A place for everything, and everything in its place.

This durable dictum, most often attributed to prolific polymath and American forefather, Benjamin Franklin seems, on face value, to represent a truism simplistic and self-evident by nature.

In spite of initial appearance, however, this plaintive platitude, this fundamental cliché has confused and confounded its adherents in a way few other proverbs of such universal usage do.

And, if you’re dubious about the debates this idiom initiates, simply check Google.

It’s a wild ride for sure.

If you quietly cogitate on this headline phrase, however, and reference it to racing, soon you’ll comprehend the chaos experienced by those that feel its message has been lost in a maelstrom of misunderstanding.

Tonight, Melton Park, as it’s now known, will host and stage the semi-finals of this year's Vicbred Super Series, better known by most as "The Sires", and certainly one of its host state’s most iconic carnivals.

In recent years, the Super Series was switched to summer, in fact, its rich and prestigious finals were programmed on western society’s most profligate and decadent social occasion, New Year’s Eve.

The mindset and ethos which impelled this shift was understandable and misbegotten in equal measure.

Those that don’t follow harness racing on a religious - or even regular – basis would never have known the prodigious nature of NYE meetings at Victorian headquarters.

Perhaps, indeed, that comprehension is less about being a trotting zealot, and more about being a citizen of the greater Melton shire.

Either way, since day dot, NYE at Melton has always attracted a large and boisterous crowd.

Less for the racing than the fireworks, which sounds incidental but isn’t.

Given this captive audience, there were two ways of analysing this NYE outlier.

Do we programme a "nothing" card because most patrons are not there to watch or wager?

Or do we give these "potential recruits" some reason to engage with the trots by bombarding them with great racing and quality horses?

Truth be told, the families attending our metropolitan track on NYE – with all due respect – wouldn’t recognise the difference between a plodder and a champion.

More importantly, however, harness racing, at this juncture, must prioritise what’s best for the sport from an ego-free, utilitarian perspective rather than opt to angle for cheap, childish, superficial wins.

The concept of "owning" summer sounds great on paper, but only if you’re new and uninformed.

What harness racing requires, perhaps more than rival sports, is flow, rhythm, and consistency.

When creating calendars, all Aussie – and even Kiwi – jurisdictions must target nuance and narrative.

Take the Vicbred Super Series.

When programmed at year’s end it damaged participant lifestyles and their enjoyment of Christmas.

It was lost in the mess that NYE created and forced young horses, fresh from the Breeders Crown, to find of themselves when they should have been rested.

Situated where it is now, the VSS bridges our narrative between the TAB Eureka and the Vic Cup.

This is how it should be.

He was pretty clever Ben Franklin.

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

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.