T8 hot idea blows in on a winter wind

The term Triple 8 Racing, or “T8”, dropped like a firecracker into inboxes of the South African racing community this week. Not exactly a bomb – yet – but with enough fizz-bang to rouse people from their lockdown reverie and tut-tutting about the champ Do It Again’s rotten luck with his Vodacom Durban July draw.

T8 is designed to aggressively shake up horse racing in South Africa, to change the face of the game, in order to attract new fans and sponsors.

Here’s the gist of it (racing purists might want to look away now!):

• Eight teams of horses and jockeys race against each other with each race being a standard sprint of 800m.

• There are eight races at each event. Points are allocated for each race and one team is crowned the winner at each event.

• A series of these racing events is combined to form a Triple 8 Racing series with one team being crowned the series winner.

• The jockey with the most points is crowned the champion jockey and the fastest horse is crowned the champion horse.

Nothing has been decided on or put in place yet, but the new idea is being floated in the big racing month of July to test the water. South African racing is on the ropes financially – with a backdrop of business rescue and reduced stakes – so this it might be a good moment to pitch a vision of salvation.

The man behind T8 is Angus Campbell of events company Campbell + Campbell, which has been behind the successful marketing of Joburg’s Summer Cup race meeting in recent years, significantly growing racecourse attendance by black, upwardly-mobile folk – racing’s prime target market.

Campbell’s research among this group has led him to the conclusion that the traditional racing format is too complicated, takes too long and isn’t exciting enough.

He has also looked at what other sporting codes and businesses have done to reinvent and rejuvenate themselves.

“Sports that have successfully transitioned into the modern era followed a formula. They all created a product that was easy to understand, unbelievably fun, fast-paced and had huge exposure across multiple platforms,” said Campbell in his email to the faithful.

“Sports that have successfully innovated include cricket (T20), rugby (sevens) and darts (unbelievably!). As a result, these sports have an army of fans spread across the globe.

“Ironically, these changes to each sport were often initially met with fierce resistance from their most loyal followers. Die-hard fans, who are the most desperate to see their sport grow, are often the last to accept fundamental changes to how things are done.”

Nowhere does Campbell suggest conventional racing be immediately scrapped to make way for his concept and one presumes the “hit and giggle” format would be staged in parallel to the grand old game. But, if the T20 cricket example is emulated, T8 could become the primary money-spinner in quick time.

Campbell’s ambition soars well beyond South Africa, which he sees as the springboard to an international revolution.

“Our dream is to embrace the new changes that are sweeping South African horseracing and to contribute to a bold, exciting and big new era for the sport,” he declares.

“We plan to use South Africa as a base for a large-scale international racing business. Instead of SA being a tiny racing event market, it can be the foundation for the largest new horseracing brand in the world, creating thousands of jobs and revenue from across the globe.

“Most notably, we believe this new dawn must include a radical shift for race meetings so that they attract thousands of new spectators who grow a love of horseracing.”

No one ever changed the world without a big idea, as they say. If racing purists haven’t scoffed and stopped reading yet, here are some more dynamic words from Campbell: “Attracting a new market will not be achieved by adding elements to existing race meeting events. The format of the racing itself needs to be changed.

“We must create a horseracing product that:

• Is easy to understand

• Takes less time to complete

• Includes mind-blowing entertainment

• Is team-based

• Uses the latest data and technological innovations

• Can be broadcast on multiple digital platforms

• Is fan-driven

• Is horse focused

• Appeals to sponsors

• Is family friendly

• Aligns with corporate entertainment/hospitality criteria.”

If you’re still not convinced, the bullet points keep coming:

“T8 Racing appeals to a modern market because it is:

• Easy to understand

• A short format sporting experience (fast + furious!)

• Team-based and uses a standardised sprint distance

• Built around the latest technological innovations

• Fan-driven

• Horse-focused and always puts horse welfare first (e.g. whip free riding)

• Data and stats focused allowing for deep fan engagement.”

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