Phil Ziegler is all business.
For the most part.
As befits a former marketing director, Ziegler, president of Muckleshoot Tribe-owned Emerald Downs, LLC, sticks to the message on most points, lauding past ownership, explaining planned improvements and larger horse fields.
Get the 51-year-old Long Island, N.Y., native talking about horse racing, however, and not just the business end of it, and you get a different side of the man.
“It goes back to my dad,” Ziegler said. “Everybody has those memories of their day, whether it was going to ballgames, or whatever the activity was. For us, it was going to the track (Belmont Park) on the big days.”
Ziegler fondly recalls a golden age of racing.
“Oh, if anybody would remember these horses,” Ziegler said. “There was this one, Forgo, that would always run in the big races and every holiday. It was during a great era of racing — you had three Triple Crown winners in the ’70s when I was a kid.”
Perhaps it is those fond memories of the heyday of Thoroughbred racing in the ’70s, or the enthusiasm that fizzes over when he talks about the past, that inspired Emerald Downs’ new owners, the Muckleshoot Tribe, to hire him.
Ziegler began writing the next chapter in Emerald Downs racing last Saturday when Emerald Downs opened for its 20th season. He follows Ron Crockett, the track’s founder and president for 19 years and president of the Northwest Racing Associates.
Racing resumes at 2 p.m. this Saturday.
Most likely it is a combination of Ziegler’s history with the tribe – he was marketing director for the Muckleshoot Casino for 10 years (1995-2005). He was also executive general manager and marketing director at Zia Park racetrack in New Mexico and for the past 7½ years, director of marketing at the Coushatta Resort Casino in Louisiana.
Whatever the reason for his hiring, Ziegler is poised to help the Muckleshoot Tribe further its investment in Thoroughbred racing in the Pacific Northwest.
“They’re the heroes in this,” Ziegler said. “They’ve contributed over $12 million in purses since they bought the land. They’ve invested and are going to invest more to enhance the experience here. When you look at all they’ve done for the sport, and now they’re taking over ownership of the track, a lot of people are excited. It’s about them and not me.”
Among the changes coming to the track this season is the addition of a big screen monitor above the tote board, allowing for better viewing of a whole race, including the backstretch.
“(It’s) really going to enhance the fan experience,” Ziegler said. “To me, the biggest difference with horse racing, against any other sport, is it’s the one sport where you bring your kid, and for the most part you can’t see, except for a few seconds of the race. Imagine [being] a kid, first time you’re on the rail, and you can’t see the race.”
Ziegler hopes the track can increase the number of horses in individual races.
“Field sizes were down last year and the horse population. That’s an issue throughout the country and the breeding industry, and it’s going to take some time to hopefully turn the corner and get that back,” he said. “We’ll see it’s a long-range deal.”
Ziegler said the Tribe has kept Crockett on as a consultant to continue to help guide the track’s fortunes into the future.
In addition to the racing, Ziegler said, the track plans to increase other uses for the facility, which include meetings, conventions and special events such as proms.
But the prime reason for coming out will always be racing and the family atmosphere.
“The whole season is going to be fun,” Ziegler said. “The nice part about Emerald Downs is the crowds and the families. They still come out. It’s one of the few tracks in the country where they still do very well with live attendance.”
