October
NovemberTake back our heritage
The Linlithgow Stakes, a Group 2 event which has been run in Cup week for the last 107 years, was won this year by a promising young horse by the name of Deep Field.
This race has been won over the years by turf luminaries such as Amounis, Phar Lap, Chatham, Ajax, High Caste, Star of Heaven, Vain and All Shot to name a few.
Unfortunately for the connections of this year’s winner, the race book will show for posterity that Deep Field won the Tab.com.au Stakes. The line that shows the registered name of the race in the race book is so small as to be barely noticed.
It doesn’t have any effect anyway, because the race callers, the press, and the race club refer to the race under the sponsor’s name. I can hear the old-timers now: “Do you remember the day Phar Lap won the Tab.com.au Stakes?”
Doesn’t sound right, does it?
Why do we continue to sell off our racing heritage for monetary gain? Surely the names of group races should be sacrosanct.
In North America some race clubs, acutely aware of their history, sell “presentation sponsorships”, which give the corporate entity that sponsors the race the opportunity to advertise their product in a number of ways, the important point being that the race name remains inviolable.
I believe we should learn from that, revert to the original names and regain our precious racing heritage.
Blackburn North (Vic)