Syndicates could be the answer to breaking down the barriers between Forbury Park Trotting Club and the rest of Dunedin.
But it is not just the residents of Dunedin and Otago that the club wants to target.
Cruise ship visitors to the city could find themselves in a dual sulky behind a flying pacer at Forbury Park before heading to the Otago Peninsula.
Those were two of the ideas put forward by club officials at a presentation on Sunday where they outlined their vision for the next five to 10 years.
Forbury Park Trotting Club president Peter Gillespie wants to follow the model of other harness racing clubs in Auckland and Christchurch, by setting up cheap and affordable syndicates which give Dunedin and Otago residents the chance to race a horse.
''I'd love to do that with - as an example - the University of Otago syndicate, or the Dunedin Hospital syndicates or the Dental School syndicates,'' Gillespie told the Otago Daily Times after the presentation.
''You get a group of people, the club goes to them and says 'we have a horse, it's going to cost you $5 a week each' and it will go with a professional trainer in the region. You get those 40 or 50 syndicate members who become friends of Forbury.''
A brief attempt was made last season to set up a syndicate, but Gillespie is keen to have something in place for the club's winter festival next year.
Similar syndicates have become more popular in harness racing in the last 15 years.
The Auckland Trotting Club (ATC) syndicates were the first to make its mark on the industry, buying horses at the yearling sales with much success.
The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington soon followed suit.
Various editions of the ATC syndicates have raced outstanding horses, such as Changeover, Tintin In America, Matai Mackenzie, Awesome Armbro, and Major Star.
The down side of syndicating horses at the yearling sales is the wait for them to hit the track, which is something Gillespie would like to avoid at this stage.
''I think the Auckland and Met model of buying yearlings is too long.
"That may well happen further down the track, but to get it going quickly, we need to find that ready-to-race horse to race.''
Gillespie's preference would be for the horse to be based with professional trainers in the greater Dunedin area, such as Jonny Cox and Amber Hoffman, but the Roxburgh stables of Geoff and Jude Knight could also be an option.
''It may end up going to Roxburgh or to Phil [Williamson] at Oamaru - but that's not a bad thing, as they're regular users of the track.''
Forbury Park general manager John Ayoub, who has a background in tourism, hopes to capture the cruise-ship market by offering dual sulky rides to tourists who leave the ship, possibly tying the activity in with tourists heading to the Otago Peninsula.
''Income from outside is needed to help benefit the club,'' he said at Sunday's presentation.
