THE CHALLENGE IS TO MAKE ROOM FOR TRADITION AND INNOVATION TO SIT SIDE BY SIDE AT RACING'S TABLE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, September 15, 2019

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.

The Melbourne Cup … the race that stops a nation … will always hold a prestigious place on the racing calendar and the Cup week will never lose its gloss in terms of being the ultimate social and sporting occasion to attend by those who want to see and be seen.

Purely as a horse race though, the Melbourne Cup contest is coming under pressure.

Firstly, in a sense, the Melbourne Cup has become a victim of its own success in that its global marketing venture has brought an increasing number of overseas entries to the race.

At first that was a drizzle but, in recent years, that has escalated into a downpour whereby local runners have dropped away to the point that several of the most well-to-do Australian owners now either buy, or buy into, overseas horses to further their chances of Cup glory … all of which has seemingly led to a drop off in interest of the Australian racing public in the Melbourne Cup race itself.

Note, I say, racing public. For the general public … the bet once a year brigade … the Melbourne Cup will be business as usual and a really good time will be had by all at a plethora of venues throughout the country on that famous first Tuesday in Melbourne … but the focus rings will only sharpen the image close to race-day.

By stark contrast, people can’t stop talking about the new kid on the block, the $14 million The Everest, as they already have been doing for months out from the race itself.

While it might end up having an overseas runner or two in the race The Everest is mostly about local big-name runners who Australian racegoers are familiar with and whose progress into the race they can follow in every detail.

With it’s ‘buy a slot, choose a runner’ format, The Everest flies in the face of any traditional offering. It is hyped up using every modern marketing tool and has a razzmatazz about it that has carried it to the forefront of the racing headlines.

And some of those in Melbourne don’t like it. Victoria Racing Chair Amanda Elliot has called it a ‘pop up’ race. Nick Williams, the son of six-time winning Melbourne Cup owner Lloyd Williams, refers to Sydney racing and The Everest as ‘second-tier racing’ … and, by so doing, they give added coverage to a race they say deserves little.

It only goes to show how far The Everest race innovation has come in a few short years.

The bottom line is that racing needs its tradition and it needs innovation.

I’m all for racing’s tradition … the wonderful history it has and the amazing honour roll of respect for all of those participants who created it … but innovation is equally as important with its ability to reach out to grab and capture a new generation of punters which racing needs and cannot do without.

The growing pains of change might hurt some for a while, but there can be no doubt that making room for both tradition and innovation to sit side by side at racing’s table is not only the way that racing is best served but it is the way that the future of racing is going to unfold.

It would be foolish to fight against it.