DOWN UNDER DINERS ARE WELL OFF COMPARED TO OUR 'FROG' COLLEAGUES

THOSE of us who have complained about the quality and cost of food provided at the public outlets at some of our tracks in Australia, should spare a thought for the race-goers in France.

Gina Rarick, a former racing journalist for the International Herald Tribune, who now trains a team just outside of Paris, vented her frustration on the French authorities after a recent major meeting there.

On her web-site www.gallopfrance.com, Gina recently wrote: “While racing in France from an owner and trainer’s standpoint has a lot to offer (great prize money, primarily), as a spectator event it can be dismal.

“Today was the biggest event of the year at the Chantilly racecourse, the Prix de Diane, or French Oaks, which Stacelita won in fine style. France Galop seemed completely surprised by two things: (1) A large crowd turned up for the race. (2) It was very hot, and large, hot crowds need access to water. Neither of these things should have been unexpected.

“France Galop has papered Paris with ads for the Prix de Diane for weeks. And the mini heat wave has been forecast for days. But by the time of the big race, at 4 pm, bars were out of water, and they were out of change.

“By the end of the afternoon, all that was available were 10-euro flutes of Champagne, still cold, or cans of Schweppes tonic water that had clearly been stocked in the sun somewhere. There was a fantastic bar on the roof of the scales building, but no one at France Galop had thought it a good idea to actually open it for business, so there the bar sat, neglected and empty.

“Many betting windows were closed, and those that were open had long lines, exacerbated by the fact that many of the operators shared the problem of not having change. So people needing to get paid had to stand aside hoping that somebody in line would make a five-euro bet with exact change so they could cash in. Add to that the fact that French people don’t believe in lines anyway, and you can imagine how much money the PMU lost today as all those polite visitors from across the Channel got shoved aside and shut out.

“The sad thing is that this is not an isolated incident. Last year at the Prix de l’Arc at Longchamp, there was nothing to eat if you got there after 1:30pm or so. Bad enough that the cuisine offered at France’s finest racecourses consists of either over-priced under-whelming food at the ‘Resto Panoramique’ or stale sandwiches from the bar, but on big race days famished fans can’t even get their hands on the stale sandwiches.

“France Galop is a strange bird. Part of the organization seems quite savvy in promoting racing and wanting to make it appealing for fans and owners alike. But another part seems bent on making the first part fail — and somebody in that latter part has awarded the catering contract to his uncle.

“Racing has lot to offer here, and it’s frustrating to see things that could so easily be changed to make it even better. Wake up, France Galop!”

So the next time you’re concerned about the cold chips at Caulfield or that over-priced beef roll at Randwick, spare a though for our ‘Frog’ cousins. Perhaps eating at the races in OZ isn’t that bad after all.