One of the great moments in Australian racing history was Makybe Diva’s thrilling Cox Plate win in 2005.
As the field spread across the Moonee Valley track at the 600m mark, nine horses shared the lead. In the end Makybe Diva pulled away for a famous victory. Her success means she is the only multiple Melbourne Cup winner to have also claimed a Cox Plate.
The race can be re-lived on YouTube but to fully appreciate the vision you’ll need to view the footage in mute or after completing language classes in Cantonese. (See below)
You see, there are only two versions of the race left on YouTube and both are commentated in Cantonese.
Television racing rights holder TVN has deleted all other versions because they breach copyright laws.
Most videos on Australian racing – race replays and documentaries alike – have been deleted on YouTube because of reported copyright breaches. Few have been replaced by the rights holder, TVN.
Last week, Roar Expert Andrew Hawkins felt the pain – his YouTube account was terminated because of reported copyright breaches. Many of his racing videos had been available to watch on the web for four or more years.
If racing was your standard mainstream sport, the removal of YouTube videos in breach of copyright laws wouldn’t be a problem.
But racing is so poorly documented that YouTube had become a main outlet for the visual portrayal of the history of the sport in this country.
And the main benefactor of YouTube’s portrayal of Australian racing history was the Australian racing industry.
By making racing more accessible to a wider audience, the sport surely won.
That’s why TVN’s strong stance on copyright is so perplexing and disappointing.
TVN is owned by Sydney and Melbourne-based racing clubs as well as Racing Victoria.
You would think TVN would view an educated and interested fan-base as a positive for their business.
I wouldn’t expect TVN to support breaches of their copyright but they should be able to understand the positives that can stem from it.
In any case, the racing industry isn’t in a strong position to be able to turn its back on people who want to engage with the sport. And by shutting down YouTube videos that is exactly what TVN is doing.
On YouTube, I watched documentaries about champions like Manikato, Kingston Town and Dulcify. Not only did they educate me but they enhanced my love of a champion thoroughbred racehorse.
Those documentaries are now deleted. TVN has the rights to those documentaries but they haven’t been shown on TVN since.
Manikato – ranked eighth in The Roar’s top 50 by Andrew Hawkins and myself – finished racing in the early 1980s and only one video of him remains on YouTube.
If I hadn’t seen the dominance of Manikato on TV or YouTube, there’s no way I would’ve ranked him as high as I did. My appreciation of the horse, his longevity and comebacks from injury wouldn’t be as great.
Without vision of racing – on TV, the web, live at the track or on replay, there’s no guarantee I’d be interested in racing at all.
So in the digital era, Australian racing’s increasing absence from YouTube will become a growing stumbling block for the sport.
Racing needs to showcase itself where it can. YouTube was a cheap way to do it.
Common sense needs to prevail here. The YouTube bans need to end.
Justin
Guest
They did the same thing in NZ.... It's all about ownership of content, without the long term view of advocates and the possibility of social sharing extending to the social networks that could promote the sport for NOTHING! Short sighted, yes. Selfish, Yes
Ado
Guest
I encountered the same situation the other day. I manage sites related to thoroughbred horse racing. I have uploaded replays of the races won by owners of these sites. The replay is only accessible by owners of the horses who are issued with secure access details, I provided these replays as a service to the owners who have invested in the racing industry. After all they are the OWNERS, aren't they entitled to view footage of their horses winning? Should the owners charge TVN to video their horses racing ? Major shareholders in TVN are Race Clubs why should they share all of the spoils ? If you take away the interest in the industry it's quite simple ... NO INTEREST > NO OWNERS > NO HORSES > NO TVN
Drew H
Guest
Sounds like all these businesses are held together on tentative agreements. They see the fragile nature of their own livelihood. If TVN decided to be offering services only, and allowed TV stations to buy content, then they would be under further squeeze. (but that's their business) They should not try stripping away your freedom, just because they are in a collusion. Every day is a new live show in racing. Ownership of vision, race records, etc, does not need to be overly claimed. The owners and punters will not get more for their dollar.
racing photographer
Guest
TVN is the same company that holds the still image rights in Victoria. Late last year I was told that I must remove all images from facebook within a few days as they claimed I was in breach of the media pass agreement. No where in the contract did it say we weren't allowed to promote the sport and our work through social media. I removed the images because I needed my media pass. However I posted my thoughts on twitter and on my personal facebook page. This lead to 3 months of bullying by TVN staffers including 100's of phone calls. It seemed they were more keen on banning me than producing better racing vision. It was at the stage they were stalking my personal facebook page with a fake profile and repeating every post in emails & phone calls. When I warned whoever it was that I was going to find out who it was I was told my pass had been removed and I wasn't able to attend the races at 9:40pm on Blue Diamond eve. TVN have NEVER made a profit, while giving Channel 7 millions to show race vision. How these people have jobs is beyond me.
Drew H
Guest
also..... Sydney did not know what to do and what to fix during Equine Influenza. I was waiting for a restructure during EI that otherwise would have been difficult to do. If the prizemoney is in favour of racing up to 1600m then 'the means will match the ends'. It is a question of 'what do we want'. I am a fan of 1200m races but only because I can read some strategy in them. I've always seen 1000m sprints as the hardest races to examine. That said, I also find that 2000m is like 2x1000m. (twice as hard) Everyting else is fair to watch and figure. I know how I would rebuild the big machine.
Rossco
Guest
Justin, Thanks for the good read and opinion. Some of us have been bleating tirelessly over what seems like years now on the short sighted board level decisions made by a broadcaster who's focus sould be the propagation of a great niche sporting industry. I'd love to remove the word niche sooner rather than later. With increasing competition for the wagering dollar, It's as puzzling as it is disappointing. The questions you put to TVN aka the Racing Network have been asked of them many times. The rhetoric replies have been boarder line insulting , certainly devoid of substance that might give us some hope. Sadly that's all we are left with currently on this issue - Hope
AJ
Guest
Yeah, of all the television networks to reduce corporate bookmaker advertising, the fact that it was TVN was indeed perplexing. Their involvement in shows like The Right Odds and Get On were actually entertaining ways to advertise their product rather than the bombardment you get during sports broadcasts. Odd that TVN chose to cut that revenue stream.
Greg Prichard
Guest
that's hugely disappointing. sometimes, in-between work, i'll whack the youtube on to watch a few classic races. small-minded to make them unavailable.
TR
Guest
I don't know all the ins and outs of why TVN is acting the way it is in relation to replays, but part of the reason has to be the spiralling costs of running the network. There's been numerous reports on mainstream media about boardroom discontent and blown budgets, yet TVN seems to be hiring more and more staff all the time. This is at the same time as every other media organisation is slashing staff and cost bases. Why should TVN be any different? I'm sure TVN will blame Sky and many others for its plight, but some of its key decision makers need to be held accountable, too. They'd need to charge for replays to at least generate some revenue. The board's decision to limit corporate bookmaker advertising is a puzzling one, given the company's financial state. It also agreed to pay Channel 7 to cover the races, yet reports suggested Channel 7 should've been paying to televise them. Again, it's the punters who lose out.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Although, that's about as close sounding to 'Diva' as you can get for the English audiences.
Tristan Rayner
Editor
The Roar has left a message with TVN seeking comment on the issue.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Ahh, the pleasures of knowing Cantonese :) I agree with you Justin. More transparency is needed. I listen to a lot of races in Cantonese and the commentary isn't that great. They often just refer to horses based on the jockey's silks to describe the horses because names rarely translate properly. In that Cox Plate clip, Makbye Diva is called 'Dai Fah' which translates to 'Big Flower'..... somehow. They waste a lot of time which can be spent calling the race better. #firstworldproblems
Cameron Rose
Expert
It's disgusting Justin, you're spot on. I wasn't aware of the legalities involved, but I was sick of it taking me forever to find a race, but only to discover still pictures or poor quality. What a turn-off.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Justin, I sometimes wonder if the people running racing actually know what they're doing. Oh sure, they'll tell you they have racing in their blood, that they've grown up around horses. That they know all the intricacies of breeding, agistment, etc. Unfortunately, so many of them are so narrow minded, that making money for just a few sections of stakeholders in the industry (always including themselves) is their primary focus, while the broader elements involved in racing are basically told to "suck it up." I'll tell them what sucks. The quick turn-around from breeding to juvenile racing back to breeding cycle sucks. Having the Golden Slipper as the second most valuable race on the Australian calendar sucks. The removal of racing champions form the big stage at three to chase the breeding millions sucks. The plethora of sprints & miles at the expense of staying races sucks. The over-reliance of international horses, while welcome, only masks the dire situation of the local staying industry. That sucks. The demise of the Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth Cups, either in quality, ranking, &/or distance, this all sucks. The continual fidgeting with the Sydney Autumn Carnival, none of which to date has arrived at a satisfactory program. That sucks. Key races such as the G1 Tancred Stakes & G2 Hotham Handicap losing their identity to sponsors such as BMW & Lexus. That really sucks. The pattern committee's (or whatever they call themselves) ineptitude in properly grading group races in Australia sucks. The timid way in which punters are advised to "gamble responsibly" while corporate bookmakers are given every opportunity to exploit the vulnerable. That monumentally sucks. That'll do for the moment..........
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Justin, If authorities want to grow turnover they must make available every tool possible free so punters can bet with confidence. So to HK and Singapore websites and you will find everything free including trials and track work on video. Our brain dead administrators here want to charge us for videos and to watch extra racing channels. Fellas, do your homework, Asian racing is thriving and we are going backwards.
peeeko
Roar Guru
big disappointment, YouTube was providing my only access to watching race replays whilst living temporarily in America