Should Harness Racing Introduce Drivers Colours?

[Mitch]

This was spoken about 3 to 4 years ago and Johny Tapp thought it was good idea. Having not watched the program this time it sounds like he has switched camps. This is another way of trying to drive the hobby trainer / Driver out of the sport and creating the Menangle Super Proffessional Area. Most of the changes they make is all moving in that direction, squeezing them out. I for one will leave the sport if they continue reduce the country money and race at Menangle for big $$$ (with 8 or less horses in each race "great for turnover" ), I like to be involved with my horses and I can see how they are trained and cared for not just watching them on Tv and getting a monthly bill. Instead of treading on the little guy give us an equal oportunity to succeed in this wonderful industry...............promote the good stuff and then turnover will increase. rant over!! btw love seeing my colours going around.

Hi Steven,

I would been keen to better understand exactly how/why you think the hobbyists are being driven out of the sport and that the sport is only holding on by a thread?

I sometimes get really frustrated reading posts on this forum as they constantly perpetuate the fact that our industry is dying. IT IS NOT DYING AND NEVER WILL DIE. Sure, we are declining and there are headwinds to be overcome but there is still so much opportunity for harness racing to prosper and maintain a healthy share of the racing landscape in Australia. If you read the thoroughbred racing fact book you will note there are some serious declines as well but to their credit they have better adapted their product to remain appealing and hence wagering revenue is very strong.

Specifically in regards to the hobbyist I think both HRNSW and NSWHRC have done more than most to support country racing in NSW. NSWHRC provide additional funding (of their own accord) to the country series which allows heats to be run for $7k at country tracks and finals at Menangle of $10k. The investment in new country tracks and possibly training centres is terrific. For the sport to prosper there has to be better delineation between hobbyists and professional so that a premium product can be offered to attract new users from a punting perspective. This is critical to maintain share but it will only be done in certain areas.

In regards to the future of the sport I think there are a lot of positives and opportunities. In my opinion the reason harness has declined is due to 2 primary factors. 1. Lack of innovation and evolution of the harness racing product to suit the current/future market and to better compete against increased competition such as sports betting. 2. Lack of integrity.

Now more than ever the above 2 issues are being corrected. NSW has the best integrity of any racing jurisdiction in Australia and over time I feel the other states will catch up. The product development is now being addressed and whilst a lot more still needs to be done, I think harness racing can have a prosperous future with good leadership, governance and most importantly collaboration between the states.

The best thing we can all do for our sport is to encourage and embrace change and not be critical when they make mistakes. Not all change works the first time.

Drivers colours will do absolutely nothing to benefit harness racing.

As I have repeatedly stated it also requires the current participants to understand and accept that the changes required will not always be favourable to us as individuals but if we expect our industry to change and improve we must also do that ourselves.

Sorry for the rant but I think it needed to be said.

[Race For Fun]

So will they have one set of colours for horses they train and a different set when freelance? If so that would have to be the same for all drivers.

[Amlin]

Kyle, When Alford and co are driving for Emma Stewart, David Aiken, Dean Braun etc they aren't wearing drivers colours. It is a completely different dynamic.

But would Alford be required to wear his own set instead if they introduced drivers colours rather than Braun's etc?

[Danno]

Drivers colours will do absolutely nothing to benefit harness
racing.

Once again agree, with most of your points Mitch, none moreso than this one line, which is the relevant one for this thread.

A complete waste of time and energy chasing " drivers colours" as any sort of antidote to the decline in Harness racing's relevance, to be quite honest I'm dissapointed with myself for giving the thread another post.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Lucky Camilla"s Lovechild]

VVV- End of argument? How so? Nobody is talking about Trainers colours or Drivers colours. These Bozos are talking about forcing Owners to use Drivers colours. As I said, dragged from my dead clenched fist. As if the Owners are not already viewed as necessary evils by all and sundry in Administration and the TAB. As if they have not had enough insult added to injury....now once again some TAB drop kick is wanting to take their Colours away? Adam Hamilton should hang his head in shame for the ongoing support he has given this idea.

Drivers colours aside, I'm not really sure what your beef is with Adam Hamilton. Since Adam left the Herald Sun, harness racing exposure, particularly in the said paper, has suffered. He also pointed this out when bagging his former workplace for its lack of coverage for Smoken Ups farewell race at Melton. It was harness racings loss when he went to the TAB.

[cyclone george]

Mitch agree with most you say in your post, but gallops turnover has also stagnated for a few years now as well . I have always been a big fan of drivers colors just for the reason kids fall in love with either horses or drivers. My 9yo son loves the horses but my 12yo girl follows the drivers. I don't think trainers these days could really complain about colors theres barely a race these days a drivers not wearing promo colors for some cause. Owners colors are important for owners and I respect that , but so is growth in ownership and turnover .if people could just get together and put the industry first and look outside the square we might be all better off. If terry bailey thinks its a no brainier ,that's good enough for me because he was quite clearly the best steward /admin employee that hrv has ever had .

[Messenger]

Mitch, I would add a third reason for decline and that would be lack of media coverage/promotion. We have failed to break down the bias that the gallopers enjoy. Maybe your first reason encompassed this too but I do not see it as innovation just catching up.
I will forget pay TV for the moment although with the reduction in subscriptions beginning to happen, maybe it can reach enough non converts in the future, but with so many free to air channels now struggling for content how is it that the gallops can put their product on 7Two for more than half the Saturdays of the year and we cannot get ours on any. I think the gallops have realized that with people increasingly betting on TV sport, they needed to be on TV more. Of course they have always had fair News hour coverage and for their carnivlas, this alone we would kill for.
Newspapers are in decline but could still provide valuable coverage/promotion. The Age gives us nothing so maybe we just have to pay for a half page for big carnivals. They cannot refuse our money - they have prostituted themselves for some ridiculous stuff this year. If we were a customer then maybe they will butter us up with a column inch or two sometimes

[Triple V]

Drivers colours aside, I'm not really sure what your beef is with Adam Hamilton. Since Adam left the Herald Sun, harness racing exposure, particularly in the said paper, has suffered. He also pointed this out when bagging his former workplace for its lack of coverage for Smoken Ups farewell race at Melton. It was harness racings loss when he went to the TAB.

VVV- Ok. Let's start with this 'zap' the Owners Colours & replace them with Drivers Colours routine... and the way in which he SHAMELESSLY sock-puppeted the TAB's agenda by way of getting on In The Gig & SKY & couching it as genuine comment on a pressing Industry issue.
Others in the same & related employ have championed various excursions into insanity such as the ridiculous one lap 1000m burns in Greyhound regalia complete with 1 the red ect. Another straight up insult.
So yes, there's my beef. Minty Man Number 1's not the only one guilty of astro-turfing an Industry NON-ISSUE in order to pass it off as having genuine grass roots support.
They're all guilty of it. Some are worse than others....but his was infamous by way of openly supporting the abolition of Owners Colours, the subject of this thread.

[Triple V]

If terry bailey thinks its a no brainier ,that's good enough for me because he was quite clearly the best steward /admin employee that hrv has ever had .

VVV- I'm still waiting for him to explain how it was ever even remotely thought possible that a stand alone substance such as Arsenic could ever be a metabolite of ITPP. Nice old clanger there Tezza.
http://www.harnessracingforum.com/sh...ng-field/page3

[Lucky Camilla"s Lovechild]

VVV- Ok. Let's start with this 'zap' the Owners Colours & replace them with Drivers Colours routine... and the way in which he SHAMELESSLY sock-puppeted the TAB's agenda by way of getting on In The Gig & SKY & couching it as genuine comment on a pressing Industry issue.
Others in the same & related employ have championed various excursions into insanity such as the ridiculous one lap 1000m burns in Greyhound regalia complete with 1 the red ect. Another straight up insult.
So yes, there's my beef. Minty Man Number 1's not the only one guilty of astro-turfing an Industry NON-ISSUE in order to pass it off as having genuine grass roots support.
They're all guilty of it. Some are worse than others....but his was infamous by way of openly supporting the abolition of Owners Colours, the subject of this thread.

Come on Jamie. Youve had a problem with Adam long before this. Hence your 'Minty Man' nickname for him and Mick Guerin.