October
JanuaryEight is too much?
Regarding RVL’s jumps decision, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Hopefully now that the board has given the jumping industry what it has determined as benchmark figures to ensure its future, participation in the sport may return to something like the headier days of 2006 and 2007.
The query over the future of the sport has put a lot of pressure on trainers, jockeys and stewards to ensure a safe season.
There is no grey, only black and white, in the benchmark figures and it is hard to mount an argument against what is proposed except one.
Average starters per race of eight is "doable", but it could be ambitious in a climate of uncertainty over the future of jumps racing to promise a high ratio of races with not less than the magical eight runners.
Administrators and participants need to work very closely together with the spacing of trials and programming of races to give jumps racing its best shot at achieving that goal but it would be throwing the bath water out with the baby if that was the only measure not met in 2010 and led to the sport’s cancellation.
The RVL board has sent a clear message to the jumping industry — perform or it’s finished. That message has been received loud and clear.
Whilst Mike Symons has been lauded as a white knight, acknowledgement must be given to Michael Caveny from Country Racing Victoria, his board and the other industry stakeholders who provided the platform from which Symons was able to launch the life line.
Whilst the RVL board is looking at key performance indicators, it would be interesting to know the average starters in two-year-old races for the past two seasons and the ratio of races where less than eight starters ran, as well as other statistics such as turnover and prizemoney.
Perhaps similar KPIs could be developed and placed on those races as have been imposed on jumps racing.
Last Friday night at Moonee Valley, in the middle of the program, five runners contested a $200,000 race but there was no murmur about KPIs or turnover.
Just something else for the board to mull over.
Melbourne