MY CALL - THE PROBLEM WITH THE EAGLE FARM TRACK CAN NO LONGER BE IGNORED
By David Fowler | Tuesday, March 6, 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.
The Brisbane Racing Club, a thriving commercial venture, is the bright spot on an otherwise darkened south east Queensland landscape.
You can draw your own conclusions or make your own assumptions from that.
Apart from their twice-weekly racing schedule and associated marketing and promotion, their portfolio is a busy one with the refurbishment of the Social Club and the major redevelopment of the precinct.
But all of that aside, the B.R.C. can no longer ignore the problem that is the Eagle Farm track.
The "grand old lady" or "Queensland's racing headquarters", as former QTC director Tony Williams would proudly refer to it as, needs urgent attention.
Some will say what played out on Saturday was a one-off. Unfortunately, it's not.
Two meetings in late 2010 were called off at the midway point because of race-day rain and anytime rain strikes during a meet nowadays, the track deteriorates rapidly.
Consider the facts. The track was reassessed from a Good 3 to a Dead 4 even after the first race. We had had two light showers in the morning.
Then between 10 and 15mm of rain fell from the end of the third race to during the fourth.
Suddenly, jockeys are complaining of visibility, the tracks is reassessed dramatically from a Dead 3 to a Heavy 9 and there is a real possibility the meeting might not proceed (more on that latter).
How can this be?
Punters cannot comprehend how such a minor amount of rain can so savagely alter a track surface.
A few years ago Eagle Farm was closed for a couple of months for remedial work to ensure the Winter Carnival was run on a suitable surface.
But the "band-aid" approach just prolongs the problem.
A club with the impressive reputation of the B.R.C. cannot simply cross their fingers and hope rain doesn't fall on race-day.
This could happen on Stradbroke day, heaven forbid!
Doomben underwent a major reconstruction about a decade ago and now it is acknowledged as one of Australia's best.
Eagle Farm deserves nothing less.
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Chief stipe Wade Birch and his team pulled the right rein in putting the meeting back a race after their pow-wow with the jocks.
It's not the first time he's showed this sort of initiative either on a race-day when
we've encountered a hiccup with the weather.
He thinks outside the square. He is creative in his thinking.
I still don't agree with the Magic Millions protest or the Terry Butts saga but he has a great future as a chairman of stewards because he is intelligent and has plenty of time on his side.
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I remember potting Helmet and then he came out and trounced them in the Caulfield Guineas last spring.
I started to think I might be right after all since observing his flops so far this time around.
The excuses made so far include that he doesn't like racing with horses around him (first-up) and then he missed the start in the Australian Guineas.
For crying out loud, he missed the start but never passed a horse!
These sort of feeble explanations really test the patience of punters.
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I promised I'd talk about the racing game and the elections but I've put that back until next week.
Until then.
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