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Letter of the Week

No respect

I’m tipping this isn’t the first letter Winning Post received after the debacle that was racing in Australia last Saturday.
Racing Victoria insisting on trying 30-minute racing on a typically busy Saturday national racing day was a disgrace that was magnified by Racing NSW’s idea that floating times may work and Sky Channel’s decision to show bush races over metropolitan racing.
The Punters who finance racing were treated as mugs on the major race day of the week. I cannot think of another industry that can treat their customers with such distain.
I’m probably pushing you know what uphill wishing for a national focus for our industry, but for me it couldn’t come quickly enough.
Premier racing from metropolitan tracks should be shown on Sky 1. Period.
No special deals for bush meetings, just the main racing on the main channel that satisfies the majority of punters and maximises turnover. Sky 2 can cover the rest. It’s so easy, yet Sky refuses to make it easy for its customers.
Metropolitan races run 10 minutes apart always worked. The other provincial and country meetings fit in and around these main races. It’s so simple.
I race horses and attend meetings in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. I know that each track wants to prioritise and showcase its live racing program.
But every track is guilty of providing substandard vision, sound and information from the other tracks, especially the other metropolitan tracks. If race clubs embraced the entire national racing event and made every race run part of its raceday, surely it would improve and grow turnover.
Races then wouldn’t need to be 20 or 30 minutes apart to keep the attendees entertained. There would be action every few minutes and a real reason to attend the track rather than the local club.
For me, 40 between live races works perfectly — time to read the form, get your bet on, talk to your friends, have a bite to eat and a cool schooner. Time for Sky Racing and the state racing bodies to put their egos aside, represent our industry better and treat their customers with the respect we all deserve.

 

Wes Heritage
Burleigh Heads (Qld)
Today's Racing
Friday 29 March
Saturday 30 March
Sunday 31 March