Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup did indeed stop most of the nation and had a wonderful winner’s story in the form of female jockey Michelle Payne.
However, the Melbourne Cup – and horse racing in general – has become far less about the ‘sport’ involved and far more about the drunkenness and boorish, embarrassing behaviour of spectators.
For this, the sport can blame no-one but itself.
For over a decade now, media advertising for horse racing has all been about dressing up and drinking. Very rarely is the story about the participants. Black Caviar was realistically the last time racing was about the horses.
There is a shameful video doing the social media rounds, depicting an extremely drunk woman at a race meeting this week, unable to stand, swearing like a teamster, though perhaps admirably with fascinator still in place on her head. The video will live on and the poor lady will probably do her best to bury it. The crowd around her seemed amused by her plight.
There is an apparent lack of responsible service of alcohol standards at major race meetings. Normal liquor licensing requirements appear not to apply, as patrons continue to be served well after the visual signs of inebriation are evident.
At many race tracks, attendees can take their own alcohol into the venue as well as purchase at the bar. When was the last time anyone tried to take their own booze into a hotel or any other sporting venue?
The cynic in me says that it is far easier to part a drunken person with their betting cash than a sober one, so there is a reason not to discourage alcohol consumption at the races. Given that the entire sport is built on gambling, alcohol sales plus betting become the major revenue streams for the industry.
It would be interesting to discover how many people who attended Flemington for the Cup were racing purists; fans who were following a favourite horse, jockey or trainer. If the figure was 10 per cent I’d be surprised.
Imagine an A-League or AFL or NRL game where 90 per cent of the fans in attendance had no clue who the teams or players were, had no emotional (as opposed to financial) stake in the outcome, and whose primary purpose in attending was to drink and gamble. It’d be a different game.
While drunkenness at sporting venues is not confined to horse racing, the major sporting codes have done much to address the issue at venues to ensure revelry, safety and enjoyment for those who attend. Horse racing appears to have gone in the exact opposite direction. It’s reputation is in danger of falling on its face.
(Disclaimer: the author works in a role that assists sports with safe and responsible alcohol consumption. The views expressed here are his own.)
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