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I think he is suggesting that betting overkill could be making betting, even racing, something that parents tell their children is bad
What's his point mean though?Originally Posted by Messenger
I think he is suggesting that betting overkill could be making betting, even racing, something that parents tell their children is bad
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Well the children ain't listening.
https://www.savings.com.au/savings-a...ics-australia/
Fiona Guthries quote telling.
I guess we won't really know until the children of the last few years get older and if there was a decline in the number of punters as a % of population we still wouldn't know if overkill had anything to do with it
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Only 2 heats per night for the pacers and trotters says something IMO
I was thinking that $30kNZ ($28kAUS) was not much more than they race for at Menangle but not being a NSW follower I thought I would check - it seems as though NSW has caught the VIC bug with plenty of races of varying (lower) prizemoney
Mind you every Tuesday race is for $9,180 unlike in Vic where some of ours are for HALF this
Last edited by Messenger; 11-26-2019 at 03:33 PM. Reason: Mind you
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
I got to thinking while I was watching a Western the other day, about how I grew up with the advent of Television and how Westerns used to be such a major genre.
Horses were a vital part of Westerns IMO. It made me wonder whether my appreciation of horses could in some way have been influenced by Westerns (and no doubt The Showgrounds)
I probably shouldn't put Showgrounds in brackets because for even those who did not attend the trots, The Show was a lot more about animals - horses etc in the old days
I am approaching mid 60's and I can remember horses being in our outer Melbourne suburb - I can ever remember the milky used to deliver bottled milk in the morning with the draught horse pulling the cart, the star of the show
Animal circuses with plenty of horses were even common place, the reserve on the corner of our road would host a couple a year in the early years of my life
People older than me would have had far more exposure to horses even in the Metro area, my grandfather used a horse drawn cart in his job doing road repairs in South Melbourne!
Anyway, I was thinking that the lack of horses (screen or otherwise) in the lives of younger generations and figured that in some small way it has probably played a part in the decline in racing
Racing marketing is a lot more about betting than the animals nowadays and maybe it has to be as the younger generations are not that attracted to horses.
Before anyone says it, I know some would say they are but do not believe in the racing concept
We all know that the multitude of entertainment alternatives since Showgrounds days is a bigger factor but that Western just got me thinking (unusual)
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Disgusting. One of Australia's biggest four year old races The Golden Nugget and not a mention of it anywhere. An exciting race, fast time and yet not a mention.
It is not hard to understand where my beliefs on where harness racing is heading.
For those that missed it
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fie...19#GPM13121902
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Agree entirely Rod, perhaps it was a victim of race programming as it was on the same weekend as the Inter-Dominions. Lack of media coverage was in stark contrast to the inaugural Golden Nugget in January 1981, one of the greatest promotional successes I have seen in five decades of following the trots.
Ray Holloway was a master at promotion and Channel 9 sponsored the race, which included two rounds of heats. The WATA chartered and Ansett Air Freight Lockheed Electra to fly over 4 invited "Eastern States" horses. The four were Justin Hanover, which won the Final, Crystal Glenmar, Tiger Apollo and NSW pacer Allears. I was fortunate enough to be on the plane chaperoning a couple of high-priced NZ youngsters to there new home in Perth. When the side door of the Electra opened we we greeted by a Channel 9 news crew and various newspaper reporters.
Nightly reports featured on Ch 9 News and the crowds at Gloucester Park for the three race meetings was Inter-sized.
And, Rod, if you hadn't mentioned it we probably wouldn't have known the event had been run this year!
On a positive note, 4 of the first 5 finishers were WA bred and the other NSW, this race has been won by Kiwi breds more often that Aussie breds over the years I would hazard a guess.
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