Originally Posted by
tiny
I sorry that most of you don't like what i’m saying. Harness racing is facing some tough times ahead and at the end of the day harness racing is a business and the racing is the product they sell. It is simple if harness racing doesn't grow its betting turnover, it will go bust. I can understand the emotion attached.
The comment by Daryl New that if you don’t like it don’t bet on it, is not good enough. Betting turnover can’t grow if the punters don’t like the product. So It is more of a case if you don’t like it its got to improve or be got rid of.
Daryl also wrote don’t bag the people that make up the fields and this only highlights the problem, if there are people or horses that are only going around week in week out to make up numbers is a problem. No one will back a horse they have never herd of with bad form that is trained a driven by some bloke that has a nine to five job and drives or trains a horse after work. Get half a dozen of these in a race and the punter doesn’t punt.
As a punter there are four things I follow, Horses, trainers, drivers and form if I look at a race and don’t know any names and nothing obvious in the form you don’t punt.
In recent time harness racing has had its share of integrity issues again causing a lack of trust in the product. Because the industry is so large and fragmented makes it hard to be correctly regulated.
I have wrote this before but the number of trainers must be reduced if harness racing had 10 trainers in Sydney with about 70-80 horses each regulation would be simple there would be better name recognition and plenty of quality horses to make up fields. The same can be said about drivers although more than ten are required.
As much as it is a hard decision to make it is for the better of the sport and doing away with the restricted meetings is a good one and a good step towards a stronger future.
The comment I made earlier about the Bulli race was wrong in the way it targeted one person but the point was all drivers have shockers but the part time ones have more than the ones that drive all the time.
PS sorry about the spelling I was never very good at it. But must also add I have never commented on anyone’s spelling ever. So I can’t spell but I’m not a hypocrite.