DOES ANYONE IN RACING ADMINISTRATION HAVE A CLUE?

09/04/13

The first thing that I want to comment on from last Saturday’s race meetings is the amazing capacity of racetracks to dry out during the night, even when rain falls as we are pushing out zeds. Last Friday afternoon at 4pm on RISA the Rosehill track information had just been updated and it advised the Rosehill track at that time was a “heavy 8”. The track by the Track Manager’s own admission in a radio interview Saturday morning received “2mm of rain overnight” (Friday night) and he also stated Saturday morning in that radio interview that the Rosehill track had copped “a heavy dew” Saturday morning.

Now I’m not real bright, but I was brought up on a farm and I’d say “a heavy dew” must surely equate to another 1 or 2 mm’s of rain being received. Therefore let’s say “a heavy dew” only equates to just 1 mm of rain that means after darkness set in on Friday night, the Rosehill track received 3 mm’s of rain. Can someone then kindly explain to me how the hell a racetrack receiving 3 mm of rain overnight can miraculously dry out from a heavy 8 to a slow 7 by 6am on race morning? The mind boggles, particularly when TVN’s Caroline Searcy suggested before Philippi won Race 3 later that day words to the effect that many jockeys were suggesting that the Rosehill track was playing more like a heavy track, which was a hint to the on track TVN interviewer Bruce Clark to raise the topic with Philippi’s winning jockey Luke Nolen in a post race interview, but sadly the interviewer never raised the topic just to ensure punters investing millions of dollars later in the day on the meeting were treated as mushrooms again – kept completely in the dark and fed on bullshit. So do we know what the right track rating was for Rosehill last Saturday? I don’t think so. I guess “slow” isn’t as bad as “heavy” for TAB turnover purposes if you are trying to engender some betting enthusiasm into the minds of poor silly mug punters around the length and breadth of the country and those betting on our racing from overseas via the Internet.

Naturally the other person who could have solved the problem was the race morning radio interviewer or television interviewer who interviewed the track manager and they could have said something like “oh so the track has dried out overnight has it, even though it rained and you got a heavy dew? You have got to be (expletive) kidding haven’t you? Can you kindly explain how that can happen please? No wonder that bloke at Justracing gets fired up over this sort of crap”. Naturally no interviewer said a word – like I said earlier – just treat us all like mushrooms.

Down in Melbourne, the Moonee Valley meeting turned into what I’d call an “absolute and utter abortion” right from Round 1 of the eight rounder. After Race 1 had been run and won, the Moonee Valley Racing Club in their infinite wisdom posted the official overall time for the 1000-metre event as 1.06.05. Not a soul queried that horses racing on a dead 4 track in a Saturday metropolitan race could run so slowly for the 1000 metres. That overall time of 1.06.05 then went global on RISA, racing websites like Racenet, AAP, Racing And Sports and in all the Sunday newspapers. The only problem is that that time differs from the right time by over six seconds, or just 36 lengths, so how come not one soul has even questioned such a massive stuff-up? That follows just seven days after the “massive stuff-up” I raised in this column of the last 600-metre sectional in the Jet Away race from Caulfield on 31/3/13 being way out. It’s just not good enough and in fact it’s “an absolute and utter disgrace.” Does anyone in control either at race club level or at Racing Victoria actually know what they are doing?

Up in Brisbane things aren’t much better as the place is getting used as a dumping ground for copious numbers of interstate has-beens. We’ve had a plethora of slow and enigmatic chaffbandits that haven’t won a race for ages lobbing into the “Sunshine State” in recent times, when some cold and arid joint like the Gobi Desert would be more appropriate. Then to add insult to injury, Patinack is bringing some of their formerly southern based slowcoaches and enigmas north to Brisbane. Shockers like Kneeling (last at 4/1) and Maury (second at 8/1) debuted in Brisbane last Saturday, whilst thankfully Real Stolle was scratched. All I can say is “Let us pray”. And the worst part is that punters continue to back these interstate non-achievers as if they are suddenly going to change their spots now that they’ve arrived in Queensland. From my experience in life “leopards don’t change their spots”.

On the subject of Sydney from last Saturday what about Norzita getting home over 2000 metres in the Vinery Stud Stakes? Punters who backed her two starts earlier in the Kewney Stakes at Flemington over 1400 metres as the $1.65 favourite and saw her need an oxygen mask late before getting run down easily by Flying Snitzel are entitled to be absolutely filthy. Maybe punters who backed her that day in Melbourne could all get together and go and see Slater & Gordon and launch a class action against Bart?

Yesterday in the Lindsay Gallagher report I said I’d find Denis Schultz’s biography from 2004 and it can be read HERE.

If you want to have a giggle today and if you understand the financial losses that are generally incurred from getting involved in racehorse syndication – check out this animation that has been done on the subject on You Tube? Please be advised that there is some swearing in the voiceover which may offend some people so don’t click on the link HERE if swearing offends you. But apart from that – we are all a long time dead – so we may as well have a laugh.

Today on www.brisbaneracing.com.au there’s all the sale results from the big Redcliffe standardbred sale last Sunday, where if you had just $200 or $300 you could have walked away with your pick of numerous yearlings. There’s also the first of two days photos from Doomben last Saturday. On www.sydneyracing.com.au Bernard Kenny attempts to get a bit of religion into the Sydney racing crew, but I fancy it’s simply too late for some of them, as some of those in Sydney racing have what I’d call “a bit of form that God wouldn’t be too happy about”. The only reason they never have a “racing mass for the punters” is that they’re too smart and know the punters haven’t collectively got much moola to put in the plate. On www.melbourneracing.com.au Matt Nicholls names a jockey who can crack 3000 career winners today if he can ride half a winner or more at a bush meeting.

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