Raiders fans don’t have much to be happy with. The team had a dismal 2–15 season last year, and while their campaign ended with a small flash of greatness in the form of an upset win against the Chiefs, the 2026 outlook is, let’s say, lukewarm at best.
They do have the top pick in the draft, but it’s clear to fans that some restructuring is in order.
Right now, sports fans are more focused on horse racing than they are on football. People are researching how can I bet on the 2026 Kentucky Derby online and preparing with excitement for the Triple Crown season.
The Raiders could learn a lot from the way horse racing teams approach event preparation. Let’s take a look at why that is.
Development
Arguably, this is the consideration most relevant to the Raiders’ situation. While radical transformations have been known to happen over a 12-month period in the NFL, it’s much more common for teams with records like the Raiders to take two to three years to return to form.
These developmental periods tend to frustrate fans who rightly take little joy in watching their favorite team stumble through multiple seasons. Regardless, a slow and patient approach is often the best way to secure long-term results.
Horse management teams perfect this attitude of patience by beginning the process, often before birth, through breeding initiatives. It takes time, effort, and patience to start with nothing—certainly the position the Raiders are in now—and achieve greatness. It’s actually impressive that such radical transformations can take place in just a few years’ time, even if it doesn’t feel that way to fans.
Getting the number one draft pick is a great start, but the Raiders will most likely require more than that to become playoff-ready.
Energy Conservation
This is admittedly a consideration that is more specific to horse racing than it is to other sports, but there is certainly a parallel. In racing, teams very conscientiously ration their animals’ output to ensure that they have enough gas in the tank to find success as the race winds down. Of course, it’s easier in the context of a race where all of the action takes place in under two minutes, typically. That said, you could argue that energy conservation becomes even more important in a longer format.
Teams that can’t close out, like the Raiders, often experience the bulk of their troubles in the second half of a game. Being able to finish strong is an invaluable skill that brings teams to a winning record.
Cohesion
Naturally, teamwork makes the dream work. In the context of horse racing, we in the stands see only two entities—the jockey and the animal—and most people really pay very little attention to the human. In fact, there are many people on a horse management team: trainers, nutritionalists, veterinarians, all working in harmony to ensure that the horse has what it needs to succeed at the highest level.
For any NFL team to reach its full potential, a similar level of cooperation and trust is required.
Focus Hard On Data
Probably, the Raiders are already doing a version of this. Every team in the NFL, and for that matter, the wider world of professional sports, has taken a keen and certainly justified interest in analytics over the last few years.
Horse management teams have made an art of it, particularly with wearable sensors that ensure animal health. Harnesses and other wearable devices are now powered through Internet of Things technology, which allows management teams to comb through very detailed reports on animal health.
Wearables of a similar nature are now being frequently used in NFL training equipment to monitor player condition and, at least theoretically, avoid injury.
Not only are injuries debilitating in terms of a team’s prospects, but we’re learning with each passing year that the long-term player health impacts can be truly catastrophic. Wearables, in that way, not only help teams close out more wins, but they also secure the future of the sport through player longevity.
Raiders Fans Find Hope
Whether or not the Raiders front office actively considers horse racing concepts as they rebuild is beside the point. Here’s what we can say for sure: this team, regardless of its previous season, has potential. The draft pick can help move things along nicely, and any restructuring that happens in the meantime will ultimately be for the good.
It might take time for the Raiders to be serious playoff contenders, but 2026 may at least hold a much stronger record than their 2025 showing. It would almost have to.
