THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - THE QUESTION HAS TO BE ASKED. IS THERE TOO MUCH RACING?

By Graham Potter | Sunday, June 8, 2014

Anybody who plays any regular role in racing wants to race as often as possible.

When horses are competing on the track it means there is a chance of a return on investment for a myriad of racing stakeholders, from the breeders who get the ball rolling to the owners who bring horses into stables to the trainers and jockeys who back up long hours of effort with expertise as they look to kick a goal.

Then there are the punters, seemingly always ready to keep their love / hate affair with racing very much alive. And of course there are those whose turnover on racing is vital to their bottom-line.

So there is no argument there. We all want to race as often as possible.

But, for those who haven’t noticed, racing is now getting into an uncomfortable position which is sooner or later going to force authorities to diagnose and determine just exactly what ‘as often as possible’ really means.

Perhaps that conundrum can best be solved by addressing another question, namely, ‘when is there too much racing?’

Let me try and answer that.

When the tracks cannot handle the workload. That’s my defining point of reference.

I’m not saying we are there yet, but with jockeys regularly sounding off to stewards about the state of the going at various venues and punters coming away calling certain racing surfaces a disgrace, it seems to be a no-brainer that such a situation cannot be allowed to continue without some wider ranging effort being made to address a deteriorating problem.

A new track (at Toowoomba) is under pressure. Major reparation work at another (Ipswich) has failed to satisfy some riders while band-aid work at other venues still leaves room for major concern.

The bottom line, for me, is that right now many tracks are not handling their workload to an acceptable level.

If that view is correct, working back to my premise, it follows that if the tracks cannot handle their workload then there is too much racing.

For the record, I believe most track managers are doing their best they can under difficult circumstances. If they are coming up short arguably it is the circumstances that need changing.

Could it be that the case for a reduction of race-meetings is the only answer if the future of racing on this front is to be safeguarded?

Believe me, I know how unpopular this theory will be. I’m not happy with it myself but, as I said, racing is getting into an uncomfortable position with regard to track maintenance.

It is a practical problem which requires a practical solution.

I don’t believe authorities should continue to play musical chairs with meetings, switching venues at late notice.

As it stands now, apart from the obvious inconvenience to owners, trainers and punters, that management technique would fall into the band-aid category.

At best, this option has proved a short-term fix for a long term problem which does little to protect the future of the industry.

I hope there is a better way but I also know, as painful as it is, sometimes you have to make a decision before you are forced into it. Then you can call it planning!

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