October
NovemberThink local
Just thought I would share some feedback from Emirates Stakes day.
I went along to Flemington against my better judgement but with Black Caviar about to win her 16th race in a row I thought it would be worth it. I should have stayed at my local. I’ll tell you why.
$50 to get in, $6.80 for a can of beer, $6 for a race book that fell apart after race three and the only results you got were fleetingly displayed results for the Flemington card.
Having to deal with those flat screens where they switched between Sky and TVN, you were lucky to see any dividends on the screen. What we got was top fluc and starting price with a heavy reliance on a particular corporate bookmaker’s prices compared to the TAB. The exotics were left blank for every race outside of Flemington. Why should it be like this?
Getting a bet on was horrendous but you accept that on these days. So when I found a little-used TAB caravan near the end of the straight I thought you beauty. But guess what? They had all the screens displaying odds but they didn’t have one showing the races.
The punter has no place at the track on these days yet the industry needs punters to keep it alive. The people coming to carnival time are strangers to the races for the rest of the year. It is time these racecourses lifted their game to look after the punters and until they do I am not going back.
Gisborne (Vic)