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Yarra Valley is very refreshing and picturesque! You up north now Kev?
You need to get to Yarra Valley (YGlen) my old home track if you love beautiful views/settings mate
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Yarra Valley is very refreshing and picturesque! You up north now Kev?
North West Ev and now I live between the hills instead of on top of one - I used to be able to see the YV trots from my house (except for the finish line thanks to the grandstand)
Strange thing that grandstand - I am not sure that the top floor has ever really been used. It could be anything! But I always thought it would be a Pokies lounge if nothing else. They were so desperate for ideas that it was going to be tutorial rooms for a viticulture course at one stage.
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Agree with all the points you make Brad, and I believe the success of the series if run in this way in WA will hopefully convince some of our administrators to stop catering to the few punters/participants/breeders/owners that are left in the game and start championing the industry to NEW people, our game needs to stop shrinking!!! and we need to convert the mindset from protection to gregarious growth.Originally Posted by broncobrad
cheers,
Dan
They build the new footy stadium by 2018, they eventually decide it's stupid to keep playing some cricket at the WACA so they knock it down. Are they in close enough proxity to each other for that space to be within reach?
Quite right Smoken it does have something special but it does need a 1000 metre track - even bigger but I don't think they have the area to accommodate.
You're our WA expert Robert so I think you are suggesting they are. I hope they do not go too big - lets keep harness a non binocular sport
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
I've only lived here for 3 years and I'm about 1,000km from Perth. We had almost decided to move Ballochbuie over here last week, in which case I would have travelled down a bit and taken more interest. In the end we left him in Sydney, hopefully he comes back stronger from his spell.
Looks like the cats out of the bag so to speak with the Inter Dom thread.I think offers are laid to bare this Monday.Think you'll find WA's offer will be bigger than posted..richest harness race in the world I think.
Exactly!
Hopefully one night of heats gets down to Pinjarra as well.
There are several positives in returning to WA in the format suggested. The format to start with, a true Interdominion. Hurrah! The $$$ on offer, although yet to be confirmed, are sounding very healthy, and the track the final will be held at can draw a crowd and has history/mystique.
Of the negatives. The first three issues are:
- the size of the track. Some of the current standardbreds just can't get around a half mile track and it's also conducive to the 'best draw wins'. A huge percentage of GP winners draw 1 or 2. It's a long way to float a horse if you will be cruelled by the fall of a marble
- Location: Again, a long way to float a horse if you think you are a realistic chance of squeaking into a final at best.
- Climate: Having lived in Perth for a period of over 20 years (and experiencing 20 odd February/March heatwaves) and attended the last two Interdominion series held there...well, if it was tough on the spectators it was 10 times as tough on the participants.
But all of these negatives can be soothed with $$$ which, by all indications, will happen. If the $$$ are on offer it's worth a crack. To ensure the best 36 are in WA for the series the club will have to ensure there are lucrative FFA and consolations on offer for those who miss out.
Something money cannot change is the timezone. An 8pm final in Perth is 11pm eastern standard time. People in WA will say 'so what' and 'deal with it' but the reality is that over 80% of Australia's population lives in the eastern timezone. It's not a right or wrong discussion, it's a commercial reality that needs to be addressed. Turnover will not be optimal when a majority of the 80% are in bed. Then it's even worse for NZ. You have a situation where 1/4 of the participating dominions is watching the race the following day. Have the final earlier in the evening and a lot of the crowd couldn't make it due to work etc. The best way to deal with this timezone issue is to run the final on a Sunday. Families can make a day of it, there is less competition for turnover, and if the final is run at 4pm WST it hits a sweet spot in the East and is still reasonable in NZ.
In summary: Tradition + $$$ + Sunday Final = Winner.
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