This will take some doing, but, if you’re willing, imagine a world where harness racing had some agency over its own race times and schedule.

On Saturday night at Melton, there’s an almost 40-minute gap between the evening’s sixth event – an outstanding three-year-old contest – and the seventh, arguably the card’s most intriguing race.

You can rest assured those extra minutes won’t be wasted on TrotsVision with extra interviews and quality content comfortably filling the breach.

Much as we wish they were, however, many of Australia’s hungriest punters won’t be watching TrotsVision and won’t be cognisant of this extended break between crucial Quaddie legs.

Before the whinging begins, it’s well worth remembering that economic forces fuel these challenges.

Political forces also play their role but money talks, indeed roars, louder than any other single factor in racing, sport and pretty much everything else.

And, whether we like it or otherwise, harness racing sits behind several other platforms regarding basic revenue.

Nevertheless, the dream of self-sufficiency, remote as it sometimes feels, must remain alive.

By spreading the word and broadening the church through expanding media opportunities there is a world where harness racing can, possibly, trot to the beat of its own drum.

Critical to this concept is co-operation between jurisdictions, and, potentially, collaboration with Australian racing’s other ‘minor’, though rapidly exploding code, the greyhounds.

Enormous strides have been made in recent years toward the Utopian ideal outlined above.

We may have yet to yield the ultimate benefits of these strides, but Rome, as they say, wasn’t built in a day.

One thing is certain.

Those that worked to create platforms like TrotsVision and understood the benefits of owning our own destiny will be harness racing heroes if their dreams come to fruition.

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.