Racing ahead looks like money for nothing

Racing Australia is nothing more than a strapper for the chiefs that run racing in Victoria and NSW.

You would think it is not a Crisp-like leap in logic to consider, even suspect, that an organisation called Racing Australia might have something to do with running the galloping spectacle in this country. Aren’t you a silly duffer.

RA is nothing more than a strapper for the chiefs that run racing in Victoria and NSW. Examples: The Everest, the sprint run at Randwick last October for $13m in total prizemoney and the $5m All-Star Mile run at Flemington today. Obviously The Everest is the more outlandish on prizemoney alone.

The winner, Redzel, tucked away $6m under the straw in his stall. The All-Star Mile all up is worth a million less. But both are the richest races of their type in the world. That’s a boast of sorts.

RNSW has more gall because its chief executive, Peter V’landys, has the bigger stalls. He does not expect any of his imaginative ideas to be unpopular, never mind left at the barriers. Last year V’landys wanted to use the sails of the Opera House as a flyer for The Everest. He was initially blocked by the Opera House chief executive, Louise Herron, which enraged him and therefore the rudest man in radio, Alan Jones, as well.

Jones loves his horses almost as much as he likes telling people they should be sacked or are “out of their depth”. They flogged Herron and her decision loudly and regularly.

Herron and her team pulled up sore well before they had reached the starting stalls. Men with big green screens hovered enthusiastically.

The Everest works. Not because it is filthy rich but that it appeals to the younger slice of the community not initially drawn to the traditions of their parents. Time-honoured races were developing use-by dates and it showed in shrinking crowds. V’landys is attempting to engineer a new racing history with Sydney at its epicentre. It explains Victoria’s response.

Both races are gimmicks and gambles. Ten of the spots in the All-Star Mile race are secured on the voting of the public. A start in Randwick’s spring requires a down payment of $600,000. Correctly, neither race has group status because of these contrived qualifications.

This is all jealous jostling by the two most powerful states in racing. But knowledgeable racing officials agree that very little care, if any, was given to the impact on the racing health of other jurisdictions. According to an official linked to the establishment of The Everest, RA had no input but crucially no influence. The strapper keeps to itself.

The role and freedom NSW and Victoria have been given by RA will eventually kill the sport in other states.

It is imperative that racing has a strong and vibrant presence in all areas and territories.

No sport has improved or spread its product better than the AFL. It knows that to be the strongest sport in Australia it must have hard-wearing muscle everywhere. It argues that it cannot let the last two clubs to join the competition — the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney — disappear into a vast hole of debt and lack of concern from football’s headquarters. To ensure that AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and his predecessors have convinced everyone that their continued presence is a responsibility of the other 16 clubs.

Thus the Suns and the Giants have been given favourable access to the best young kids in Australia, relied on generous loans and sympathetic rates from headquarters. Is it fair? No. Is it necessary? Absolutely. Of course, the other clubs don’t like it much but realise it is the most practical and surest way to grow the AFL as the national sport and the extra income that rains in with that.

South Australian racing is badly lame. It cannot get out of a canter. It struggles to populate fields. For excitement if there is more than one horse in a race the caller screams of a ding-dong battle. Two horses and it becomes a charge of the light brigade. More than that and it can only mean the clerk of the course has joined in.

Late last year the SA government trimmed its contribution to racing. Expert racing.com writer Andrew Eddy wrote last November as the Melbourne spring racing glowed with money, success and respect, wrote: “Australian thoroughbred racing reaches its pinnacle in Melbourne over the next week, but virtually next door in South Australia, the industry is nearing crisis point.

“Already falling well behind the eastern states in terms of stake money offered, it is feared that unless a deal can be struck with the state government to gain a rebate from the revenues provided by the Point Of Consumption betting tax, that prizemoney could even be reduced in future seasons.”

Chris Watson, president of the SA breeders’ association, told Eddy: “It really is getting to a crisis point. We’ve seen every other state see some sort of rebate back from the government, but we’re just not getting any response.”

Note the lack of interest of Racing Australia.

Things might be about to improve after a positive meeting between the racing leaders and the government.

Leading trainer Tony McEvoy told Eddy he expected the government would reconsider its stance on returning money to the industry from the millions of dollars worth of income arising from the Point Of Consumption Tax.

“It’s just a matter of South Australian racing putting a business plan in place so the government has confidence in us going forward and there has to be a really strong business plan for us to build and grow,” McEvoy said. If only RA could at least go guarantor.

You can see racing is splintering without leadership of vision and discipline. Victoria is playing catch-up to NSW, Queensland flounders and South Australia clings on.

How these administrators must drop to their knees and thank God Winx has stayed sound and eager. She will race next week in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Winx is the work of God that has given racing officials a saddle of competence and authority that otherwise would not survive a protest.