THIS web-site continues to listen to what our readers have to say and has introduced a ‘Wednesday Whinge’ where you can express your feelings on racing industry issues of the past week. Just e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Statistics show that ‘letsgohorseracing’ is one of the fastest growing racing web-sites. One of our most read features has been the ‘Queensland Believe It Or Not’ file but readers told us that they wanted it expanded to cover a wider area of the racing world.
HERE is this week’s selection from the e-mail box:
‘IS it my imagination or is the 'Mr Fix-It' of Queensland Racing, Bob Bentley, deliberately targeting Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville Turf Clubs in this so-called 'independent' assessment of club finances. Over the years we have become very suspicious of anything that QR declares 'independent.'When this sort of thing happens so hot on the heels of officials from those three clubs being at loggerheads with Queensland Racing, one can only suggest it might be viewed as retribution for speaking out against the master.
We’ve seen a virtual Gerrymander of the voting system for Board elections at Queensland Racing, the bleeding dry of club finances, then a virtual takeover of valuable assets at some clubs, and now an uncontrollable administration being given free rein by a Government that doesn’t seem to give two hoots about racing.
It seems clubs and officials aren’t allowed to speak out against the industry hierarchy for fear of being ostracized or put under the spotlight of some investigation. We are living in Queensland not Uganda, aren’t we?’- Dave Bligh (no relation to the Premier, thank the Lord), Townsville.
‘WE now have a situation where major Queensland newspapers in Townsville and on the Gold Coast have attacked the ‘bully boy’ tactics being adopted by Queensland Racing chairman, Bob Bentley.
When is this Government or its weak Racing Minister going to rein in this out-of-control Board and its chairman? Never is our guess, for if things go ‘belly up’ they can always ‘blame it on Bentley.’
I am a passionate horse racing lover and I don’t want this to sound like a political attack but it is hard to stand idly by and watch clubs brought to their knees financially then major ownership interests being grabbed by QR and Bentley.
When you have editorials in two major Queensland newspapers attacking his perceived ‘power play,’ surely the Government has to take their heads out of the racing turf, stop listening to Bentley’s mate, their power-broker Bill Ludwig and start listening to the stakeholders and the people. Racing commands a big vote and the consequences could be devastating for Labor if they continue to refuse to listen.’ – Albert Williams, Hamilton.
THERE was a time when I doubted how strong Shadow Minister for Racing, Ray Stevens, would be when it came to a major confrontation with QR boss Bob Bentley.
Following the events of recent months and reading some of his media releases on your web-site – I can’t seem to find them in The Courier-Mail – I am now an unashamed Stevens’ supporter.
I think he would make a great Racing Minister. It wouldn’t be hard to better the efforts of Peter Lawlor, who Ray has quite appropriately labeled the ‘invisible man.’
Stevens has plenty of support from all sections of the industry for his call for an audit of Queensland Racing but don’t count on the Government delivering on this one. How many more newspapers have to point out his infallibilities before they show him the door?
And as for the Racing Minister well even his close friends are laughing behind his back at the fact that he isn’t prepared to show his face at the Gold Coast races these days but prefers to hide and have a punt at the Southport Sharks.’ – Ben Murphy, Gold Coast.
‘THE tote breakdown at the Gold Coast on one of the club’s two biggest days of the year was unforgiveable not to mention the fact it couldn’t be fixed for the entire afternoon.
About the only winners out of this debacle where the bookmakers which didn’t help those punters who play the exotics and had to sit there like zombies all afternoon in the faint hope that the problem would be corrected.
This is not good enough in this day and age. It is hard enough getting people to the races – let alone on big days when they can’t have a bet. Not everyone wants to bet with bookies. Imagine the furore if this had happened on Magic Millions day.
I don’t know how many big day regulars that I spoke to are vowing never to return. This is a public relations disaster that no club can afford to have.’- Josh Smith, Ashmore.
‘MAYBE the first job for Queensland Racing’s new police investigator should be to look into what seems to be some double-dipping at UNiTAB.
All dividends are rounded back to the nearest 10 cents at jumps time. I believe that’s after UNiTAB have snipped a bit off the top on most occasions.
A dead-heat eventuated at Toowoomba in race seven last Saturday evening.
NO 7 Doin' Deals went from a final dividend of $3.70 to $1.80 – an extra 5c into the UNiTAB coffers.
And NO 9 Look at Ruby went from $5.90 to $2.90 – an extra 5c to UNiTAB coffers.
That’s how I’ve worked it out and it doesn’t look right to me.’-Fred from Marburg.
‘MY friends are I are keen punters and great fans of the tips that top bookmaker Vince Aspinall supplies at times on Radio TAB out of Brisbane.
Aspinall is not only one of the top bookmakers in Australia but one of the best judges and to get his selections free is a bonus for any punter.
But we are told the boss of Radio TAB has issued an instruction that Vince is not to be used any more. Could this have anything to do with it being a TAB station and Vince being a bookie?’- Glen Rolls, Adelaide.
‘I was proud to be a visitor last week and if only racing in Queensland could harness the passion that is shown by race-goers who attend the annual carnival at Warrnambool in country Victoria.
They don’t have trouble attracting crowds for three days in a row, their tote doesn’t break down at big meetings and they don’t have the control body stepping in and cancelling meetings over the head of the stewards when the track is safe to race on but might get cut up a bit.
Instead of frolicking around at some junket to the high profile interstate studs, a Queensland Racing delegation should have been dispatched to Warrnambool to see how a successful carnival that punters actually want to attend is run.’- Sam Wilson, Sunshine Coast.
‘WHEN will Queensland Racing finally get the message that was sent by two Racing Inquiries that there has to be a separation of powers between administration and integrity?
In my opinion the decision to over-rule the stewards and abandon the midweek race meetings at Eagle Farm last week was a blatant disregard for the rulings of those inquiries and one could suggest tantamount to contempt.
How must young Chief Steward Wade Birch have felt? He declares the track heavy but safe for racing providing there is no more substantial rain. One millimetre, or heavy dew, is recorded and they call the meeting off.
But that was not the reason. It followed a request to QR from the Brisbane Racing Club on the grounds that racing would have damaged the track heading to the Winter Carnival feature meetings.
QR used some obscure Australian Racing Rule to back their decision but the fact still remains that the stewards – who are said to be in control of the meeting from early morning or the time that jockeys are declared – were over-ruled.’ – Jim Baldwin, Brisbane.
‘THE Brisbane Racing Club claimed it was ‘damned if it did and damned if it didn’t’ when it came to requesting an abandonment of the midweek meeting at Eagle Farm last week.
Understandably the club wants the track to be as close to perfect as possible for the major meetings of the Winter Carnival, especially after the criticism it copped last year.
But as far as I can see there were only two midweek meetings (last Wednesday and this week) before the first of the carnival meetings at Eagle Farm in early June.
If they can’t get the track right in that big a break something is very wrong. Didn’t QR appoint some expert track supervisor to oversee what is happening? Where was he when all this was going on? Sitting behind a desk I guess.
They have a young bloke who turned out the Warrnambool track in Victoria for three days of wet track racing last week in terrific order for their carnival. He wouldn’t have the experience of these high paid track officials in Queensland where something is obviously not right.’ – Glen Pratt, Brisbane.
‘I am a great Shane Scriven fan and I was far from happy when Michael Fraser, standing in for Ron Dufficy, gave his ride on Gold Water in the Hollindale Cup at the Gold Coast last Saturday a spray on Sky Channel’s Racing Retro.
If Scriven’s ride was a five out of 10 on Gold Water, then what would Fraser have given Katsidis for his effort on the favorite Road to Rock. Stathi might have been a victim of circumstance but in my opinion it wasn’t one of his better rides. He got too far back.
Fraser also steered clear of criticizing Jim Cassidy on Stryker or Stathi Katsidis on Phelan Ready but went to lengths to point out that they were trapped wide from bad draws. I thought the tactics adopted on Phelan Ready were abysmal.’- Josh Walker, Sydney.
‘ONE would hope the press agents for Queensland Racing are not as highly paid as has been suggested, especially if this release on the QR Web-site is any guide.
It read: ‘Beethog Beats the Odds’ and reported: ‘Odds of $51 didn’t deter Beethog in making the big step up to Group winner at the Gold Coast on Saturday, May 8.
‘Following on from a Class 1 midweek win, trainer Les Kelly made the decision to run the Shovhog-Gypsy Ahlee gelding in the Group 3 Carlton Mid gold Coast Guineas 3YO Plate. It proved a fruitful decision as apprentice Justin Stanley piloted Beethog to the Black Type victory.
‘From their midfield positon, there was no gap for Beethog after the home turn so Stanley brought him wide and his late surge secured the win in the tight finish.’
If Justin Stanley is still an apprentice, he’s the oldest apprentice in the world.
And sadly the writer of this article forgot to look between this horse’s legs – it’s actually a filly not a gelding.
Good one QR, what’s next?-Joe Collins, Tweed Heads.
‘I have written in the Winning Post that racing will not be around in 100 years in Australia and then I revised it down to 50 years and I have not changed my opinion.
Racing is imploding on itself to the extent that it is attacking the men, women and children who make up the industry and the young ones in particular who could keep it going. It is being bureaucratically driven by people who probably actually believe that they are acting in racing’s interests.
This bringing racing into the 21st century mantra sounds good but I think the long term impact will have a damaging effect and lessen the chances of racing surviving. They are imposing unrealistic conditions on clubs in regard to liquor distribution, security and that nonsensical workplace health and safety garbage that is being forced on every facet of living in Australia by bureaucrats. These restrictions eventually see the very people who could keep the industry alive turn away from it and go in other directions and who basically give up.
These bureaus have come into existence to create positions in Government from the public payroll purse. When these bureaucrats get there they come up with ideas to promote some agenda within their bureau which creates another bureau which creates more public purse payroll people and so it goes on until we have this gigantic bureaucratic dinosaur impacting on the way people live. I have been told that many larger overseas countries have nowhere near the restrictions that are imposed on Australian people and visitors from overseas are amazed at the stupidity that exists to allow this to happen here.
The corporate bookmakers are really the old SP Bookies in another guise contributing something to racing but not enough and calling a racetrack Betfair Park sticks in my craw. Old fashioned, maybe and out of touch some say but if they were not allowed to exist the return to racing would be higher surely.
Then in New South Wales we have the industry controllers trying to gag the licensees to protect their own positions from criticism before renewing their licenses. No doubt the trainers will rebel but from my experience with them presenting a united front on any subject I have my doubts if they will all stick solid - another example of unnecessary restrictions on peoples’ lives.
Then we have the racing journalists of the daily press who for the last forty years I can think of just go along on the easy path protecting their Friday payday, not raising any heckles, going along with some controversy when it is considered safe and with a nod from somebody higher up the monopolistic newspaper chain. I guess you can’t blame them. There aren’t many Kevin Perkins around.
These are just some of the ways causing racing to decline. There are many other reasons which others can elaborate on better than me and already have but unless those in charge start thinking differently I can’t see a change for the good.’ Mick Gurn.
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