What is it with Australian harness racing?

[Duane Ranger]

Australia has some wonderful tracks but with the demise of Moonee Valley and Harold Park, and the proposed sale of Albion Park and Globe Derby Park, are there going to be any left?

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=84802

[Norm]

Australia has some wonderful tracks but with the demise of Moonee Valley and Harold Park, and the proposed sale of Albion Park and Globe Derby Park, are there going to be any left?

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=84802

Looks like its going to go same way here concentrating on the gallops and I don`t mean selling tracks here, its put harness on back burner

[veejay]

Melton and Menangle are far superior racing tracks to MV and HP, even though the facilities for spectators are not nearly as good at present. The one track that should be sold and relocated is Gloucester
Park. It is way outdated for the speed of horses today and with 12 horse fields on a very tight 800m circuit there are too many horses who dont get a chance to perform to their best.
One negative about Melton is the 7 across the front - it should have been 9 or 10 with very few trailers. One thing that is hurting Harness with the traffic jam on Sky is false starts. Our competition dont
have them.

[aussiebreno]

Australia has some wonderful tracks but with the demise of Moonee Valley and Harold Park, and the proposed sale of Albion Park and Globe Derby Park, are there going to be any left?

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=84802
I don't know if this thread was made to create conversation but it is a silly statement. If you are informed enough to know about the proposed sales of Albion Park and Globe Derby then you should be informed enough to know the benefits of this - including the benefits of selling Moonee Valley and Harold Park to create Menangle and Melton and other positives for the industry.

[Phoenix]

I have to say that I was initially dissapointed that MV was gonna close down and that Melton would take over as Melbourne's metro track.. but sometimes nostalgia has to give way to progress and there is no way on earth that horses would get anywhere close to the 1.52's that Villagem and Smoken Up have clocked up on a track like Moonee Valley...

Menangle speaks for itself... track record Monkey King last year in Miracle Mile... then Washakie breaks the record in Cordina Sprint.. then that record gets broken by Smoken Up a week later in this years MM.

There is no doubt that the 1.50 barrier will be broken at Menangle ....

[triplev123]

$200 million from MIRVAC for the Harold Park site also speaks for itself. Well Done to Rex & the Crew. Pretty to watch.

[justdoit]

Funny how the old guard are still thinking of how to get more people to the races, to save the industry? Year 2011 is near, get with the program/punters.

[Phoenix]

$200 million from MIRVAC for the Harold Park site also speaks for itself. Well Done to Rex & the Crew. Pretty to watch.

True..

That's some serious cash!

Every other sport would be in awe of a windfall like that..

[triplev123]

Exact figures are $187mil +GST = $205.7mil. all up. Not sure of the exacts down to the dollar however I think they'd clear their loan from the RDF with somewhere around $25mil so that leaves them around $150mil free & clear. It is without doubt the single greatest thing to happen to Harness Racing in NSW in my lifetime, a very close 2nd being the re-construction of the Menangle track. The future looks very bright indeed.

[Brando]

It's all abot turnover... Greyhounds willl surpass Harness withing 5 years :/

[justdoit]

I have just finished looking at the results from Geelong and have decided that it would be a good idea to get a race horse or breed a race horse that is from NZ.

All this time i was wrong about the sheep hmmmmmmmm GOAT. I´m sure I heard something about a goat. The NZders do have good horses.
Happy New Year

[Neil]

they only won 5 out of 7 so you cant feel too bad

Outmuscle qualified here the same day as our one did - he has gone on a lot better than our boy who is now retired due to unsoundness - our boy would have loved the small tracks over there.

[triplev123]

G'day Justdoit.
If it is a going horse that you seek...beware of 'The Ghost Who Walks'...The Phantom (Vet). http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8285/fantomen01at8.jpg