I think there are a few factors, one being a greater awareness of animal welfare. I worked in a bookies for 2 years and I only ever saw a couple of horses die, but a lot of animal rights protesters will have you believe it is far worse. A lot of people don't agree with using animals for entertainment whether they get hurt or not. It could be that a lot of people are intimidated by the amount of information associated with the form and with betting as well. While you don't need to understand all this to enjoy horseracing, a lot of people just get put off by it. They hear the commentator going through the horse's form and the bookie going through the changing prices and their brains just melt! There are many other sports that are a lot simpler so people watch those instead. I think another problem is the 'member's club' feeling associated with racing. Like any sport that has a smaller fanbase, it becomes very insular and new people to the sport can feel intimidated when everyone seems to know each other and know what is going on. If people were more welcoming to newbies then that would help, also increasing the profile of the 'big' races (the Derby, the National, St Leger- these are the UK ones anyway) will help get people interested in racing again. It would help too to get a young, trendy type, like a TV presenter or singer, to head an advertising campaign, since horseracing in the UK is generally seen as a posh old man's sport.

Perhaps we in America don't have what Sherlock Holmes described as the British public's "perpetual amazement at the fact that one horse can run faster than another."

Horse racing is alive and well on the east coast! Especially up north (upstate NY or parts of NJ), with a few scattered tracks in the south (WV, KY, GA). While it's hardly racing in the traditional sense, plenty of people attend to watch or ride in hunts around VA and MD. The entire countryside by the tracks are littered with groups of people picnicing or "tailgating" each weekend from April to October. Oh, and can't forget all those people who travel nationwide for show and competition fun, like roping or barrel racing!

Where did the information that horse racing is a dying sport, come from? not in the south. horse racing is alive and well. The devoted horse racing fans will never let horse racing die.

probably cuz the price of owning horses and betting is getting expensive. It's sad because it's such a wonderful sport =]

Actually, more people have started to ride horses. But they don't race. They do english and jumping. So more people are riding horses and they understand racing is a deadly sport. One where horses have a greater risk of dying. Horse people don't like horses dying. Also there are other things to watch. People are more amussed by racing machines then racing animals. I don't know why though. There are also simipler more popular sports to watch.

Not in Minnesota - We're building a new harness track as I type :)

Horse racing is destroying itself. The tracks, the owners, trainers, industry and the MONEY. The top reasons for this is technology. People don't go to the track anymore when they can just stay at home and wager on their PC. Parking, concessions that is where lots of the money is lost. Why have we not had a triple crown winner in more than 30 years? Breeding? Training? a combination of many of these factors. Why do we now have poly track or synthetics. What happened to Dirt? I remember going to the track when I was young with my parents to Santa Anita. It was an event. Now it is in most peoples minds a chore. Hollywood Park I here is getting ready to shut down. Have you seen the neighborhood that surrounds that track? Who wants to take their life into their hands just to go to the track. It is in the western side of South Central LA. The fact of the matter is is that Horse Racing has lost its luster. Its nostalgia. The races are cheap and are getting lower and lower. The types of races are like a menu in a diner with too many selections on the menu. The only thing owners care about is the stud fee money. They are so quick to retire their horses for that. What ever happened to the old days when greats such as Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Alydar, Spectacular Bid racing until they turned 5. All the hype when these great horses would race against each other. There would be 50 60 thousand people show up at Santa Anita or Hollypark for events like that but wait, now you can watch and wager from your living room. Don't waste your time driving standing in line, fighting the crowds. That is what they want you to here. That was part of the fun of going. Yes in my opinion horse racing will soon be a sport of the past. They can only blame themselves. I can go on and on about other reasons but it would take too ling to write about it.

Maybe because there are so many other things that people bet on now a days!!!

race horses cost a ton to raise, keep, have jockeyed and insure. beyond that, someone answered about all the other things to bet on and I imagine that is as close to a good answer as any.

I think some people are worried about the welfare of the horses and are not going to see the races or bet on them. They feel that it is not humane.

Pehaps because the horses keep getting hurt, die, etc and we're moving as a society that believes there's no fun in hurting animals for entertainment?

Horse racing is destroying itself. The tracks, the owners, trainers, industry and the MONEY. The top reasons for this is technology. People don't go to the track anymore when they can just stay at home and wager on their PC. Parking, concessions that is where lots of the money is lost. Why have we not had a triple crown winner in more than 30 years? Breeding? Training? a combination of many of these factors. Why do we now have poly track or synthetics. What happened to Dirt? I remember going to the track when I was young with my parents to Santa Anita. It was an event. Now it is in most peoples minds a chore. Hollywood Park I here is getting ready to shut down. Have you seen the neighborhood that surrounds that track? Who wants to take their life into their hands just to go to the track. It is in the western side of South Central LA. The fact of the matter is is that Horse Racing has lost its luster. Its nostalgia. The races are cheap and are getting lower and lower. The types of races are like a menu in a diner with too many selections on the menu. The only thing owners care about is the stud fee money. They are so quick to retire their horses for that. What ever happened to the old days when greats such as Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Alydar, Spectacular Bid racing until they turned 5. All the hype when these great horses would race against each other. There would be 50 60 thousand people show up at Santa Anita or Hollypark for events like that but wait, now you can watch and wager from your living room. Don't waste your time driving standing in line, fighting the crowds. That is what they want you to here. That was part of the fun of going. Yes in my opinion horse racing will soon be a sport of the past. They can only blame themselves. I can go on and on about other reasons but it would take too ling to write about it.

It cost too much. The cage, maintenance, food, care. Sadly when a racing horse get injured, people have to put him to sleep.

It is certainly not a dying sport in England it is a very ppopular sport. Maybe helped by the fact it gets extensive TV coverage and Bookmakers are open all the time.People do not have to go to the track to bet.

Truthfully, I think there a few main reasons. One is that racing seems to be pursuing sleaze instead of being family friendly. I can't fathom why they think that putting casino gambling at the tracks will help. It will only take tracks to a new low. The kind of people who want to pull on a one armed bandit all day rarely come out to see the sun, let alone watch horses run. Fans don't come from people who play blackjack. Fans start as a ten year old in love with a particular horse. My love for horses of all kinds came with an underdog named Seattle Slew. There was just something about his guts and grit and determination that caught my imagination. That is how you pack stands. You need a family friendly atmosphere where a parent doesn't mind taking their horse crazy kid, not a place where they have to dodge drunks who are busily flashing their privates at anyone with a cell phone camera. Our local track is doing just that, and they set an attendance record last weekend. The place was packed with families having picnics and two hours after the first post time, there was a line extending from the entrance a mile down the road to the bypass and another couple of miles around the bypass. The other problem is that most people don't have daily contact with horses anymore. They don't know anything about horses, they don't know the limits of what an average horse can do, they don't understand the bond with a horse. Therefore, they aren't impressed when a horse blows those limits all to hell, because they weren't aware of the limits to begin with. I also agree with the poster who talked about safety issues. Much of the problem comes from people raising horses for sale instead of racing and from the huge amount of money that can be make from running a two year old prodigy. There is too much surgery on young limbs to make them perfectly straight, too much hothousing of young horses to make them pretty instead of tough and strong, too much weight on young bodies and too much training before they are mature.

If you every go to a track or OTB in southern California, the first thing you notice is the dominate physical makeup. Demographic: Gender-Male Age-35 to 75 Income-varies drastically Education-varies drastically Psychographic: --Compulsive --Still holding on to the 80's and 70's --Stubborn, Infallible, Selfish --Transient looking --Well suited fake people --Sample of what I mean... watch Crank 2, the Hollywood Park scene. This just makes it impossible to invite a family environment. Moreover... try taking a date to place like this. Don't get me wrong, I love horse racing. In fact,there times when the sport captures it's old glory and pageantry here in California. You'll be surprise how on these dates the notion I describe above is dispelled. Here are my suggestions: --Del Mar meet (particularly Pacific classic day) --Santa Anita Derby (all day event- starts with a 5k race that ends at the finish line and topped with the feature race- prep for the Kentucky Derby. --Sunny days in the in-field at Santa Anita. The other dominate issue you will never hear on mainstream media is the industry itself. There is so much bickering, lack of alligence, within the business that many opportunites have been squandered. Well it's pointless to continue.