Frontstretch Fest will launch with two events in 2015.
If you’ve ever been to a horse race, there are likely two things you saw: patrons tossing down their betting slips in disgust after the results post, and then heading to the bar for another cold one before the next race.
“We were brainstorming early on and looking to create a property that would be unique and leverage what we feel like we’re experts at in our field: ticketing and marketing,” said Brian Bauer, agency director at Rockhouse Partners, explaining why the technology-based marketing agency teamed with Etix to launch the inaugural hooch and horses celebration Frontstretch Fest.
“We landed on food and beverage as opposed to something more music-oriented and, in looking at the numbers, we thought about the bourbon aspect of it,” he continued. “That led us to horseracing and a realization about how underserved that market was and how there was a good opportunity to inject some new life into the sector.”
The inaugural Frontstretch will celebrate bourbon, beer, food and horse racing with a pair of events in 2015 at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford, N.C., and at the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Nashville, Tenn.
At the Horse Park on April 4, Frontstretch Fest will occupy the infield for the 64th annual Stoneybrook Steeplechase, then pack up and move to Nashville on May 2 in conjunction with the world’s largest Kentucky Derby viewing party. Both events will focus on artisanal food and drinks, hand-rolled cigars and live music, with themed areas such as “Bourbon Bend” and “Craft Beer Boulevard” offering tastings and classes from local and national distilleries.
Local chefs and food trucks will also be spotlighted in an area dubbed “Cuisine Corner.”
Bauer looked at the rapidly aging demographics of horse racing fans and thought it made sense to partner with an established track to try to breathe some new life into the sector. Luckily for him, Carolina Horse Park was looking to do the same thing and a new partnership was born in which Rockhouse will serve as the track’s marketing partner and Etix will handle its online ticketing for the next several years.
“This is absolutely a great way to get more people to attend horse racing and we think we have a great venue for it,” said Marshall Glass, chairman of the Stoneybrook race committee and member of the board of directors for the 250-acre Carolina Horse Park.
For the 63rd running of the Stoneybrook and its 10th anniversary at Carolina Horse Park, Glass said he was looking for a unique twist to add to the popular event that draws up to 10,000 spectators. Allowing Rockhouse to set up their event on the infield for an expected 3,000 ticketed fans was just what he had in mind.
The track, a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization, is happy to have the extra foot traffic, which could also help balance the budget for the 2015 fiscal year. “We’re anxious to increase our general admission in the infield and all nonprofits have certain challenges ahead of them to pay the bills and to keep 250 acres in shape for other events,” Glass said, noting that filling the 25 acres of the infield could be a real boon for the park.
Rockhouse has teamed with Nashville’s Rhizome Productions to work out the alcohol permitting and production of the events. Founder Matt Leff said Rhizome is working on obtaining a special occasion permit available to 501(c) 3’s that will allow producers to provide samples and sell beverages.
“In Tennessee we have two licenses, one to serve beer and another for spirits, which are necessary because we’re hosting [the event] in a public space,” said Leff. The situation is different in Nashville because that event is not at a horse track.
“It’s a special occasion permit for sales that are limited to that day and the footprint can’t just be anywhere, we have to offer the venue and time frame of service,” he explained. Veteran beer and bourbon festival producer Rhizome will also handle all other aspects of production and logistics, including portable toilets, tenting and booths for an estimated 8 brewers, distillers and food partners at each location, as well as handling setup and breakdown.
Leff’s team will also handle security, training 4-6 security officers and more than 20 staffers on spotting common signs of overconsumption. “We will sit them down and give them some water and call a cab,” said Leff of any patrons who appear intoxicated. “We will also have shuttle buses and an option for Uber or taxis.” Rhizome will tap into its exclusive relationship with Uber to offer a $25 credit to new users and a 15 percent discount for established Uber users if they need a ride home.
More than six months out, Bauer is bullish on the prospects of the new events. “We see this is a pretty big audience cut into two segments: the thoroughbred fan – a married professional 36-64 years old, who is making $75,000 a year or more and who is into fine dining and has been going to thoroughbred races for years, and the Young Southerner – a 21-34 year-old postgrad who is not making a ton of money but loves fashion and tailgating and loves to go to beer festivals,” he said.
While Bauer declined to discuss the cost of mounting the first-year festivals, he said he expects to avoid the typical three-year wait for profitability for similar events. “I’m optimistic because of our experience doing so many similar events that our year one feels like a year two or three,” he said. “I’m optimistic we’ll make money in year one.”
He’s already planning to expand in 2016, hoping to add 3-4 more events on infields of horse racing tracks, where owners have sometimes worried about the extent of drinking that goes on in the often GA spaces. “With this event we can offer a much more controlled atmosphere, with security on site and sampling [of alcohol], which is a different customer,” he said. “We’re excited because these are specific brands of alcohol as opposed to [patrons] just chugging Keystone [beer] all day. It’s classier, more controlled.”
Tickets for the North Carolina event go on sale Jan. 17 and will include advance $39 GA ($49 at the door), as well as VIP access to exclusive tastings, catering, private brewing and distillery classes, and private restrooms for $89 ($99 at the door). Because patrons at Stoneybrook must be ticketed for both the race and Frontstretch, those packages will run $49 ($59 day of). Tickets in Nashville are priced at $49 ($59) and $99 ($109), with both events offering designated drivers for $20.
“I think we’re being relatively conservative,” Bauer said of his anticipated 3,000 attendance predictions. “But we hope in year one we can prove the model and it’s a win for us and the tracks.”
Contacted for this story: Marshall Glass, (910) 875-2074; Brian Bauer, (646) 484-6187; Matt Leff, (615) 499-6476