MY CALL - DEAGON CAN BECOME A VIABLE RACING OPTION AS A MIDWEEK ALTERNATIVE IN BRISBANE
By David Fowler | Tuesday, September 17, 2013
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.
Deagon racecourse can become a viable midweek alternative for racing in Brisbane.
"Hold your horses" (no pun intended), they say. "There's no infrastructure to facilitate a "proper" meeting," they wail.
Even Racing Queensland chairman Kevin Dixon was lukewarm in his response when I posed the question as to whether Deagon could be used as an option to other southeast Queensland tracks.
His "band-aid and strings" reference to the putting together of infrastructure on the day wasn't too inspiring, but let's just take a step back.
Sunday's picnic meeting was run without a hitch as far as the racing was concerned. Maybe a few more bars and a bit more shade on the other side of the fence, but the racing report card was sound.
You could have a bet, there was a ridgy-didge photo finish, a race broadcast and all the bells and whistles of integrity.
So if we extend to TAB coverage, you need Sky Channel. Been done before at the EI meeting in 2007.
On-track TAB facilities? Tattsbet now has a whiz bang roving van to accommodate such cases.
And the bookies clearly demonstrated on Sunday they can go back to ledgers and tickets rather than computers.
Sometime soon, Eagle Farm is going to shut up shop for a makeover and Doomben can't race every Wednesday and Saturday.
Deagon was a big success as an event but also got the thumbs up that it can run a race meeting.
It's worth thought for a selected few dates
****************************************************************************************************
Where does Sunday's event at Deagon sit in 2014?
Well, for starters, it will be on again.
There's often that rush of blood in debriefings of "what can we do to make it better next year?” As I outlined, some infrastructure problems can be easily remedied.
But "if it ain't broken", why try to fix it.
Would TAB and Sky Racing coverage give the day any more zing? I doubt it but I'm sure it will come under consideration.
Many will not appreciate this day was a bond between the Deagon racetrack and the local community and they embraced each other well. It was a perfect fit.
The Sandgate and Deagon folk took rightful ownership and that should stay.
Their once-a-year love affair with "their" racetrack should be fiercely protected.
***************************************************************************************************
I'm surprised all racetrack managers aren't bald like me.
Surely they must be after tearing their hair out.
I've heard in recent times that local trainers want tracks prepared to a "dead 5". Dead-set on the money.
But the jockeys will have none of that.
Then they have the regular whinge from the punters that the track is biased.
That's all on top of having to "get the number right". Is it a dead 4 or a dead 5 etc, etc.
Remember the days of stamping "fine and fast" on a TAB sheet. Memories!
***************************************************************************************************
What did you think of Atlantic Jewel's winning performance on Saturday?
The cheer squad described it as an "exercise gallop". I'll reserve judgement.
But I'm happy to talk up Fiorente. In a race that didn't produce a cracking tempo, his finishing burst was awesome, albeit in slightly slower time that Atlantic Jewel.
Good to see the real big guns starting to hit their straps at the right time.
***************************************************************************************************
Is a certain high-profile jockey starting to take more of an interest in the training side of things these days?
My undercover team in the Hendra precinct seem to think so and they're rarely wrong.
Watch this space
Until next week.
More articles
|