February 3, 1999 EQUIBASE FAN FRIENDLY PROGRAM TO DEBUT AT BEULAH PARK Beulah Park, which blazed a trail for racing's program revolution seven years ago with the introduction of the first Equibase past performance program, again sets the pace for the nation Saturday with the launch of Equibase Company's new Fan Friendly Program. Featuring simplified past performances and graphical presentations of handicapping information, the Fan Friendly Program debut follows months of market research and product testing. According to Mike Weiss, general manager at Beulah Park, the new program format will play an important role in the track's fan education efforts. "The Equibase Fan Friendly Program is the wave of the future for racetracks," he said. "With clear, concise and easy-to-understand information, this innovative program lets the newcomer feel that they're making a reasoned decision when they bet, rather than just taking a blind guess, which is so important if we are to increase the likelihood of a return visit." The Equibase Fan Friendly Program contains pie charts illustrating winning profiles for each race; bar graphs depicting key jockey and trainer statistics; simplified past performance running lines; and a race analysis with consensus selections provided by Daily Racing Form. Equibase Company LLC executive vice president of sales and marketing Hank Zeitlin echoed Weiss' comments, saying that the Fan Friendly Program is the result of Equibase's resolve to use historical racing information in new ways to help expand racing's fan base. "The perception of racing as a game for insiders has been perpetuated by the way we overwhelm new fans with complicated past performance information," he said. "But now, with the momentum being generated by the NTRA, we have the opportunity to embrace a new generation of fans and ensure our sport's prosperity into the next century. "The Equibase Fan Friendly Program removes the intimidation factor from the way we present our information to new fans, then leads them down the path of education in the art of handicapping."