OBE UNPLUGGED - CHANGE CAN BE A GOOD THING

By Mark Oberhardt | Monday, November 19, 2012

Mark Oberhardt has been a racing and sports reporter for 40 years. He has written racing for the Courier Mail, Brisbane Telegraph, Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Sportsman, Australian Associated Press, etc. He has also written many sports columns including the Courier Mail’s The Ear. Mark has also been a regular on RadioTAB for 20 years. Mark’s personal blog, Obe Unplugged, will appear every Monday on HRO.

The mixed reaction to the shifting of the time-honoured Weetwood Handicap to a Saturday night was hardly a shock. But it does emphasis something I have been writing about for a few years.

The Weetwood has been one of Queensland's longest running races and for decades it has been scheduled for the Toowoomba show-day holiday on a Thursday. For many years the Toowoomba Cup was run on the Saturday making it a two day carnival.

There have been a few changes with the Cup which will now be run on a Sunday in June. The idea is to increase the interest in the Weetwood and protect its black type status.

As I said it is no shock that some traditionalists believe it will be a PR disaster to shift the Weetwood to Saturday night, April 13. The Weetwood has always attracted a huge crowd on a Thursday. Under former boss Alan Volz it was one of the first clubs to really promote off track activities and many of its ideas have been copied by other clubs.

I have to admit it is a risk because the Weetwood could be buried in publicity for other meetings on a Saturday. However, I think something has to be done to boost interest in Toowoomba racing. It is a risk, but I reckon if you don't try something different you can only go backwards.

Of course the big problem with the Weetwood is the cushion track. While some stables are reluctant to run their winter hopes on the cushion the $150,000 in prizemoney should offset that, at least to some extent.

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To be honest I am all in favour of moving the Weetwood but, perhaps, to a stand alone Sunday afternoon.

It is no secret I think many of the country cups should be run on a Sunday as is the case in Victoria and to a lesser extent NSW. The Toowoomba Cup will be run on a Sunday next year and I hope if it is a major success the Weetwood might follow.

There was a perfect example last Saturday of how Sunday country racing could be a success with the Roma Cup. It was a super country program of racing, with a $50,000 Cup and TAB coverage.

One can only wonder about the coverage and TAB turnover had it been run on a Sunday. There is an old chestnut about penalty rates making Sundays not viable. But seeing many country clubs are run on a community basis I don't see much of a problem.

Roma deserved to get a stand alone Sunday which would have attracted the top jockeys from Brisbane. I still think Dalby, Kilcoy, Warwick, Stanthorpe, etc should have stand alone Sunday Cups or at least Sunday Cups run as a secondary meeting.

The whole towns get behind those Cup meetings and I can't see how they would fail. By the way Warwick and Stanthorpe have had TAB meetings (many years ago) while I am at a loss to explain why Dalby was ever taken off the TAB circuit in the first place.

For that matter I would have no objection to Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton running feature races on a Sunday. It is worth a try and if it fails, try something else.

There has been an attitude for too long in Queensland racing that to do something different will only attract criticism.

Unfortunately, there are those in the Queensland racing industry who criticise everything. I reckon if they won Gold Lotto they would whinge it should have been Powerball. But you can't go through life being afraid of criticism.

So back to the start and that is why I feel a switch of the Weetwood is worth a risk.

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Meanwhile, one thing about being ill is that you get to watch a lot of racing.

I am now an expert on racing from Perth to Cairns and back. But I reckon I picked up one thing while lying flat on my back for six weeks.

Bookies fluctuations are generally a waste of time at weekday meetings. I can well remember the days when many punters made a living following the bookies shorteners.

If you were doing it in this day and age you would have gone broke years ago.

It is particularly the case in Victoria where horses blow amazingly in the markets and still win. I am not for a moment suggesting there is anything underhand … rather it is the case that the bookies there open horses from certain stables at ridiculously short odds.

They have to get out and that is what happens.

Also, I am told that at the weekday meetings some of the big stables have come up with the trick of taking their horses in the exotics and all ups.

In other words they don't have a bean on them in the bookies ring but rather tie them up on the totes and with off course bookies across Australia in trifectas, first fours and all ups.

It is nothing new as I can remember a now retired trainer who made plenty taking his horses as a rover with the field in trifectas.

For a little outlay he got plenty when his horses won or were placed at double figure and, more than often, at triple figure odds.

So take a tip … if you like one on form and it blows in the market don't be afraid to bet!

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