http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=97216
It's hard for me to determine where the obligatory Bankstown Pigeon crap ends and the Club's official statement begins.
Fair dinkum. A brand new 1000m facility at Eastern Creek...or Bankstown???????????????
Has there ever been a bigger No Brainer? Absolutely un-%&$#ing-believable.
Whether Bankstown agreed or not i don't think the move will happen as Penrith refused the move last year and i don't think they'll change there mind's. I think there is a place for a 800m in Sydney and that is Penrith. By the way of the 3 tracks mentioned who actually own's the track's the Harness club's or other parties.
G'day Dallas,Originally Posted by mango
Bankstown don't own the land, neither does Fairfield (race dates wise they're all but defunct anyway so I can't see the relevance of them even being mentioned in that press release) and whilst Penrith certainly owns theirs, it is a parcel of land worth somewhere around $20-22 million & surely some of that $ being free'd up ala the sale of HP move to Menangle makes a whole lot more sense?
From what I've been able to determine, HRNSW is working with the NSW State Government seeking out available parcels of land at Eastern Creek where brand new racing/training/stabling facilities can be built including a state of the art 1000m etc....but no, as per usual, to the Flat Earth supporters...that's not acceptable.
If I could have gotten on as good a thing at the track that would happen I'd have had the house on it.
Ultimately I fully expect that what's going to happen here is something akin to Security staff asking an intoxicated patron to leave a Pub or a Nightclub. They'll each have a choice of doing it the easy way or if needs must, they can do it the hard way.
The easy way is of course to be part of the process and along with the HRNSW make the best of the proposal & then make the very best of a brand new everything, racing three times a week or more at Eastern Creek...in doing so significantly reducing the cost structure and delivering a better outcome for Industry participants by way of those $ being re-directed to prizemoney etc.
The hard way is to fight it, spend a heap of time & $ and effort in doing so, end up getting their race dates reduced, revoked etc etc........and ultimately seeing the same outcome as they'd have had if they had initially gone along with things...only somewhat delayed by all the bullshit. It will be as simple as that.
Like many others, I've seen the sabre rattling, shield beating, forelock tugging & gnashing of teeth before Dallas.
It happened when Richmond got closed down, it happened again when Fairfield got axed, same sort of thing went for Lithgow as I recall. It's like Ground Hog Day. Rise and shine Campers!
The same old naysayers were once again out in force prior to the sale of HP. "If this happens then I'll sell up and leave the Industry" etc etc etc. As if anyone was going to beg any single one of them to stay?
At Administrative, Club and Participant level the Industry has time and again suffered from the same tired old bullshit from the same blinkered bozos that are individually and collectively stuck in some sort of a 1950's time-warped version of Australia. Well guess what fellas? The world has moved on. Time to get your heads 60+ years down the line and get with the program or go to buggery. Easy as that.
Btw...if you want to get a pretty clear idea where the head of the naysayers and flat earth society members are at right now...have a read of this nothing short disgraceful press release. http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=97262
IMO Andrew Ho should be ashamed of himself for authoring such a peice but clearly he is not, for if he was he would not write such things. In a few words...emotive, less than objective, verging on slanderous as far as Sam's concerned. Disgraceful.
Hey Triple
If Penrith own there land and have a successfully run club and get a decent crowd there why would they want to sell and put there money into Eastern Creek if the other 2 clubs have nothing to bring with them. I don't know much about Eastern Creek but would one think they would attract a crowd there or not ? I thought there was talk of Penrith extending there track and fixing up some facilities and i also recall Paul Fitzpatrick saying that he think's there is a place for a smaller track in Sydney and that was Penrith. I'm not saying they should move or shouldn't but just trying to get some more insight.
G'day Dallas,
That's essentially the unspoken here. By virtue of significant financial wherewithall post any sale of the current site & the distinct lack of same as far as Bankstown (ongoing solvency issues) & Fairfield are concerned, Penrith would BE the proposed new Club...lock, stock and barrel. They (Penrith) would have new public & member facilities, they'd have a new track, new stabling & training facilities, the whole box & dice.
The other two would be there largely in name only & in order to satisfy a few sentimentalists...ala what they do down in VIC from time to time with so & so @ Melton or what happens here in NSW with Bulli @ Menangle.
Bankstown's in a dreadful state of dis-repair these days & the Club has been bailed out on at least two occasions I know of. IMO it is to the future of NSW Harness Racing what the Lung Fish is to the future of Evolution. It is a relic of a by-gone age that when encountered, is just as disturbing to look at...either up close or when viewed from a distance.
Last edited by Triple V; 04-30-2012 at 09:08 PM. Reason: bad spelling + added a bit
Jamie, Dallas,
whilst in our area the 960 metre track we've had at Newcastle for over twenty years has been hailed by some as the saviour of our game here ( and I'm not saying it hasn't played a part) I believe the people administering the club here have been more vital to it's success than the racing circuit itself. Sure it's a great track, no doubt , but the folks who have held the reins here have ensured the club's ongoing success. It is also true that neighboring clubs like Cessnock and Maitland have suffered at Newcastle's success, but that is another debate altogether.
One of the reasons for this ongoing success story is the co-operation between individuals and clubs for the greater good.
I see similar parallels at Penrith, a successful club of people more interested in the greater good than their owns interests. And they have been very successful for a very long time! Despite having some influential members who, according to some are "stuck in the past". Some people who are "stuck in the past" have actually seen first hand, the pitfalls that others are promoting many years previously and, like any sane person are wary of making the same mistake again.
I dont think you need a 1,000+ metre to have a successful operation...think tracks like Gloucester Park and Yonkers..been there forever and still going strong, but strong clubs that are administrated by talented people, the point I'm trying to make guys is that it's not the track but the club that will decide success or otherwise.
Cheers,
Dan
G'day Dan,
Placing the rights & wrongs of various aspects in this debate aside for a moment, do you think it does anyone in the Industry any good at all for somewhere in the vicinity of 20-22 milion dollars to be tied up in land value?
Last edited by Triple V; 05-01-2012 at 02:22 PM. Reason: missed a bit
Hi Triple
Isn't that up to the Penrith Club to decide as they are a part of the industry and by the sound of it they have a great club, it would be great to get another track somewhere but i don't agree with another one in Sydney. I think people should take into consideration that Harness racing does exist outside of the city Limit's and try and do something in the country. Bathurst would be my choice and not Eastern Creek, Bathurst race wk in wk out and alway's attract horses from alot of different area's and have good fields and i just hope the next track is based on the same size as Melton and not Menangle. They have Bulli meeting's at Menangle why can't they have Fairfield and Bankstown there aswell.
Having had commercial dealings with the Newcastle club (some time back but same people) I fully endorse the above .
[VVV] G'day Dallas. Yes and no. Yes insofar as being an integral part of/a/the major influence on the process but no insofar as deciding to act road block wise to the march of progress. What we're talking about here is a long, long, long overdue rationalisation of Clubs/Tracks within the greater Metro area of Sydney. I'm sure you'd agree that there's absolutely no justification whatsoever for keeping going all of the tracks that we currently have and there has not been so for some time and by that I'm talking at least a decade. Ultimately there'll only be, ultimately there only needs to be....2 tracks in Sydney/surrounds. Obviously one of them will be Menangle plus there'll be 1 other, wherever/whoever it may end up being.
As for the outside of Sydney Metro/Country areas I could not agree more with with you. That is where $$$ should be aimed, that is where it will be aimed, because the old addage that when Country racing is strong, the Industry is strong holds just as true now as ever and many of the current and previous Board know this full well.
To that end if you take a look at the direction in which HRNSW wish to head in the coming years I understand that there will be major regional training & racing facilities located in Goulburn, Bathurst, Wagga and Newcastle...and I have a gut feeling I may have left one or two more out?
For example, things are already on the move in the Central West as the proposal for the move/development of a new track at Bathurst (which I understand is to be located on the old Sale Yards site) went before Council not long after the most recent Gold Crown/Tiara carnival was completed. HRNSW has also purchased a large slice of land next to the Goulburn track where permanent training/stabling facilities will be built ala those that will built at Menangle, same no doubt at Bathurst, Wagga, Newcastle ect. To those ends, I expect such was the recent HRNSW road show.
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