Opinion
Racing journalist Emma Freedman described this Saturday’s Caulfield Cup and The Everest being on the same day as “nirvana for racing fans”.
Do I simply agree, or do I play devil’s advocate? From a punter’s point of view on paper it is a great day with black type racing nearly wall to wall at both Caulfield and Royal Randwick to load up on, however as a racing fan, I am not so sure.
We saw a very thin Epsom a couple of weeks ago and we will again see an average edition of the Caulfield Cup. While I don’t blame owners or trainers for chasing the novelty races for the big money, I believe having dual feature meetings is a negative outcome as a result of success.
What I mean by that is the novelty races have been successful and will continue to be so, however it has come at the cost of some time-honoured events that barely resemble their former selves.
There is nothing wrong with progression, change, or goal posts moving, however I don’t think there is enough quality in Australia racing to cover firstly the ridiculous amount of Group races that we have now followed by Pop Up races that share the stage on the same day.
This also leads to a false economy at the sales with “Black Type” horses that would have merely dreamt of having their name in bold selling for overs based on good luck, placement, and default. Yes, you can only beat or run a place against the ones around you, but does good luck, good placement equal good value?
It is time for Racing NSW and Racing Victoria to swallow their pride and sit down together. No one owns a certain season or weekend, but by accommodating each other and formatting the season for the benefit of racing and not only their own jurisdiction, racing would be the winner for generations to come.
At the moment it resembles an AFL or NRL competition with the addition of 10 teams in each. It isn’t sustainable.
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