Canterbury racecourse a less financially viable option as a Saturday venue

PLENTY of punters at Canterbury on the weekend were asking “why aren’t we racing here on Saturdays more often?” And the simple answer is turnover isn’t as strong at the track.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 25: James McDonald, riding 'Miniature' is lead back to return to scale after winning race 7, Jimmy Wood Memorial Handicap during Sydney Racing at Canterbury racecourse on July 25, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

PLENTY of punters at Canterbury on the weekend were asking “why aren’t we racing here on Saturdays more often?”

The simple answer is: money. Turnover on Saturday meetings at Canterbury is historically and consistently lower. Crowds are also smaller which makes our little inner-city friend a less financially viable option.

But at what point do we draw the line to protect other important racing elements?

With the Kensington track out of play, the remaining tracks have copped extra workload and on top of this they’ve been belted with rain for what seems to be forever.

We asked ATC chief executive Darren Pearce if he’d consider using Canterbury more frequently in winter to give Randwick and Rosehill the chance to be in pristine condition for our spring carnival, which has just received a $2 million prizemoney boost.

“If it were financially viable then we’d certainly entertain utilising Canterbury more frequently,” Pearce said.

Scotch Gem racing at Canterbury.

“But the facts and figures are there for everyone to see. Turnover on Canterbury meetings on Saturdays have generally been less than what we see from Randwick and Rosehill and the crowds are smaller.

“On Saturday we had around 3000 people at Canterbury but normally at Rosehill or Randwick at this time of year we get about 5000 attending. The fact is the numbers are telling us people don’t prefer Canterbury over Rosehill and Randwick.”

Pearce’s confirmation that punters tend to be more reserved when betting at Canterbury makes you wonder if we’re just a pack of moaners.

We’re forever cursing Rosehill and especially Randwick on the topic of track bias. But last Saturday we had what’s considered the fairest track we’ve seen in months.

Seems it’s clear that punters have bigger priorities when it comes to determining whether they open their wallet.

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RACING NSW has released the reasons behind Judge David Armati’s decision last week to dismiss Darren Smith’s appeal against a 15-year ban for cobalt offences at the Racing Appeals Tribunal.

The tribunal rejected Smith’s argument that cobalt was not a prohibited substance at relevant times. It concluded the threshold that was introduced on January 1 merely provided an exception by excluding readings below 200.

During Smith’s inquiry it was revealed cobalt could be harmful to horses and that horses do not need additional cobalt in their system.

Professor Paul Mills said most horses had a natural cobalt reading of 5-10 micrograms per litre of urine and that anything higher than their natural level could be deemed “excessive”.

“Professor Mills gave evidence that the levels were way above anything he had seen,” the decision said. “It was impossible on the evidence for these levels to have been achieved from common supplements.”

The full judgment is available on Racing NSW’s website.

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Danglissa Girl winning at Doomben.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tony Gollan for breaking Bruce McLachlan’s record for the most number of wins in a season. When Danglissa Girl hit the line at Doomben yesterday, Gollan’s tally went to 79 winners in Brisbane this season.

CANTERBURY SNAPSHOT

RUN OF THE DAY: Burnt Bridges

Jockey Hugh Bowman wins on Burnt Bridges.

Hugh Bowman took the three-year-old colt straight to the rear, had the speed on to sui, before moving out on the turn and flashing home to score a soft win. He’ll be winning better races and trainer Kris Lees is excited about what the future holds.

BLACK BOOK: Joueur

Settled at the rear of the field before flashing home for fourth over 1550m.

Will go to a maiden over the same track and distance in the next couple of weeks and going off what he did on Saturday, they’ll struggle to beat him.

SECOND-UP SLUMP: Vanbrugh

Two preparations, two second-up disappointments for the two-year-old colt.

Jumped awkwardly last start before finishing a close second to Surfin’ Safari at Rosehill, but disappointed punters on Saturday when he finished more than three lengths in arrears of Let’s Make It Rain.

Originally published as Canterbury racecourse a less financially viable option as a Saturday venue