We’re right in the midst of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival now, so we were due this week for the most time-honoured of Victorian racing traditions – an article by some po-faced journalist bemoaning too many people treating the races as a social event and having a good time.
The shame of it all! How dare racing clubs attract people that want to enjoy themselves!
It was Matt Stewart’s turn this week, in Monday’s Herald Sun under the heading “Spring Racing Carnival: Too many races and too much booze is not a good look”.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Matty Stewart. He’s knowledgeable, and his commentary is colourful. He doesn’t mind openly potting a favourite, and loves putting a roughie on top. He’s a character reporting on a sport full of them.
Hence the disappointment at his position on Monday.
Whether Matt, and many others who share his view, like it or not, racing is not just a social sport, it’s the most social of sports. The reason is that the action to time ratio is lower than anywhere else.
If you added them all together, the 10 races at Caulfield on Saturday, from barriers to winning post, took about 16 minutes to run. That’s a lot of downtime in between races when the first is at 1pm and the last is at quarter past six.
Even if you took off a race at each end, and bring it back to eight races, as Matt suggests, you’re still looking at over four hours of attendance for 14 minutes of entertainment.
This isn’t the footy, where you’ve got two hours of action spread over two and a half. It isn’t cricket, where a ball is being bowled every 30-45 seconds, with a couple of breaks throughout the course of the day.
And what do a lot of people do at quarter-time and half-time of the footy? What do they do at lunch and tea of a Test match, or the mid-innings break at a one-dayer? They go and have a beer or two.
It’s only natural that people are going to do the same when they’ve got 35 minutes or more between races. I just didn’t realise that in order to be a racing fan I had to be a Mormon too.
I like having a beer at the races. Bloody oath I do. And I’ve been known to have more than one. I’ve also been known to have one too many, probably on one too many occasions.
Three of my mates and I have been members at the Melbourne Racing Club for the best part of a decade. We’re proud to be members of the best racing club in the land, renowned for its innovation and forward thinking. We love our racing as much as any four blokes around.
We love assessing the nominations and the weights early in the week. We love seeking out the acceptances the minute they’re posted. We love analysing the early markets, searching for ‘the overs’.
We love picking up Best Bets first thing Thursday morning. We love studying the form to work out a quaddie and a big six on a Friday night. We love catching up for a meal on a Saturday before the first.
Oh yeah, and we love a drink at the track too. Should we feel ashamed about this? Or should we be able to enjoy ourselves free from the judgement of the nearest curmudgeon?
This week, we’ll be bringing along four mates of ours to the Caulfield Cup. It’s become a bit of a tradition for us all. These guys are all non-punters, and could barely tell the difference between a horse head and tail, let alone differentiate between blinkers and winkers.
One of them just backs Kerrin McEvoy rides, for reasons unknown (and didn’t he love it when All The Good saluted at 40s in 2008!). One of them picks horses based on name alone. The other loves the idea of a really big score, so plays the trifectas and first fours.
Are these four, because they’re not racing purists and didn’t grow up with a form guide in their back pocket, not entitled to enjoy their time at Caulfield with a few drinks on a nice day?
I’ve known all these guys for a couple of decades at least. They’re never going to be racing fans in the way some people think the sport should be about, forgetting the punt, and appreciating equine athleticism. Take away the vibrant social atmosphere, and you’ll take them away too.
They want to have a flutter. They want to have a bet. They want to have a drink. They cheer for what they’ve backed, and it matters not to them whether it’s Black Caviar or something from the picnics.
Matt Stewart is also worried about how we look to the overseas racing world, which is an odd perspective, given how the international contingent of competitors grows every year.
We’re getting used to seeing the same international faces return, highlighted by Red Cadeaux trainer Ed Dunlop, and every season we welcome new ones. This year, there were at least a dozen new international trainers that nominated their horses for our big races for the first time.
Perhaps part of the lure is to enjoy the carnival atmosphere Down Under?
As a Victorian racing fan, this is the most exciting time of the year. Every day there is plenty to read, and every weekend there’s something major to look forward too.
The best horses in the country. The best trainers converging. The best jockeys taking each other on.
In the next three weeks, we’re going see new champions emerge and the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup get decided, among a handful of other Group 1s, and countless other black type affairs. The racing is at its absolute zenith, the excitement is palpable, and there is plenty of fun to be had, both socially, and on the punt.
Stewart may not want to, but you know what, I’ll raise a glass to that.
D.Large
Guest
Enough about the people in the industry Prof, what do you think about the average punters?
Cameron Rose
Expert
Justin, I get where you're coming from, but that's one from one, as you say, over a long period of time. Ultimately, racing is a niche product, not mainstream like it was 40 or 50 years ago, and the course is irreversible. Parochialism doesn't help. In my experience, horse racing fans in Melbourne love the best of Sydney racing, and vice-versa. Yet in Melbourne during the peak of Sydney autumn, we get nothing in the papers down here. It would help if coverage was national, instead of local.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Crazy enough that it just might work...
Cameron Rose
Expert
I went to the Benalla Cup a couple of weeks ago, and had a great time. Again, a lot of people drinking, but a lot of fun. The social environment is what creates the atmosphere. Ha, love that story Nath.
Cameron Rose
Expert
See, something for everyone!
Cameron Rose
Expert
Strong, visceral words Prof.
Tomas Kelly
Roar Rookie
Nice article Cam and as always, I enjoyed reading through all the contributions from everyone above. I got hooked on racing because of the horses themselves, but love that a day at the track offers something for everyone. I'm heading down for my first Caulfield Cup this weekend and like yourself Cam, am dragging along 3 mates (let's call them Tom, DIck and Harry) with little interest in the sport. Despite this, convincing them to join me for the weekend was simple. Tom loves a beer so was easily sold, Dick spends most weekends chasing women so a day at the races was a no-brainer, whilst Harry works in finance so the chance to make a quick buck appealed to him. Like I said, racing offers something for everyone with this facet of the sport, or more accurately the 'event' that is the major carnivals, key to its ongoing appeal. Recent marketing campaigns from the ATC and VRC have highlighted this. Horse racing as a sporting event and a social event can coincide. This all-round appeal is what makes for an enjoyable day-out no matter what the priorities of the individual.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
A few years ago one of ours was racing at Nowra, and the Nowra Cup was on next door earlier in the afternoon. The horses were called off after just one race, jockeys decided it was unsafe, and they announced it over the loudspeaker at about 12.30. Immediately, several fairly inebriated young women ran up to the racing official standing next to me and asked "are they still having the topless fireman race?". The cheering I heard when the official said yes was the equal of any I've ever heard at a racecourse. Suffice to say, we've never taken another greyhound to Nowra again.
Peeeko
Guest
Why doesn't the race clubs organise a meeting called the biggest race meeting in Australia. Bring all the party goers in and cater for them - all 100,000 of them. But instead of ruining a good race day with good horses, move the fields from a Thursday at Colac to flemington. They won't know the difference, you can have all the marquees and fashions on the field as well
sheek
Roar Guru
BTW Cam, Nothing but nothing beats the Melbourne Spring Carnival for sustained quality, variety & entertainment. From Caulfield Guineas Day & every succeeding Saturday to Sandown Classic Day, that's six successive Saturdays plus all the midweek races in between. Unrivaled by anything anywhere else in the world. if only we could spread that to the rest of Australia the rest of the year.
sheek
Roar Guru
No Cam, That's not quite what I meant. Let's say on the same race day, you had the following: A Vain & a Todman racing each other in a 1200m two-year-old classic. A Tulloch & an Octagonal racing each other in a 2000m three-year-old classic. A Black Caviar & a Makybe Diva racing each other over a 1600m mares & fillies (for the purpose of the exercise, we'll assume they both run the mile brilliantly). A Super Impose & a Gunsynd racing each other over a 1600m WFA. A Galilee & a Might & Power racing each other over a 2400m WFA. And so on..... It's said that if you want to write a novel, make sure your anti-hero is as strong as the hero, because ultimately it will make the hero look better. It's the same in racing. Each champion needs an opponent capable of knocking him/her over every so often. The more doubt in a head to head contest, the better. Heavyweight boxing was never better than in the early to mid-70s when four uber-champions came together - Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman & Kenny Norton. In most cases, they could beat each other at their best. This era is still revered by boxing fans. The above racing scenarios are an ideal situation, but I'm sure you get the drift. i liked the first decade of racing I followed, circa 1966-75. Not too many out & out champions, but plenty of intense competition at almost every distance & type of racing. I'm not sure the same variety & competition is around today. But perhaps I'm not paying close enough attention either!
Pat malone
Guest
Do you think the piss pots read the racing section? How do these people make racing bigger apart from beer sales?
Pat malone
Guest
Why?
Pat malone
Guest
The Kentucky Derby is full of once a year types who are drunk beyond belief. It's a messy scene way bigger than anything here
Kingcowboy
Guest
ha ha, that made be laugh, nice one
Dean
Guest
I've been going for the last 20 years and I don't think it has declined, if anything I think the behaviour has improved. Caulfield are certainly making more money. To rent a marquee in the centre of the track on Guineas day used to be cheap as chips, but we had to stop doing it about 10 years ago as the price had gone through the roof. If you think the big race days are so bad in Melbourne, go have a look at Cranbourne, Geelong or Bendigo Cup days..... If you don't like big crowds, there are plenty of other race days to attend without big crowds. I prefer country meetings myself, the people are probably just as drunk or drunker, but the main problem being transport to and from the track. Does it really matter if the horses are slightly slower, there's still always a contest.
Justin Cinque
Expert
Official desire from within the sport, that is
Justin Cinque
Expert
Cam, I disagree. You can turn a lover of Black Caviar into a proper follower of racing. I have a 100% strike rate (1 from 1). It has taken some time but this Black Caviar fan loves your everyday Group 1 winner more than most Saturday punters. It requires proper education, time and some desire to learn. But it is possible. You have to start with the good WFA races and horses and instill a love of the thoroughbred. There's no official desire to do it but it is possible.
Geoff Parkes
Expert
I get your point Sheek, I too have gone to the races in the past just to see champion horses, I always walk around the stalls to see the name horses and trainers close up, it's just as I would go to a football or cricket match, or a golf tournament to watch elite players. But we are in a minority, and the reality is that event promotion also needs to be built around the greater event itself. I don't see anything wrong with this at all, it is fantastic that over 100,000 people attend a race-day and if most of them have no clue about the racing, well that doesn't worry me at all. And I actually like betting into a market where you get overs on something you like because most of the money going on is uninformed! The real issue for me is just a bit of tidying up around the edges, making sure that the colour and fun environment doesn't slip over into obnoxious behaviour spoiling the experience for others. I think this could be aided by clubs better managing some of the traffic flows in bottleneck areas, better RSA management, ensuring that police are mingling in the right areas, that sort of thing. And at the risk of sounding like an old timer, I do worry about where society is heading re generational changes in values and respect. But on the whole, there is more good than bad and I'd say that Cam has it about right.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Some nice stories in there KV, and I'm with you on this.