THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: THE EVEREST - LETS NOT SPOIL IT WITH HYPERBOLE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, September 10, 2017

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.

Who said money can’t buy you love!

Just wave a $10 million carrot out there and they will come ... big racing organisations, owners, trainers ... and they will all embrace that $10 million race with a warm fuzzy feeling, trumpeting what a wonderful concept it is for the promotion of racing.

Don’t get me wrong. I am going to follow the build up to The Everest race as closely as anyone else between now and October 14, but let’s not pretend it is going to be the anywhere near the race of the century, in terms of quality, as the promo pushing ‘the greatest race on turf’ would have us believe.

That’s not meant as a negative comment. Rather it is a simple plea to organisers and players alike to keep things real and promote the heck out of the many factual, positive, intriguing aspects of The Everest which allows racing to be marketed in a manner that was not previously available.

Buying into the race via expensive, limited ‘slot’ ownership purchases, which can then be traded, might turn the race into a rich man’s playground at the top end of affairs ... but that keeps them happy. It’s like playing a strategic chess game while keeping your cards close to your chest ... the type of gamble big time players like to be involved in.

On the next level there is the question of which horses will be chosen by the slot owners. That brings just about every trainer and owner with a good sprinter into the fold. Here anybody can feature ... inexpensive horses, the lesser profile trainers, small syndicate share-holders and others.

The participation net has widened.

Then there are the punters ... watching who buys slots, looking at those with horses putting their hands up to claim a starting position, watching the game-playing, the dealing, waiting for that final field so they can try to find a winner.

So The Everest has a lot going for it but you wouldn’t want the marketing department to fall off the mountain by spoiling the natural interest with an over-kill of hyperbole.

As I said, let’s keep it real!

More articles