Daily Racing Form Stays Profitable

The New York Times reported on Saturday about the unique combination of print and online features that has, so far, saved The Daily Racing Form from extinction. In this era of the demise of the newspaper, this is no small feat.

According to Richard Sandomir, the strategy of the Daily Racing Form is to augment its print offerings with those found on-line. In other words, there is no duplication of efforts. What is found on-line is an adjunct to what you can find in print.

The other part of the equation is the high sticker price for the Form. It is one of the most expensive papers in the world. Daily copies are $5 or $6 and that, according to chairman and publisher, Steven Crist, is where they make their money. Never mind that circulation is only 33,000. That circulation, according to Sandomir, "means revenue from at least $60 million from selling 39 regional editions of the paper at tracks (where The Form also publishes programs) and newsstands. Some days just a few thousand copies are sold; on Triple Crown days, 350,000."

Another factor in the paper's success is the specialized nature of its offerings. Put simply, you NEED a Racing Form to properly handicap races. You probably could find the information you need on line and print out just what you need to take with you to the track (and some horse players probably do), but there is something about marking up a Form and folding it just so, that goes with spending a day at the track.

Never mind that this is the industry's only daily; it is a niche paper that knows its niche. "Absolutely, we're profitable," acknowledges Crist. "Its not even close. We turn over a lot of cash."

So what's the lesson here for other papers? This is a highly specialized market with a need for the information contained in the publication. Nobody really needs local news, unless it contains information that cannot be found elsewhere, and that may be the lesson here. Publish something that people need and cannot find anywhere else and they will pay for it.

As for the internet, well, the concept of augmenting the publication with web information is fascinating--sort of like the extra stuff you get on a DVD. The next step for the Racing Form, according to Crist, will be to translate that stuff into data that can be downloaded onto a personal mobile device like a Blackberry or i-phone.

Better yet, would be a subscription to the Form available for the Kindle, although the audience is probably too small--my sisters and me!