Industry Indicators - Good, Bad & Ugly

[Dot]

The breeders crown heats are changing from next year I think it is and will all be being held in Victoria if I recall correctly.

At least now Richard there is a late payment option, up to owners if they use it. Whilst reminders are sent out, might be an opportunity growing now for someone to run a stakes payment service which ensures their "busy" clients horses have all their relevant payments made on time, though if your racing in Vic the payments are taken out early in the piece from stakes money. I've also had one miss out due to messy admin procedures.

Greg Canty has resigned and HRV is currently advertising for a new racing and wagering manager.

And Jim you've advocated for promotion and indicated you don't buy the paper in the same sentence. Can you see the problem?

[arlington]

Diminishing Breeders Crown entrants, a lot of people have been saying over the last couple of years they won't be paying up for it. Some due to stable dominance as well as the "if you haven't got a Bettors or Art Major...may as well not be in it" and of course the inequity of two or three horse heats outside Vic.

Is this the last year heats will be run in NZ and interstate? All will be in Vic and I think all on the one day like the Vic Super Sires. There's also an intended prize money increase for the final, previous Board and CEO. Pretty sure, funded by running less heats, no more two and three horse heats out side Vic.

Will these changes encourage more entrants?


edit: just checked, 2018 is the last year for outside heats.

[Amlin]

Just how it used to be!

[eliteblood]

Just how it used to be!

There has always been interstate heats Kyle, and in the early days many of them.
I remember taking a horse to Wagga Wagga to race in a heat.

[Dot]

Moving all heats to Vic Wayne only addresses the inequity of 2 or 3 horse heats versus full fields in the early stages of the event. Perceptions such as can't compete unless you have an Art Major or a Bettors Delight will persist, and if there was any doubt previously the results of the recent Vicbred series confirms there is very much a dominant stable in the Victorian juvenile ranks at present.

Without the "walk up" start across the Tasman and interstate it remains to be seen if stables in these jurisdictions target the Breeders Crown as they have in the past, particularly as they are no doubt also aware of the strength of the Stewart stable which have the advantage of racing on home turf.

I envisage a continuing reluctance amongst the broader band of participants to contribute to the funding pool for the Breeders Crown if they feel they have little prospect of success in it, and to maintain funding levels the event will need to become more elitist with a smaller pool of participants contributing a higher amount in order to race in a reduced number of heats for a significant purse in the final, and the title of Breeders Crown champion.

Whilst the number of participants would be reduced the event can still be an important marketing opportunity to see the best juveniles race to industry participants and public alike. But with harness racing having a reputation as sport for the battlers rather then the silvertails it remains to be seen how well an increasingly elitist series would be received.

[alphastud]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...50d2e484bf4ab2

Is this an example of the type of initiative that you're referring to Kevin?

[Messenger]

Like all the papers nowadays, I am afraid you cannot see the link unless you are a subscriber Richard. Can you take a 'snip' of it?

[alphastud]

Sorry. Try this
http://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-conte...Kosciuszko.pdf

[Messenger]

Thanks Richard

Wow that is DIFFERENT

" Each winning ticket holder will then have an entry
in The Kosciuszko and can select a NSW country trained horse to race in their entry,
subject to agreeing with the horse’s owners as to how they will share the prizemoney for
the race."

I know it is copying the main race, The Everest, but imagine Joe or Josephine Blow being in a position to find/select a horse to represent them

[arlington]

Thanks Richard

Wow that is DIFFERENT

" Each winning ticket holder will then have an entry
in The Kosciuszko and can select a NSW country trained horse to race in their entry,
subject to agreeing with the horse’s owners as to how they will share the prizemoney for
the race."

I know it is copying the main race, The Everest, but imagine Joe or Josephine Blow being in a position to find/select a horse to represent them

One question. Why didn't Peter V wait for Melbourne Cup week to announce

That announcement, concept, and the current Breeders Crown discussion, interesting.


In regards to the Breeders Crown http://www.harnessracingforum.com/sh...Breeders-Crown three years ago to the day.
The BC has moved a long way from it's inception as the Bendigo Breeders Crown. Sure, bigger prize money for the ABC and it's not surprising the word elitist has come up and that's a long way from the BBC. (I think Kyle was on the money. Initially, as the BBC, heats were run in Vic, although Peter Walsh won with Flubber (a name for Kev) early on so whether there were NSW heats at least?)

I'm not sure if there is anything constructive in my memories of something that felt good when the BBC final day was first run. Heaps of people, participants at all levels, felt good, happy. Easy for me to think/recall now it was happy days until it became the ABC. I'm obviously a Vic participant.

Now we have the marquee/area for participating owners on final day at Melton. Not a bad thing. BBC we had, I should say Bendigo HRC had a fair, field days atmosphere to it. Noel, Adaptor might like to add? I'm not sure where I'm going with this but the BBC felt like it encompassed all.

The relevance might be the C $5000 prize money level against the Australasian Breeders Crown. Considering that most ABC entrants have come and will continue to come from Vic it would be questionable if the ABC could continue even at the elite, I won't say elitist, level with a C5k tier. Doubt very much if R4K will do much either. I go back to wondering what's wrong with two tiers. R3.5/4K and max the C prizemoney, one tier, regardless of assessment or quality.

Vic will move to $ handicapping/assessment(?) like NSW and probably WA. (Where is WA at with the proposal to their participants?) Considering we are moving to a national system still(?)

Amongst other factors, the increase to the R $ level may well be a "reward" for funding the $10K races as well as a great percentage of $7K races. Leaves the $5K level treading water perilously. Not to be ignored is the $5K level is in the same revenue raiser group as the R level. Everyone knows all that. How do you raise the $5K without minimising your profit/revenue from those? I don't know exactly where the average/line is. Is it 5.5, 6K, undoubtedly a lot to do with programming, creating turnover.

Is it too radical, can I say democratically unacceptable, to offer only two tiers? We still have conditioned racing. Previously we raced for something like C0-C2 $6.4K, C3- $6.7. Some people weren't happy with only 3 or $400 separating faster assessed and slower. Now we race for $5K and if you win a 7K it's wow! People will even congratulate you emphasising it was a $7K race, wow I'm racing at the elite level!

If we could max C at 8K which might mean no, or very little 10K as well as probably keeping R at 3.5K, would this be an unacceptable race card:-
At the extreme, C0 $8000 trainer less than 5 wins last season no faster than 2.01. C5 $8000 open/ffa RBD?

C5 owners disgruntled? But you have a C5 today and tomorrow a C0? Or both at the same time? Just like the "fall-back" thought on R races, there if your potential champ isn't, the horses that move through the classes aim for increased prize money via minor and major feature races? And if you're not quite that quality you also have the drop back. Not too bad to be dropping back to 8K?

May well be the opposite of the trickle down economy but what we're seeing with the Breeders crown, well, if history shows the greater number of horses only win at the lowest levels, would upping that prize money level encourage that money to be reinvested? "I don't have to go to the top, top, stallions...will have another look at that other yearling at the sales"?