October
JanuarySpread the riches
Whether you race a bush battler or a city-class horse that actually pays its way, it’s expensive. So good on NSW for setting the pace in minimum prizemoney levels.
The vast majority of owners are never going to win a $6 million Melbourne Cup, $4 million Sydney Queen Elizabeth Stakes, or a $3 million Golden Slipper. So would connections be better served if some of that prizemoney was spread throughout grass-roots levels, or does that dream of some day getting a monster money race winner keep them going?
As to our obsession with being atop the racing world for a few weeks, twice a year, American and Asian horses race for great money at home, so no matter how much we increase our prizemoney they will rarely come here.
European horses often race for peanuts at home, so they’d keep coming even if we halved our prizemoney.
The sheikhs seek competition, not money, so they’ll keep coming.
The irony is our top races would probably have the same fields whatever the prizemoney.
I’m more concerned with other states’ minimum country prizemoney getting closer to NSW than top-end prizes.
The winners from the current bush prizemoney discrepancies are northern and southern NSW race clubs. Thanks to border-hoppers, they now have capacity fields.
Wangaratta (Vic)