Originally Posted by
Big K
Well its a great thread with plenty of for's and against.A mate of mine is a pro punter and he bets on GP,he doesn't want the size of the track to alter nor does he want a sprint lane.He says he can quite confidently bet on the outcome knowing that even if his horse settles towards the rear it will get carted into the race by its mate.Have seen plenty of horses at GP chewing on the bit hoping to get a crack at them as the leader struggles and the swoopers join in.For me its a crime to see horses hard held up the straight and not get the opportunity to improve their position.Then hear my other mates say "Ya cant get a run for your money" and then they bet like hell on the gallops.As a stakeholder in the industry I want more people to bet on the Trots of course..and sprint lanes may help with this as at the tab people do ask if there is a sprint lane at such n such a place.Well if sprint lanes are no good then whats the answer to get more betting turnover?? At a recent industry meeting I put forward a suggestion to race on the 1000mt straight at the Pinjarra gallops track..you know trying to be innovative,no horses getting locked in and such,a new dimension..but nearly got laughed out of the joint.We need to be trying as many things as we can to get this sport back into the main frame.Watched the clip from Ireland with pacers being ridden,allbeit on bitumen roads(pretty crazy)..I watched some old footage as well of when ridden and driven horses raced each other..and thought is it still possible?? I think we need to try these things and get creative for this very vesitile sport.Just some thoughts thats all.