October
DecemberTasmania leads way
Victoria and New South Wales might be credited with having the best racing in Australia and comparable to the best on the world stage but we are left in the wake of many others in terms of online information availability to industry participants and the general public.
I hope this letter prompts Racing Victoria Ltd and Racing NSW into action, at least catching up to the others who are less fortunate in terms of money and resources. Most people would be surprised at the high standard of racing websites provided by most Asian countries, India, Mauritius, the US and the UK to name a few — even Tasmania. Yes, that’s right, the forgotten state.
Tas Racing now has without doubt the best racing website in Australia. At the urgings of Tassie trainer Barry Baker, I have just familiarised myself with the site, which in addition to news stories and standard features provides free — yes, free — replays of all races (all three codes) and trials.
And get this. Tasmanians also enjoy — again free of charge — sectional times for every runner and every furlong of every race on every card including a horse’s stride count and efficiency! Their trials (did I mention you can view them free?) are posted online by the next day. Don’t take my word for it — look for yourself!
Personally speaking as a jockey agent, availability of information is vital in our jobs yet we are left to fend for ourselves to obtain whatever information we can whichever way we can.
Information which should be made readily available to anyone interested in racing, assuming we want people to learn as much about our industry as possible.
Viewing of trials and race replays should not be an issue and we should be able to access them free from one site. I have on several occasions accessed live Asian and American racing free from official websites without worrying about contractual arrangements.
Up until two years ago or so, RVL’s website provided nominations, weights, acceptances and relevant form for every meeting Australia wide. Then RISA, in its wisdom, decided that it owned the rights to that data and forced RVL to remove it.
The absolutely ridiculous part about that decision is that RISA then did not provide that information to the public, free or otherwise. Who is running the show? Access to user-friendly interstate form prior to acceptances is vital for agents who have jockeys riding interstate and the same goes for trainers who have entered their horses interstate.
Can someone in authority please take charge of this situation and make it happen? I acknowledge the fact that RVL recently made the effort to spruce up its site, coinciding with the VRC spring carnival and probably for the benefit of overseas racing buffs.
But we don’t need a pretty site, just an informative one.
Altona (Vic)