Bonuses have been the buzz word in harness racing this year.
NSW was the first to experiment with the $1 million bonus across its five-race NSW Carnival of Cups series.
Swayzee almost swept the pool when he won four legs and finished a close second in the other (at Albury) last year. The champion stayer banked a $500,000 bonus for his efforts.
This year Captains Knock has secured at least $500,000 by winning NSW’s first four legs. On March 20 he will race to make it the full $1 million if he wins the final leg, the Renshaw Cup, at Penrith.
Just recently, Victoria followed the NSW initiative, but tweaked it a bit for two “all-in” bonuses. Unlike NSW’s “staggered” bonus payouts Victoria’s Summer of Glory bonuses were all or nothing.
Leap To Fame agonizingly close to a $1 million bonus with his half-neck second to older sibling Swayzee in the Hunter Cup.
On the same night, Keayang Zahara did get her $500,000 bonus by adding the Great Southern Star to three key lead-up/qualifying races.
Unquestionably, these “insured” bonuses are a great thing for the game.
But now more than one state is involved, they demand a unified approach.
Nobody wins by having key races clash like they have over the past few months.
The truth is, we just don’t have the depth of talent across pacing or trotting ranks to justify any major race clashes.
As strange as it sounds with Captains Knock racing towards a $1 million bonus, his trainer-driver Brad Hewitt and connections.
They had to make a call – chase the bonus or have a crack at two of Australia’s biggest races, the Blacks A Fake and Hunter Cup.
The schedule doesn’t allow for both. Legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups are run on the eve of the Blacks A Fake and Hunter Cup.
“I grew up watching a race like the Hunter Cup and you dream of being part of it,” Hewitt said. “We made our decision, but it’s a shame we had to choose.
“Hopefully everyone can get together and work on a schedule that opens all opportunities for the best horses.”
It seems a fair ask.
But it is easier said than done.
Every state must fend for itself, but also with an eye to the bigger picture.
If the bonuses are her
e to stay, and it seems they are, then let’s explore every avenue in the calendar to make as many big races as possible open to our best horses.
The Hunter Cup, Blacks A Fake and most legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups would be better races for that.
This is not a finger-pointing exercise, but rather a call to try and align.
Victoria revamped its Summer of Glory and stretched it to six weeks this year.
Do they need six weeks? Is it a week or two too long? No doubt that’s a question they are asking themselves as part of the review.
When that review is complete, let’s get around a table with HRNSW and workshop dates.
The national CEO’s conference on March 18/19 would seem the perfect setting.
With a little give and take, I’m sure we can make some tweaks to make the calendar better for everyone – including the states themselves.
The more often we have star horses racing each other and a variety of venues, the better.
The past couple of months have shown we’re onto something good here, let’s try and really maximise it.
