The racing establishment always wins

Last week prizemoney changes were made to some of the Group 1 races in Sydney.

While these increases have generated little fuss in racing circles, the continuing focus on Randwick is just another kick in the teeth for the passionate racegoers that used to be members of the Sydney Turf Club (STC)*.

The merger the “Establishment” wanted
A little history for those outside Sydney. Back in October 2010, the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) required over $150 million to build the new Grandstand complex at Randwick.

To get an interest-free loan from the Government and an upfront payment on the TAB’s computer system Trackside, the Government and powers-that-be wanted a merger of the STC that raced at Rosehill and Canterbury, and the AJC that raced at Randwick and Warwick Farm, and the money was conditional on the merger.

It went to the vote and 85% of AJC members voted yes. However, the STC voted the other way, with 270 members or 60% of the vote against the merger. They were duly ignored and the clubs merged, and the “Establishment” club of the Eastern suburbs, the AJC was merged with the “upstarts” from Western Sydney.

But were the concerns of the members of the STC that voted “no” valid?

The money that went East
The main concern of those STC members was that Rosehill would be neglected, with prizemoney levels for the big races left to stagnate as the newly-formed Australian Turf Club (ATC) had to justify the money spent on the Grandstand.

A comparison of prizemoney levels before the merger with the present makes you think those members had a point.

Back in 2009/2010 there was more prizemoney for Group 1 races held at Rosehill/Canterbury totalling $9.6 million compared to $7.85 million at Randwick/Warwick Farm. Now, five years after the merger, Group 1 races at Rosehill and Canterbury are worth slightly less, $9.5 million.

At Randwick and Warwick Farm, however, they have risen to a total of $21.95 million, a whopping increase more than doubling the pre-merger levels.

Of course, we’ve been fed the story that the ATC has introduced The Championships at Randwick to rival the Melbourne carnival, with a lot of those increases coming from a NSW Government grant, now a tax break. However, the preference for Randwick goes deeper than just the Group 1s.

If we look at the races that are currently Group 2, prizemoney increases have also been ploughed exclusively to the old Establishment tracks. Back in the days of the split clubs, these Group 2 races were worth $3.1 million at Rosehill/Canterbury, and $2.95 million at Randwick/Warwick Farm. They are now worth $3.025 million at Rosehill/Canterbury and $5.85 million at Randwick/Warwick Farm.

Perhaps more insulting was the reduction in the status of the Tancred (BMW) Stakes, with a reduction from $2.25 million to $1.5 million, and removing the race from Golden Slipper Day.

One of the great races, sometimes the great race, of the autumn now plays second fiddle to the Queen Elizabeth, and the traditional day of racing that the STC had built over many years became the plaything of the newly-formed club.

Racing in Australia has never truly shaken the class origins of yesteryear.

Randwick being superior to Rosehill was an unspoken truth the ‘Establishment’ always knew.

I doubt the upstarts that voted against the merger will find comfort in their predictions coming to fruition.

*Disclosure: The author was a member of the STC at the time.