DRIVING FAMILIES AWAY FROM THE RACES IN NORTH QUEENSLAND

(This is a story that was written this week by highly respected and hard-hitting racing writer, TERRY BUTTS, in his column 'Silks and Saddles' in the North Queensland Register. We reprint it courtesy of the author and the newspaper).

IT was going to be their big day out. Renee Ryan was virtually born on the Cannon Park racecourse (in Cairns) where her father, the legendary Ron Ryan rode hundreds of winners – and her mother, Janel, in more recent years, trained them and still does.

On Saturday, Janel and Ronnie celebrated 27 years of marriage. And yes, they were married at Cannon Park. Sunday was Renee’s birthday. So with her partner and another couple they drove down from Atherton to spend and celebrate Cairns Cup Day on the lawns of her much cherished Cannon Park – with her 18-week-old breast-fed baby, Mia Rose, of course.

But the anticipated joy of a big day out quickly soured. The happy foursome found a secluded shady spot for a table and the pram in an out of the way area behind the stands.

But they were soon approached by security, acting on instructions from an obviously jack-booted Queensland Government bureaucracy that charades under the guise of Liquor Licensing. And the hitherto happy foursome was unceremoniously booted off the track.

All because little Mia Rose, just happens to be 18 weeks – not 18 years old. Have you ever heard such garbage? No, it’s more than simply big badge bureaucracy out of control. It’s an insult to the intelligence of Government from Premier Bligh down. I don’t know how many votes she lost over two days in Cairns when allegedly hundreds of families were turned away from the gate.

Jenny Felix (wife of jockey Jeff) was turned away at the gate with her kids and waited all day outside in the car park. It’s just another instance of a policy that, for the very sake of the racing, must change.

Renee Ryan will never set foot on Cannon Park again – the place she spent every Saturday of every week of her early life. And who could blame her? Mother Janel is still ropeable. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if it were generally known that it was an 18-plus event – but really no-one knew,” she said.

A spokesman for the Cairns Branch of Licensing, who wouldn’t be quoted, said the Cairns Jockey Club had complimented his team on the way everything was handled. He stopped short of saying the club had approved the 18-plus status.

That came as a shock to one leading Cairns racing identity who said the club had been given a week’s notice that it was to be a plus-18 event. “There wasn’t a lot of time to prepare and notify everyone – we did our best,” he said.

Everyone is aware that binge drinking on big days has got its problems but surely there are other ways to tackle the problem. And what happened at Cairns on Saturday is definitely the wrong way.

What happened at the recent Townsville V8s? What happens every Saturday night at the football? Were kids barred? What next? Kids barred from their local show? Imagine.