When it comes to digital marketing, horse racing isn’t the first sport that comes to mind, and there is a good reason for that. Horse racing has always been a sport that shares a tight connection with history. Therefore, adapting to new technologies didn’t always go smoothly.

After all, we have a sport where not much has changed for hundreds of years, and we cannot expect organizers to jump on the fast-moving train of digital marketing and create their social media presence.

However, we have to say that we are surprised by the adaption of the horse racing industry to modern marketing trends, especially the big events like the Kentucky Derby. A 150-year-old event that is constantly following new trends, creating AR filters for fans on social media, building online communities, and more.

It is quite surprising, and to be honest, something that we can rarely see, not just in horse racing, but in all sports in general.

The horse racing industry has used digital marketing for a couple of reasons, such as:

• Gain more fans
• Share the message of horse racing
• Educate people about the sport

All of these things play a really important role in the world of horse racing and there isn’t any other medium like digital marketing that will allow organizers to bring horse racing closer to the people.

People nowadays can watch races online, analyze competitors, purchase shares from a racehorse, and observe the odds of placing a bet. Click here to learn more about how odds work in horse racing.

But does this mean that the transition from traditional advertising to digital marketing for horse racing was smooth?

Let’s find out.

Transition to Digital Marketing

Even though horse racing is a sport that is tied closely to history and tradition and many people expect races to be advertised in the newspaper, the sport advanced a lot in recent years. In fact, it is one of the most technologically forward sports that quickly adapts to new trendy technologies and uses them in order to attract more people.

The transition is quite simple. What would your digital marketing product launch strategy look like? Probably build a website, establish a social media presence, get in touch with influencers, SEO content on your blog, etc. Well, this is something that most horse racing events are already doing.

If you look at horse racing and how the races are organized, not much has changed over the last 100 years. However, the situation in their marketing department is quite different.

Big events like the Kentucky Derby have years of experience with digital marketing as they’ve started sharing content on social media, communicating with fans, building a user-friendly and responsive website, and even going to the point of incorporating AR and VR technologies into the race.

This is some next-level marketing, that we cannot see even in the most popular sports like soccer.

Bear in mind that not all horse racing organizers leverage the same digital marketing strategy. There are some racecourses that still face a tough time adapting to modern times, which we have to say is expected.

However, in general, most of the big prestigious horse racing events around the world didn’t have much trouble adapting to modern technology. In fact, the process was so seamless we didn’t even notice a change in the sport.

Benefits of Digital Marketing for Horse Racing

Brand Awareness

As you probably already know, horse racing isn’t only about the racing part of the sport. It is also about the brand, the feeling, the culture, the fashion, the food, and more. After all, horse races last for around 2 minutes, but they attract more than 100,000 spectators.

Some of the biggest horse racing events have always focused on building good brand awareness. Digital marketing is crucial for them to continue their brand story and reach more people.

Promote the Sport

Let’s get one thing straight. Horse racing is a popular sport, but we’ve seen a decline in its popularity over the last couple of years. The reason?

Well, younger people are not particularly interested in horse racing. They’d rather watch eSports than become professional eSports athletes.

Digital marketing which includes social media, is the perfect place to reach younger people and convince them to consider horse racing as a sport. After all, it is a sport that has a lot to offer, but it needs fresh blood to take it to the future.

Bringing Horse Racing Closer to Fans

One of the things that fans appreciate nowadays is their relationship with the sport that they support. The days when you’d see only the score of the games in the newspaper a long gone. Nowadays, fans demand attention and like to engage with something that they feel passionate about.

That’s why digital marketing is very useful for the horse racing industry. It will not only showcase the brand but also make it people-friendly and engageable. After all, everybody loves attention, and when the organizers of the Kentucky Derby show that they care for their fans and answer their questions, they’ll get even more support in the future.