IN his popular column, ‘SILKS & SADDLES,’ published by the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, respected racing writer TERRY BUTTS draws comparisons between the ordinary crowd that turned out for the race meeting at Ooralea this week compared to that attracted by the annual Beach Day at Mackay on Sunday.

Butts also has an interesting item on plans for the implementation of acquisition strategies at Racing Queensland, looks forward to the Townsville Amateurs this week and the annual Ewan meeting, and calls for the Hendra vaccine to be affordable for owners and trainers.

 

LESS THAN 80 AT MACKAY RACES WHILE 10,000 TURN OUT FOR BEACH GIMMICK 

THIS week Mackay had a race meeting on its multi million track at Ooralea. There were 54 runners – all expensive thoroughbreds – and a paying crowd of fewer than 80.

On Sunday 50 odd horses lined up in 12 races on the b each front at Mackay Harbor. There was everything from Welsh mountain ponies and Shetlands to a giant Clydesdale.

Some came from as far away as Albury, on the NSW-Victorian border. And they were cheered on by a highly enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 or more.

Incredulous, you might agree. But the incredulity doesn’t end there.

The organizer and promoter of this event, that already rivals Birdsville as a Queensland racing attraction and is up there with the Ute Muster that has made Deniliquin famous, is a former Mackay publican, Mick Pope.

He was the one who a few years ago took a lease (or had an arrangement) to run the bars and provide entertainment at Ooralea. And he used to pack ‘em into the races on a Saturday afternoon.

Mackay Turf Club reckoned it could do the same and Mick was shown the door. So he came up with the Beach Races-on-the-Harbour idea.

Of course selling coke in paper cups for $5 a pop didn’t go down too well so when Mick went so did the Ooralea crowd and the expensive new Government-funded facilities lay shamefully empty.

But they queue up for Mick’s beach day carnival.

 

TALK ABOUT BURYING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND – THAT’S WHAT THE MTC DOES

WORSE, Mick Pope approached the Mackay Turf Club this year and invited them to join-in for his four -day festival that included fine dining, fashion and entertainment. And there was a host of VIPS in town for the event.

Mick even suggested, apart from its midweek race day, the club might host a horse expo on the Ooralea grounds.

It was too hard. Or was it petty politics? Whatever, the public and the industry are the sufferers.

So in a nutshell, 10,000 turned up for the beach races and the usual handful of died-in-the-wool Mackay punters were at Ooralea on Tuesday.

 

INTERESTING TIMES FOR RQ WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF ACQUISITION STRATEGIES

THE new CEO of Racing Queensland, Darren Conden, has had a baptism of fire

Well, not quite, but the new man at the helm says he is relishing the challenges.

He agrees much has to be done to rekindle general interest and confidence in the game.

High on the list is the implementation of ‘acquisition strategies on almost every facet of racing, including administration, stewards, jockeys and trainers.’

He is definitely on the mark there and says already there are moves to establish a training course in Queensland for Korean apprentices.

There is already a shortage of jockeys, particularly in country areas.

And as the older jockeys retire, there is an acute shortage of young apprentices coming through the ranks. And the majority of those are female.

Frankly it is a serious matter.

 

DROUGHT ‘NOT A CONCERN’ FOR HORSES TO BE PADDOCKED FOR EWAN

ALSO of concern is the drought in north0west Queensland that some trainers believe could impact on the number of horses to paddock next Sunday for the two-day Ewan meeting in September.

However, long time president, Noel Brosnan, has assured trainers that Hillgrove Station, where all horses are paddocked, has not been affected by the weather and is not in the drought area that has ravished other parts of the district.

Noel also added that a switch to a corn-fed meeting would not be permitted.

“Under the current RQ regime we can have a two-day meeting if we restricted it to grass fed horses.

“If we switched to corn-fed we would be given only one day.

“And a one-day meeting would not be viable,” Brosnan said.

Well, you might ask, how can Oak Park have a two-day meeting for corn-feds?

 

RQ OPTION OF PERCENTAGE OF GROSS A BIG WINNER FOR BETFAIR

SO now we know why Betfair sent a congratulatory message to Racing Queensland recently.

The betting giant was indeed pleased that RQ allowed an option for bookies to either pay a 1.5 turnover tax or to pay 20% of gross profit on bets taken on Queensland races.

Betfair obviously chose to pay a percentage of their gross and were grateful for the opportunity.

Racing Queensland will no doubt keep a very close eye on how it’s all audited.

And those bookies in other far flung places around the country that operate on Queensland races and neglect to pay the product fee should be careful. A crackdown is on the way.

 

HENDRA VIRUS VACCINE GOOD NEWS BUT IT MUST BE AFFORDABLE

THE Hendra virus vaccine is in the news of late and it seems inevitable it will become compulsory for all racehorses in the state to be inoculated.

Currently it costs between $100-$160 per horse for vaccine and booster.

Many trainers are opposed to it citing extra costs for already financially burdened owners, and the poor results from the EI vaccine a few years ago.

But with Hong Kong last week lifting the ban on inoculated horses, and the likelihood of Singapore and Macau following, we believe it’s only a matter of time before it is compulsory.

But how long will the vaccine be effective in a horse?

To date we know it is good for six months but there is no guarantee after that.

Even the vets don’t agree whether it should be compulsory – at this stage.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE TTC THE AMATEURS REVERTS TO TWO DAYS

THE curtain falls on another winter racing carnival with the Townsville Amateurs on Saturday.

It will be almost like old times when the Amateurs raced on two days and were widely considered the best two-day carnival in the State.

Those days are long gone however in spite of serious efforts by various committees to rejuvenate it back to its glory days when it was renowned for its social and racing activities.

Perhaps a change in distance for the Cup to the original 1400m might be a move to consider. 

This year the Amateurs is still only a one-day affair, but the Townsville Turf Club will stage a meeting on Friday which should add a bit of  extra glamour and a carnival type atmosphere.

 

COLUMN COURTESY OF TERRY BUTTS AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, one of Australia's leading rural newspapers.

TERRY BUTTS can be contacted by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.