VOLUME OF VOICES OF CONCERN CONTINUES TO GROW OVER RACING VICTORIA'S RACE-FREE WEEK

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Michael Kent Jnr is the latest in what is becoming a fairly long line of Victorian trainers to register both his disappointment and concern at Racing Victoria’s decision to schedule a race-free week from Monday July 26 to Friday July 30.

The volume of criticism has been turned up as the race-free week approaches.

While all of the points of concern raised have merit, it is still surprising that the criticism seems to have only gained traction at this late stage, given that you have to go all of the way back to November 25, 2020 to find the relevant Racing Victoria media release with regard to the new race-free week policy.

That media release reads: ‘As previously announced as part of the industry’s review of the working week, RV will trial a race-free week over the next two years at the conclusion of the season. No race meetings or official trials have been programmed in Victoria from Monday, 26 July 2021 to Friday, 30 July 2021. This will be repeated in July 2022.’

Eight months later … and too late to change anything for this season … the groundswell of criticism is building with a lot of valid questions being asked about the supposed benefits of the trial which arguably (bearing in mind we do not know what has happened behind closed doors) should have been made a lot earlier.

Clearly, if this weight of opinion continues to grow and the hoped for benefits (if any) to participants does not materialise next week, the chances of the end of season race-free week being repeated in 2022, as already stated by Racing Victoria, would have to come under full review.

For now though, next week will be a week of no racing in Victoria and participants can do no better than make the best of it.