October
JanuaryA bit rich
I think it is a bit rich Gerry Harvey whining about the need for the government to put more money into "their" (Harvey and Singleton’s) Magic Millions race series — to make it one of the premier race carnivals in Australia.
These two guys make an astronomical amount of money from the sales of their own horses as well as the commission on all horses sold at Magic Millions sales.
Plus, if you want to race in the Magic Millions series it costs over $3000 per horse to enter — so effectively the prizemoney comes from this and those guys don’t stump up a cent.
Remember these are two of the richest guys in Australia, who have done very well from racing, and they want everyone else to pay for their race series.
If governments were to kowtow to their demands (which they whine on about every year prior to the MM race) it would inevitably help them get more out of their horse sales as owners would only be eligible if they bought a horse through Magic Millions sales and paid the entry fees. The real winners would be Harvey and Singleton.
I do agree that governments should put more money into racing, considering how much they make from it. I also hear Richard Callander whining about $40,000 public-holiday races in Sydney. Boo hoo, Richard. Brisbane Saturday events are always that low. And I can tell you it is no cheaper to train horses here than Sydney.
I think it’s about time that Queensland racing was overhauled or an inquiry put in place into its administration.
Sunnybank (Qld)