THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: BRINGING THE SKY RACING CHANNEL'S PERFORMANCE INTO FOCUS

By Graham Potter | Sunday, November 13, 2016

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

It is a matter which has a direct influence on the turnover, and thus the business viability, of most race meetings, including those held at the Sunshine Coast.

I refer to the television coverage of racing which, in Queensland’s case, is locked into a contract with the Sky Racing network.

It would be an understatement to say that racing officials, stakeholders and racegoers involved in Queensland racing have become increasingly disenchanted with the level of coverage which Sky affords the Queensland racing product.

Trainer Rob Heathcote verbalised those misgivings in a post-race interview on Sky itself last Saturday.

In essence Heathcote was only saying out aloud what was being whispered around corners so it was not surprising that his view was immediately backed by a wall of support.

There can be little doubt that Queensland racing, for whatever reason ... and many have been touted, is being sold short by Sky.

Equally, there can be no argument that those involved in the sport in Queensland deserve specific clarification on the matter from senior Sky management.

Clearly there is not an equitable division of coverage between states. In many cases provincial meetings in New South Wales trump the coverage of Queensland metropolitan meetings by a country mile both in terms of individual pre-race commentary and post-race interviews. How can Sky justify this?

The starting times of races are set by Sky. On what basis is racing in different states prioritised so as to allow certain meetings maximum live coverage while others (like Queensland racing) are allocated a minimum amount and why?

Does Sky realise that by not giving adequate pre-race time to its presenters in Queensland it is effectively providing less motivation for punters to bet on Queensland races than it does on meetings where more comprehensive information is advised ... and it can therefore be argued that this policy is actually detrimental to the Queensland cause?

Those are questions inviting swift, direct answers from Sky.

If Sky can do that, it will go a long way towards improving its credibility in the state, towards re-emphasising its commitment to Queensland and towards showing that it actually cares about all and not just particular sections of its audience.

The ball is now firmly in their court!