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Stupid Saturday exposes lack of leadership

(AAP Image/Julian Simth)
Roar Pro
8th February, 2016
4

Australia has long had to deal with plagues of feral overpopulation: cane toads, rabbits and politicians.

More than a few onlookers have mused whether an island nation of some 20-odd million people really needs three levels of government, particularly now, as we’re closer together than ever, and more and more responsibilities are inevitably transferred to Canberra in the interests of efficiency and better services for all.

It’s a trend that hasn’t been mirrored in the world of racing. But without ever wanting to encourage anybody to follow the lead of politicians, the signs are loud and clear: something has to give.

A shocking lack of national leadership in the industry has barely been more evident than on Saturday, where the nation’s premier meeting at Caulfield was not telecast on the nation’s primary racing broadcast.

To take a step back: some weeks ago Racing Victoria announced a weeklong trial of short 30 minute breaks between races at all Victorian meetings, starting at Caulfield on Saturday. There was, of course, immediate noise from other jurisdictions about Victoria’s move to go it alone on the trial.

Nevertheless, the trial was an innovative move to make a day at the races more attractive. It was well planned, announced well ahead of time, and was exactly as the name suggested: a trial.

It’s hardly a permanent move, simply a short test to gauge the impact and response. Should that really be difficult to accommodate?

Early feedback on course has been largely positive.

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A major obstacle was the impact on the broadcasting schedule, particularly on the packed race-day clock that Sky Racing has to navigate on a Saturday, as it struggles to bring all racing to all punters nationally.

First flagged last week was the clash at 2:30pm of the third race at Caulfield and the fourth at Randwick. With no one being served by having the two biggest meetings of the day clashing, Racing NSW, after some consternation, wisely moved their event back five minutes to allow punters to see both races live. Tick.

Come Saturday however, high farce unfolded on Sky as the broadcaster, supposedly applying its ‘race clash policy’ (which nobody seems to have seen or heard of before), took the extraordinary step of relegating Caulfield races to its secondary coverage on Sky Racing 2.

Sky 2, usually the realm of low-rating provincial meetings, is usually shuffled to small or poorly placed screens in venues. In homes, Sky 2 isn’t a core Foxtel channel like Sky 1: it’s an option that has to be added at extra cost, which will only be taken by avid punters.

When it comes to premier Australian racing, Sky 1 is where is it’s at.

So the first at Caulfield was bumped off Sky 1 for the first from Doomben. The second and sixth races were bumped for Sapphire Coast. The third was moved for Dalby. The fourth race – a $150,000, Group 3 race – was bumped for Morphettville. The fifth – the $250,000 Inglis Premier – was overlooked in favour of the Gold Coast, and the last of the day for Newcastle.

This was ludicrous behaviour from the broadcaster, which is yet to be properly explained. It was like flicking on Channel Seven to watch Geelong versus Hawthorn and instead finding Upper Ferntree Gully versus Scoresby. A few locals would doubtlessly be interested, but ultimately the industry wouldn’t cop it.

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Why? Because no matter the stupidity going on behind the scenes, it ultimately only hurts the punters.

Consider the figures: for the seven races that Sky showed in place of Caulfield, the total betting pools (win, place and single race exotics) across the three totes nationally was just under $1.3 million.

The equivalent number for the seven Caulfield races, even without the national telecast? $7.5 million.

So there’s no debate on what the punters would prefer to be watching. It’s a simple reality: Saturday racing broadcasts first and foremost need to cover Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adeliade. That’s where the money is, that’s where the best horses race and that’s what people want to see.

Punters are the lifeblood of the industry, and they’re too often inconvenienced by the lack of a national approach. It’s the reason for situations such as Saturday. It’s the reason for having to login to multiple channels and sites to watch online, depending on which state you want to see. It’s the reason you can often only get a bet on in NSW, while bookmakers won’t take your money in other states.

Racing cannot thrive without a national approach that puts punters first. It may not be able to survive at all: punters have never been more ripe for the picking. Many in the industry have been vocal about in-play sports betting taking the gambling dollar, so it’s not as though the threat isn’t realised. Racing’s competitors are external, not interstate. But without the will to do something about it, the industry stands shockingly exposed.

That’s not to advocate a draconian national body to oversee every minute detail at every race meeting in the country; nobody wants to see a vanilla approach take over the tailored offerings of locally managed clubs and tracks. But a national board to serve the interests of punters and their basic needs across all racing – broadcasting, wagering, rules and integrity – appears the only option for an industry which continues to show its inability to work as one.

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Racing and sport vision is now available constantly, from televisions to computer screens to mobile phones. It’s less relevant than ever, whether a race is held at Hamilton, Happy Valley or Hawkesbury. But people won’t bet on what they can’t easily watch. They simply don’t need to – there’s countless other options.

It seems racing needs yet another reminder of that.

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