainable road map for the future, officials could do worse than plug a few simple questions into ChatGPT.
That’s exactly what we did and this is what we asked our friendly AI tool to do: “Act as a consultant to the horse racing industry and identify what the challenges are of racing getting a younger demographic, contrasted with other sports, and summarise why racing often hasn’t been successful in this.”
The response came within seconds and the laundry list of issues was stark, blunt and powerful.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
As the rusted-on racing types pooh-pooh left-field innovations such as a proposed franchise-based global league designed to “hero” jockeys, artificial intelligence hit the nail on the head as it pinpointed some of racing’s main challenges.
“A lack of centralised heroes and icons,” ChatGPT told us.
“In football or tennis, players are the brand.
“In racing, while jockeys and trainers are critical, they aren’t household names outside the sport.
“Horses, jockeys, and trainers are not promoted like sports stars.
“There’s no equivalent to a ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ or ‘Lewis Hamilton’.
“Horses have short careers and limited personality connection compared to athletes in other sports.”
ChatGPT’s landing page on a computer screen. Picture: AP.
• Show us the money: New global jockeys league hunts private funding
Another challenge was: “Lack of year-round narrative. Unlike football, basketball, or F1, horse racing lacks a cohesive season structure or storyline.
“There’s no ‘team’ or personality arc to follow consistently. Younger audiences are drawn to sports with continuous, easy-to-follow narratives and heroes.”
Other challenges included racing being “often perceived as elitist, traditional, or associated with older generations” and “racing has failed to capitalise on platforms that dominate the attention of Gen Z and millennials” as well as “major sports leagues invest heavily in short-form video, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and gamified content”.
“Racing’s social media presence is often fragmented, outdated, or unengaging.”
If that wasn’t chastening enough, AI then spotlighted why racing may be struggling to keep pace with other sports.
It found racing’s digital media was “sporadic and poorly targeted”, there was little gamification (racing apps are mostly for betting), it had “little presence in youth culture” and was “often reactive, not proactive” in addressing issues that younger fans care about.
ChatGPT summarised that racing had major issues including a “lack of a clear, modern identity”, a “failure to innovate digitally” and an “underinvestment in talent marketing.”
• Comeback king set for Melbourne Group 1 spring riches
So what to do about it all?
This is what the AI platform suggests:
“Content: Invest in creator partnerships, short-form video, and behind-the-scenes series.
“Narrative: Simplify and gamify the racing season to create storylines and rivalries.
“Technology: Develop interactive apps not focused solely on gambling.
“Ethics: Take a leading stance on animal welfare and transparency.
“Marketing: Rebrand racing days as experiences, not just betting events.”
Artificial intelligence might be taking over the world, but it can’t be the magic elixir to every issue.
However, with many race clubs and racing organisations seemingly preoccupied with self-interest, focusing on their own little patch and not worrying too much about innovation or luring the new young crowd, the big picture that AI spits out when asked about racing’s challenges is indeed a cautionary tale.
The Everest has been a winner for racing. Picture: Getty Images
• Japanese Group 1 winner set for Golden Eagle tilt
So here’s some homework to finish with.
Go and whack this into ChatGPT: “Why has The Everest in racing been a success amongst a younger audience?”
Perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel if you have forward-thinking and innovative racing officials prepared to take a chance and catapult the code into the future rather than being stuck in the past.