Lift local prize money- Not Carnival!

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Righto, I don’t get on the high horse often and I like to promote QLD racing in the best light possible. On this occasion I simply cannot understand a few thoughts regarding the great state.

Here is a good article by Ben Dorries from the Courier Mail (the link). Ben talks to Darren Condon (who is doing a good job) about how QLD needs to change a few things in promoting  the QLD winter carnival to compete with ‘The Championships’ etc.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/superracing/stop-horsing-around-revitalise-our-winter-carnival-says-racing-queensland-chief/story-fnii0njy-1226891506305

 

-And here are my thoughts

I knew this would happen, everyone wants to compete with the big carnivals… Fair enough but there is nothing wrong with our carnival, we will get the good NZ stayers pop over as usual, our Stradbroke is $1,000,000 and the crowds are always pretty good, forget about competing with the big carnival, you can’t match them! If it ain’t broken don’t fix it. If something has to be fixed let’s look at these.

There should be one focus by everyone involved in racing in QLD, Decisions

1-      Fix the goat track commonly known as Eagle Farm- Yes its happening but let’s get it done.

2-      Lift prizemoney. Not for visiting trainers in already big money races, but for those who support QLD racing and have horses in every day. $11k first prize of a Wednesday makes us the laughing stock of Australian racing.

That is just my thoughts but if money was found to be available to throw towards making big races bigger I would be absolutely filthy being a local owner, and all QLD owners and trainers would have every right to be filthy when Sunny Coast and Gold Coast races are as little as $6,500 for winning and the Wednesday card (the second biggest meeting in the state) is $11k to the winner??

–For instance my mates and I have a share in a mare County Commands who is a BOBS eligible horse. We have not seen the best of her yet and has a slight injury at present but she has been racing midweek for that ridiculous money. We could pop her down for a midweek benchmark 70 at Canterbury and race for a first prize of over $30,000 (3 times as much as QLD) .

The people who are in charge are far smarter than me and know what they are doing, I just hope things are sorted out and that we are not seriously trying to compete with the southern states Carnivals.

Here is a great example of competing with the Southern states. Their home of racing are Randwick and Flemington….. Ours is Eagle Farm, enough said!!

**There is also a push to promote in as many ways as possible to reach people. I feel I could really help promote Racing Qld and the clubs around South East Qld but nobody feels that a growing website reaching so many people can help the cause? I would love them to come on and help promote our great states racing. With a few jobs changing in the last 18 months I can say one has at least realised there may well be a use for a site like ours which is good.

At least the people in charge are having ideas and looks as though their hearts in the right place which can’t be said for some in the past.

But more importantly let’s hope that the whole state realises it is local Prize money and a goat track that are the issues, not how much can be thrown at advertising a Carnival that is already successful.