The direction of a horse-race is surely not a big deal

Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto is convinced that, by running clockwise races, they will inject a whole new level of excitement into the sport, and miraculously attract much-needed new blood into what appears to be a failing business model.
Apparently, for obscure historical reasons, North American racetracks run their horse-races anti-clockwise, as distinct from the European and Caribbean clockwise tradition. Who knew?
The horse-racing business may be going through a bad patch in Toronto at the moment, but is changing the direction of the race really going to make a significant difference to the punters who might frequent it, and thereby revive interest in a languishing sport/business?
Call me cynical, but I just have this feeling that most people who go to horse-racing are much more exercised by the betting and the movement of money than in the direction of the race (or even in the race itself, for that matter).