OBE UNPLUGGED - THERE IS ALWAYS A STORY TO TELL
By Mark Oberhardt | Monday, March 11, 2013
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 meeting at Eagle Farm last Wednesday was a perfect example of why racing can always produce a good story.
There were about five really good human-equine interest stories out of the meeting.
For instance More Colours who won a maiden for comeback trainer Richie Stephenson could just about fill a page himself.
The More Than Ready galloper had come back from a life threatening injury as a younger horse to be a winner. And he had been everywhere from Singapore to Scone and back before getting the money.
But he wasn't the only winner to beat the grim reaper.
Uppland who scored his first win in 18 months also had an interesting story.
Uppland, a former promising kiwi galloper, had managed to impale himself on a couple of stakes while preparing to go for a swim. He was lucky to be alive let alone win.
Of course his win was a real family affair as he was trained by Dwayne Schmidt, ridden by his daughter Priscilla Schmidt and strapped by another daughter Cassie Schmidt.
Priscilla is a story in herself having ridden 20 winners since she came back to riding from her second broken ankle. And Cassie is riding plenty of winners at the provincial tracks and should soon be headed to metropolitan racing.
Then there was the Members Cup winner Tokamak who was a once rated among the most promising horses in NSW when he won his first four starts.
It was a credit to trainer Barry Lockwood to be able to get him back to that form in Brisbane where he has now won his past three starts.
Then again Lockwood is a story as well because he has bounced back from a recent stint in hospital.
I could go on but you get the general picture … there is always a story at a racetrack.
The unfortunate thing, as has been pointed out, is that not all of those stories are getting out to the general public.
I understand that problem was highlighted at a recent conference of Australian racing officials.
There have been some positive steps taken in the south.
The Victorian racing website and media coverage is exceptional. Now I know they have plenty of money but that can't be used as a total excuse.
For starters in Queensland I could name at least four racetracks in the southeast corner which don't even have a media room. No wonder coverage of their meetings is nil.
The Gold Coast has the best of the media rooms and it is a pleasure to work there (once you get through the traffic.) You might say poor baby, but in this day and age the overall media expect certain standards.
So if you want coverage of your sport you have to encourage the media … not just racing media … to at least attend a few times a year.
Racing seems stuck in a rut where officials remember the days when the sport was No 1 with the media.
I have a copy of the last edition of the now defunct Sunday Sun newspaper which included 11 pages of racing (stories, columns, results, etc.). Of course that did not include the current four page form guide which is necessary because of Sunday racing. But it gives you an idea of how things have changed.
It isn't old codgers like me race officials should be chasing but rather the younger brigade of media.
After all there are plenty of stories to tell.
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