OBE UNPLUGGED - METROPOLITAN RACING HOLDS THE KEY TO MAXIMISING BETTING TURNOVER

By Mark Oberhardt | Monday, March 18, 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.

THERE has been plenty of discussion about whether the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast should have more metropolitan standard Saturday meetings.

The main meeting on Saturday was at the Gold Coast and despite a mediocre line up in the $100,000 two year old it was a strong day. But it will be interesting to see the final TAB and bookies turnover figures for the day.

It is a fact of life that punters don't like betting away from the metropolitan tracks and in particular away from Eagle Farm.

As I have bored everyone with for years if you are going to rely almost entirely on betting turnover for your survival you have to maximise it.

It means, at this stage, you have to race as much as possible at Eagle Farm and Doomben.

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The fact that old style punters just don't like betting away from metropolitan venues was shown up in Victoria on Saturday where even Bendigo … which had over a million dollars in prizemoney … copped a bagging in some punting circles on Saturday.

Put that meeting at Flemington and the same critics would have been knocking each other down to get there.

I have made it very clear that I enjoy visiting both the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast but don't enjoy the drive.

That should not be a reason for having only a few meetings there on a Saturday but it should be a consideration. There were plenty of Brisbane people who went to Eagle Farm or the TAB instead of the Gold Coast.

Of course the Bruce Springsteen concert and the Reds v Force match were both in Brisbane and many didn't fancy the trip to the Gold Coast and then getting back in time.

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What I am trying to get at is, if you are going to program a large number of meetings for the two coasts, you need to have an incentive for punters to bet.

In the long term more coast Saturdays might work but in the short term it could be a disaster for a cash-strapped industry.

At Eagle Farm on Saturday I was interested to see a trial to give punters more information on the infield screen and other TV monitors.

There are a few problems with poor old Eagle Farm … basically it needs a complete makeover … but at least the BRC are trying to attract more punters.

Hopefully, it will be a long term success.

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This will be my last blog for Horse Racing Only as I start a new job today which some might see it as a conflict of interest if I were to continue with the blog.

We all know how sensitive some racing folk are to conflicts of interest but usually that’s provided it involves someone who isn't a friend.

Good luck and good punting.

Mark Oberhardt

For the last four-and-a-half months Mark Oberhardt has brought his own inimitable style of reporting to HRO through his personal blog, Obe Unplugged. Given his profile in racing, Obe’s presence also helped introduce new readers to HRO from which the site has been able to glean much benefit. Obe is now moving on to a new challenge. HRO wish to thank him for his contribution to the site on so many levels and we wish him well in the future.