In the world of sports, this makes horse racing a bit of an oddity. Even casual fans of the likes of a football team or Formula One will know the storylines of the season as they unfold. In horse racing, those who aren’t devout followers and bettors dip in, see the state of play on the day, and dip out.

It can be reduced to a lack of engagement in the horses and the people who make the sport what it is. While not conventional, there are modern avenues that can help sports to reach wider audiences and encourage engagement outside of the live events, perhaps encouraging them to follow the calendar more closely.

An Underestimated Medium for Engagement

Despite it being the biggest money-making sector of entertainment, gaming continues to be overlooked for its ability to inspire engagement through immersive experiences. After all, there’s a good portion of fans of sports where the best competitions are overseas, such as Europeans for US major leagues, have become fans through EA’s or 2K’s releases.

For horse racing, there really isn’t much by way of officially licensed, top-tier immersive gaming experiences. A hit indie game could make a big difference, though, as Bookie is aiming to do as a horse racing roguelike to launch early next year. Plus, the potential to become a hit has already been showcased in Japan.

In this case, a single mobile app game based around horse racing went viral, leading to over 30 million downloads and a whole host of expanded entertainment options, including live concerts. The report covering its surge also states that there are many more racetrack fans as a result.

Naturally, in the UK, horse racing is inextricably tied to betting, which itself has become increasingly tied to online casino games. Perhaps it’s here that horse racing could break out with an official and immersive experience. After all, the collection of bingo slots online already features two horse racing-themed Big Bass games and the official sports slot LaLiga Grand Chance.

Telling the Stories Behind the Scenes

It’s impossible to understate the impact that an entertaining show or film can have on a sport. The prime example is Drive to Survive on Netflix, which has created potentially millions of new fans for the sport. Importantly, it’s not about documenting the sporting side of the season, but the characters behind all of the little decisions along the way.

Netflix has dipped its toe into horse racing with the well-received Race for the Crown. Unfortunately, the focus here is on US races and the coveted Triple Crown. Even if it does feature the ever-charismatic Frankie Dettori, it doesn’t help to plug fans into the British scene.

Champions: Full Gallop does manage to hit the right notes with its docu-series look at the sport. Created by ITV for its streaming platform, it has some potential reach, but is primarily a supplement for those who watch the racing on the channel. So, it’s not as exposed to the mainstream masses as a Netflix show would be.

For horse racing to continue to grow its audience, it needs to look beyond betting value to try to invest people in the sport and what goes into getting a horse on the track. Through hit entertainment products, it could achieve exactly that.