They don't call the gallops the gallops...they are simply called the races, and the dogs don't seem to have any problem with their moniker 'the dogs'.
I sure don't say lets go to the harness races tonight. They are the trots, they have always been the trots and that is what they always will be. The industry needs to get the message out to the public that what was once seen as common rorting is not tolerated to the extent that we have experienced in years gone by. As Roger Flensing alluded to, the NSW Stewards scandal that came to light about 18 months ago, still resonates loudly with any punter, but those players have been removed. Some will say there are still plenty of operators still in the game and that may well be the case, however I doubt if we will ever see anything of that magnitude ever again tainting officialdom. Ideally the industry would love to see more swabbing done but again (and without looking at any figures) the numbers of animals being swabbed in NSW has definitely increased in recent times, with plenty of swabs frozen for further analysis as testing improves in time. It is the cost thats the killer. The general public would be completely in the dark as to the state of racing in NSW at the present time, whilst some punters would have some idea.
HRV I think should be congratulated for embracing the only name that most fans really relate to. They are after all, only attempting to improve attendances with a hook that punters can relate to, "The Trots"
As far as being Hot To Trot, its like our old friend Steph...if you pay enough cash, she will let you harness her in anyway you choose (not that I know first hand), but Toohard might be able to shed some light on that.
(She turned up on an old Youtube clip today I was looking at, Ross Ryan. She is a tenacious little bugger, and go figure...she is still 2.8kms away)!