The past two weeks underline just how important slot races have become in harness racing.
Cambridge’s Night of Champions was epic and Gloucester Park delivered one of best stories in recent times with old marvel Max Delight’s win in the $1.25 million Group 1 Nullarbor.
Cambridge had not one but two generational greats cross the Tasman to strut their stuff in Leap To Fame and Keayang Zahara.
It wasn’t that long ago hardly any Aussies even attempted to do that.
Yes it was in part due to Drax Project as a headline post-meeting act, but Cambridge was packed with such a young crowd and they got to see greatness.
Even if just a few enjoyed the racing, it’s a win for a sport struggling to engage the younger demographic.
Yet again Nullarbor night was plagued by bad weather, but a healthy and more engaged crowd still turned out to see 10-year-old having his 161st start upstage the supposed match race between local stars Minstrel and Magnificent Storm.
The veteran status of Max Delight and his trainer David Aiken was balanced by 25-year-old young gun Will Rixon landing by far his biggest win in the sulky.
The Nullarbor, with it’s time slot and ability to draw horses from the eastern states, is now WA’s marquee race, well ahead of the time-honoured and traditional WA Pacing Cup.
While nothing will eclipse the iconic NZ Cup, the headline races at Cambridge, the Race by Sport Nation and TAB Trot, consistently attract the best fields of any NZ races.
Last month we had the best Miracle Mile field for 20 years, but the field Leap To Fame beat in the Race by Sport Nation was even better.
In the last couple of weeks we’ve had confirmation around the TAB Eureka, at least for the next two years.
Prize money has been trimmed and the race moved to a new late November timeslot.
Within days of the confirmation, talkability around it started.
“He’s your @eurekarace winner, Keayang Renegade,” posted HRV media man Tim O’Connor after the pacer made it five wins from as many starts at Bendigo last Saturday night.
Others who will have a say in the race include last year’s runner-up Fox Dan, star three-year-olds Hollywood Strip and Loucasso, and hopefully the unbeaten but injury plagued Always Hot.
That’s the other vital ingredient these big slow races bring, consistent chatter and opinions on likely runners.
The game is desperate for relevance and PR, having races that promote discussion well before they are run is critical.
Of course, the challenge is how financially sustainable these races are.
Insiders say the Cambridge races almost didn’t go ahead this year.
And, if they return next year, where will the prize money that’s required to fund them over and above the slot owner’s input come from?
That’s vital.
Some argue the races don’t need topping up … just pool the slot money.
Wrong, that’ll kill them almost instantly.
The incentive already isn’t great for some slot races, especially the Cambridge pair, for slot owners.
We’ll get a better guide in coming weeks with Expressions of Interest for two-year slot deals in the TAB Eureka being called for. As many as half the 10 original slot holders will need to be replaced, albeit the buy-in price has been reduced from $100,000 per year to $75,000.
It’s a similar situation in WA with the original commitment from many slot owners coming to an end last weekend.
Many new slot owners will need to be found for not just the Nullarbor in WA, but also the Quokka (thoroughbreds) and Sandgroper (greyhounds).
We’re at a critical point.
The industry has become reliant on these exciting new PR-driving races.
Picture: Max Delight winning The Nullarbor (image by Pacepix)
The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.
