The New Year brings interactive, fan friendly fun and excitement to Flamboro Downs. Starting Sunday January 5, Flamboro Downs is pleased to launch the first media "Announcer Idol" competition.
Every Sunday night through March 23, a different, local broadcast media personality will step into the booth alongside track announcer, Gary Guy, and call the evening's third race. At the end of March, fans and patrons will have their say by visiting the Flamboro Downs website to vote for their favourite race call. The winning announcer will receive a donation to the local charity of their choice, compliments of Flamboro Downs and Great Canadian Gaming.
January Announcer Idol Line-Up:
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Sunday, January 5 - Darrin Laidman, Morning Show Host, FreshFM 95.3
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Sunday, January 12 - Nick Dixon, Anchor, CHCH News
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Sunday, January 19 - Bill Toffan, Morning Show Host, KX 94.7
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Sunday, January 26 - Ted Michaels, News Anchor, 900 CHML
Flamboro Downs is also pleased to announce the launch of a Mini Horse Championship. These extremely popular races (non-betting) have proven extremely popular with fans, both young and old.
The championship will be contested over three exhibition races during Flamboro's Saturday afternoon cards, one in each of January, February, and March 2014. Points will be awarded to each based on positioning. After each race, all of the minis will be brought over to the Flamboro grandstand for photos and interaction with fans.
'Wanna Drive' will also be on-hand each date in the mini championship series, giving fans an opportunity to experience driving a standardbred on the track alongside an experienced horseman. Paddock tours and meet & greets with drivers are also in the works for those dates.
"We simply can't put an ad in the paper, and hope or expect that people will just show up," suggests John Stolte, general manager at Flamboro Downs. "We're in a rebuilding process. We need to excite and re-educate. Coming to the track is more than just betting horses, but rather an experience that can be enjoyed on a date night, among friends and co-workers, or with the whole family. It's not going to happen overnight, but we're committed to giving our patrons more for their entertainment dollars."
(with files from Flamboro)
Good ideas. I agree it would
Good ideas. I agree it would be better if post time on Sundays could be changed to 1:00PM. It should bring in more people, maybe some new ones for a Sunday afternoon outing.
Great promotion, tracks,
Great promotion, tracks, harness especially in smaller markets fail to use the mainstream media to advantage. This is a way to create some competitive excitement. The media people will talk about the challenge and experience on their medium. They will bring a few friends who may become fans. It is all about the entertainment business and creating a fun environment. Tracks have to be more creative. Bravo Flamboro.
Great work Flamboro, as a fan
Great work Flamboro, as a fan and regular I'll be looking forward to these events. However to make sure the fans you bring to the races come out again please make sure the other wrinkles are working well. It would be pretty embarrassing to run out of programs, have the photo finish camera or the teletimer malfunction or have the tote board not turn on. It's nice to see an effort put forth.
Great ideas all now if you
Great ideas all now if you could change the post time on Sundays to 1:00 P.M instead of running so late just before the work week you might just have the basis for a good crowd.