Racing Queensland to continue Doomben Thursday races next season

The experiment of having midweek metropolitan fixtures at Doomben on a Thursday will continue next season, despite trainers having reservations about the switch.

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The experiment of having midweek metropolitan fixtures at Doomben on a Thursday and a lesser meeting on Wednesday will continue in the next financial year, despite trainers having reservations about the switch.

Racing Queensland scheduled six consecutive Thursday twilight meetings for Doomben across January and this month and early wagering data has given RQ incentive to press on next season.

The meetings were granted midweek metropolitan status, while in the Wednesday spot, RQ programmed provincial or country meetings at the Gold Coast, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Thursday’s ill-fated Kilcoy fixture.

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The experiment of racing at Doomben on Thursday will continue next season. Picture: AAP

RQ chief executive Brendan Parnell said combining the wagering on the two days over the four previous weeks resulted in an overall 10 per cent increase in turnover compared to the same time last year.

“It’s been an encouraging start but we want more meetings to get more data, which we will schedule in the next (financial) year,” Parnell said.

Queensland branch representative of the Australian Trainers Association, Cameron Partington, said his members were not convinced it was a wise move.

“It might be up 10 per cent, but wagering in its entirety is up a similar amount year to year,” he said. “It’s not making sense to us.

“Some of the meetings we have showcased haven’t been up to standard.

“When Ipswich comes back it will be better, but the majority of our members aren’t happy with it, because it ends up being four days of racing in a row – sometimes five – without that break in the middle they are used to.”