MY CALL: FINGERS CROSSED THAT THIS TIME THIS RACING INDUSTRY FORUM WILL BE FAIR DINKUM

By David Fowler | Tuesday, March 5, 2019

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.

I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Yes, I hope to back a few winners at Doomben but, more importantly, I hope the Queensland Racing Industry Forum is fair dinkum.

In my almost 40 years racing involvement, I can't recall how many gatherings of this type I've attended as either a reporter or a speaker.

We approached enthusiastically, departed enthusiastically only to later realise it was all talk. Again.

Lip service at its best.

So you may well ask why will tomorrow be any different?

I honestly believe this is a real opportunity to lay all the cards on the table.

Too often these type of meetings have been a head butting exercise between the industry and controlling body while the Government looked on lazily.

It's a different ball game tomorrow. The forum has been organised by the Government and has been sometime in the making. Not a thought bubble.

It's important to remember that the Thoroughbred Alliance that led the march on the Point Of Consumption tax crusade executed their task extremely well.

That Government meeting industry head on exercise didn't go unnoticed in George Street.

Significantly, the Thoroughbred Alliance will be key speakers at the forum.

As I wrote here last year, this group did such a good job that they couldn't afford to rest on their laurels.

There is little doubt the roles of QRIC, QCAT and the states tri-code administration will be the centre of robust discussion by the Thoroughbred Alliance and others.

At the conclusion of tomorrow's three hour forum, the State Government will have a truckload of information and opinion to digest on these and other matters.

The measure of success of this forum is how much will be acted upon.

Change is often not easy to enact but several issues will present the Government with a trigger.

They can earn the industry's respect and leave a decent legacy if that trigger is pulled.

David Fowler