FROM THE TRACK: In N.Y., horse racing writer Joseph
Durso looks at the first 100 days of the NTRA, and its ad
campaign launched to increase interest in the sport. Durso
writes that the campaign, which features the slogan "Go Baby
Go" and actress Lori Petty, "took the low road to reach a
young, new audience and was so implausible that you might
wonder how it got by the fathers of racing and breeding when
they auditioned it." But Durso calls the NTRA's first 100
days "a howling success" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/18). In Baltimore,
Milton Kent notes the NTRA announcement of a deal with Fox
Sports: "For a sport that was supposed to be moribund, at
least in terms of its national appeal, horse racing is
making a nice little comeback" (Baltimore SUN, 8/18).
NOTES: AD AGE's Jeff Jensen reports that talks "have
begun" between the IOC, Hewlett-Packard and others "about
joining a category consortium" to support the technology
needs of the Olympics. Both Andersen Consulting and EDS
have "left the door open but declined to comment
specifically" on their Olympic intentions (AD AGE, 8/17).
....Though Sunday's IRL race at Pikes Peak, CO, was called
the Radisson 200, ABC referred to it as the Colorado 200.
Radisson "did not purchase advertising time on ABC," so the
net did not recognize the sponsoring company (GAZETTE
TELEGRAPH, 8/17)....Padres 3B Ken Caminiti, Giants OF Barry
Bonds, Mariners OF Ken Griffey Jr. and Mets C Mike Piazza
will be featured in "The Supersluggers," a comic book being
published by Allstar Arena Entertainment, which is also
producing comics on NBA stars Chris Webber and Karl Malone.
Brett Lewis, who wrote the comic, on Caminiti's role: "He's
going to ride his motorcycle, get into some brawls and save
the universe" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/17).
FOR THE RECORD: Snickers' "Shock Zone" promo (see THE
DAILY, 8/13) is affiliated with Players Inc, which helped
select the NFL players chosen in the promo and licensed
their names and images. Players Inc's logo appears on the
Snickers TV and print ads (THE DAILY).
