Well what can I say!!!
Printable View
Viv.
On reflection I realise that I didn't answer your post fully. Your right, a lot of horses have come over from NZ to compete in Australia at the highest level. Without being negative I pose this question to you & I am truly interested. If we managed to breed a very good horse & want to race him at the top level in NZ, we would want to send him to a trainer whose reputation is unblemished & has competed consistently & regularly at the top level in Australia as well as NZ. This trainer would also have to have ZERO positive swabs. Can you give me the names of trainers who come here on a regular basis from NZ, compete at the highest level & fill all the criteria above because there is where our horse would go . Thanks
I hope all states continue to take a thorough approach to catching drug cheats. I also hope all states put more effort into improving all areas of integrity in our sport. Drug cheats are only part of the problem, there are many other aspects that aren't being appropriately addressed that have just as big an impact on participation and generating wagering increases.
Yes, The cheats need to be driven out of the game and as you mentioned Mitch, The controlling bodies all need to take a firm stance as one and address the problem. As this topic has raged on we have seen a lot of different opinions and for those that have stuck their heads in a hole, It's real and not in your imagination and i'm fairly sure we haven't seen the end if it yet. Congrats to HRNSW for their good work with this problem and I hope that all of the other states get on board ASAP.
Rich, the point I was trying to make is that I think more needs to be done in areas of integrity outside of drug testing. Things like the application of the change of tactics rule, restricted access to race day stables at every meeting, better training of inexperienced stewards to read race patterns and identify questionable tactics etc etc.
I believe the average punter couldn't give a rats if a trainer is drugging their horse, they care more about race tactics and patterns being properly enforced by stewards because that what's they know and thats what's visible in the form guide. Unless they have inside info they wouldn't have a clue if a horse has been drugged, so from a pure punting perspective it's insignificant in many ways. It's the other industry participants (mainly trainers and owners) that care more about the drug cheats.
The reason I say this is the tricky balance all racing bodies have to manage is how to drive wagering revenue and increase participation at the same time. As stupid as it sounds this is somewhat at odds with each other when you look at the challenges faced.
If people think rubbing out all the drug cheats is good for wagering revenue then I think they are wrong. In fact it may end up having an adverse effect. Think about it.....
Integrity is a very broad topic. So whilst I encourage drug testing regimes to continue I also urge all racing bodies to invest harder and faster in other areas of integrity that will drive wagering revenue because that is the single most important thing our sports needs.
I hope that makes sense.
First of all Rich - you need to empty your inbox
Mitch, whether rubbing out all the drug cheats is good for the sport as in good for wagering is an interesting one. One thing I would suggest is that the big pro punter is always going to punt and the small punter that has a tipple is probably never going to read about it, so the only one's possibly effected/put off would seem to be the enthusiasts - so I think not. Was there a drop in punting as a result of the NSW stewards scandal?
VVV- I don't think for a minute that anyone has done anything wrong but at the same time I can't help thinking that if it were certain other stables involved here Trish....ones you're no great fan of...that you'd instead be all over them like a Seagull on a hot chip. Call me a cynic.