October
JuneBring back the 0-58s
Spot on, Peter Meilak (4/6). If ever a rating band should have been untouched it was the 0-58, the most popular to accommodate the lesser grade of horse.
Now with these races being run in Victoria as benchmark 58s, good luck getting a run if you’re rated 57 or below.
And if you do, you’re up against a better class of horse with a three- or four-kilo claimer on board.
These horses take the prize while the horses rated under 58 drop further in rating, making it impossible to plan a racing program as you don’t know when the next run might be.
Some of these horses accept in the higher-rating races well outside their class just to get a run, resulting in their rating plummeting further and making all concerned look silly. But what choice do they have?
This is an example of total disregard for owners, who continually fork out the expenses of training/farrier/vet fees to see their horses participate in a race. It’s also frustrating for trainers — all they can do is send them around endlessly on the training track in the hope of getting a start.
What happened to a level playing field?
Catani (Vic)