Advice on how to Decrease Already Dwindling Revenue By Alienating Fans: Breeders Cup Twitter Edition

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I follow two less people on Twitter now than when I woke up.

I follow a lot of horse racing Tweeters. One of them was a west coast handicapper whose Twitter ID is Pick4andWin. Today he posted the following Tweet aimed at owner of Rachel Alexandra, Jess Jackson:

Jess Jackson why don't you bring your superbowl horse to play on the artificial turf? A "NO-SHOW" in the B/C should be considered a forfeit

I don't blame a west coaster for feeling slighted that the best horse trainer doesn't want to run on their fake surface, especially after that fake surface swallowed up Horse of the Year Curlin last year. I disagreed, but didn't think much of it- he's entitled to his opinion.

Then I got a tweet from BreedersCup, which I can only assume is the official Twitter feed of the Breeder's Cup- it certainly looks convincing, and their tweets up until this point have all seemed in line with what I'd expect from their official Twitter mouthpiece. Until 3 hours ago. The (I assume) Official Breeder's Cup Twitter page re-tweeted the Pick4andWin tweet.

RT @pick4andwin Jess Jackson why don't u bring your SuperBowl horse to play on artificial turf? A "NO-SHOW" in BC shld be considered forfeit

For non-Twitter people, the "RT" means "Re-Tweet" which is like forwarding an email, and in essence is saying, "I echo this sentiment", or "Couldn't have said it better myself". So the (alleged) official Breeder's Cup Twitter page is now "callling out" Rachel Alexandra? For what? Being the best thing for this sport in several years?

Previously, I blogged about the inexcusable stupidity shown by the horse racing Powers that Be (very stupid) for scheduling TWO consecutive Breeder's Cups at a track with a synthetic main track- despite a reduced betting handle last year, and several disappointing performances by traditional dirt horses. I also defended Rachel's decision to sit out the Breeder's Cup on a surface that is alien not only to her, but to common sense as well.

Kudos to the head of the Moronic Department at the Breeder's Cup Twitter office for a job done all too well. Instead of drumming up enthusiasm and keeping your few followers (currently they are following 1,347 people and being followed by an anemic 1,383), you decided to draw a line in the sand and act provincial and tough. Simmer down there, tough guys- you're trying to attract the biggest number of fans you can, not draw sides. How about doing your job and being more PT Barnum and less Don King? This is horse racing, not West Coast versus East Coast rap feuds.

When the new kid in town hosts a party and invites everyone, and the popular kids sit the party out- who is the loser?



See my Socrates-inspired Follow up here.







I'm T.R. Slyder, and that's how you Tangueray.