MY CALL - TIME TO ACTIVELY PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

By David Fowler | Tuesday, July 31, 2012

David Fowler is the principal thoroughbred caller for Radio TAB. David, who is a keen form student and punter, has enjoyed a lifetime involvement in the racing media. His personal blog, ‘My Call’, appears exclusively on HRO.

Where will Brisbane racing be in 10 years time?

Yes, I know it sounds like one of those rambling general questions that we bloggers pose on occasions, but forward planning is something that the racing industry has ignored for decades.

The short term and long term has never been seriously considered by all sorts of boards and clubs.

There are those who will say the present operation runs smoothly and they are essentially right.

But it can't stay the same forever.

Let's analyse the past 10 years and see where we were in 2002.

Many more people at the track, many more book-makers to cater to their betting needs, younger trainers, owners and breeders.

The disturbing conclusion is that very few are coming through to supplement those that are retiring or passing away at the other end of the spectrum.

You can count the bookies on one hand and most of them are in their mid sixties. Who wants to be a bookmaker in 2012?

Cast your eyes over the top 10 metropolitan trainers from the last season and only one could be considered young. Who wants to be a racehorse trainer in 2012?

Some will dismiss this as a rambling, general appraisal of Brisbane racing. So be it, but there is no hiding from the fact that racing, anywhere for that matter, needs to plan for its future.

Presently, it doesn't cut the mustard.

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They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So too is performance.

Some are quick to describe a winning performance as a form reversal yet so often that sort of analysis is superficial.

First race winner on the weekend Gold Shears illustrates the point as well.

I considered her a potential improver at her third run back on a firmer surface and
assessed her around $9.

It wasn't a race I was keen to bet on yet I was mildly surprised when she returned
around $20 bucks with bookies and on the totes.

It all relates to opinion and most of us like to think we are right most of the time.

When a long-shot wins there is often a reason why it has won. It's just a matter of
finding it before the starter hits the button or at least acknowledging it post race.

A select few can't be explained and they go into the "glorious uncertainty of
racing" department.

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Larry Cassidy has been a wasted talent in recent months.

I suppose many of us only really considered this when D'Jet swept home in the last.

It was one of three rides Cassidy had for the day with the others being long-shots Stop Crying and Lake George.

I'm sure Larry has been dwelling on this for some time and he was frank enough about it in a post race interview on the weekend.

There has been plenty of hype about the degree of success by apprentices in Brisbane racing in recent weeks and they are "feelgood" stories in a quiet time of the year.

But a true strength of metropolitan racing is the quality and quantity factor of jockeys at the senior level.

Larry Cassidy deserves to be very much part of that as the new season begins tomorrow.

Only time will tell.

Until next week.

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