ShoeIn
3rd October 2004, 09:44 AM
I was one of the idiots who paid $150 for the Epsom Day Springfest yesterday and I just wanted to vent my frustrations on this event.
I went to a similar event for Sydney Cup day and it was sensational, straight to the bars and food a plenty, plenty of bookies and betting screens, plus they kept the racing and entertainment on till about 7:30pm.
Yesterday was a debacle. Doors were opening at 11:30am, yet we had to stand in a cue curling around all the way back around the Randwick tree to almost the original entrance and couldn't get in till about 12:15pm. Then when we got in it was obvious they overbooked tickets to the tilt. 10 man deep lines everywhere, hard to put a bet on and near impossible to get a drink. They had a big screen on for the races, yet no commentary could be heard. You could only see how your horse fared when the result popped up on the screen. Then just after the last race at Sydney they closed up all TABs and shut off all TVs even though there were still races at Melbourne and Adelaide. I had bets on there and I didn't even know how I fared until I scanned the tickets at a pub later on in the evening. I confronted one of the TAB staff members who said they were under strict instructions to get everyone out as soon as possible.
I know these events are designed for people there for the party rather than the racing but surely for $150.00 a ticket they have to accommodate punters better than this. I will write a formal letter to the AJC but doubt it will do anything.
Warning: don't go to these events in the future.
Cheers
ShoeIn
I went to a similar event for Sydney Cup day and it was sensational, straight to the bars and food a plenty, plenty of bookies and betting screens, plus they kept the racing and entertainment on till about 7:30pm.
Yesterday was a debacle. Doors were opening at 11:30am, yet we had to stand in a cue curling around all the way back around the Randwick tree to almost the original entrance and couldn't get in till about 12:15pm. Then when we got in it was obvious they overbooked tickets to the tilt. 10 man deep lines everywhere, hard to put a bet on and near impossible to get a drink. They had a big screen on for the races, yet no commentary could be heard. You could only see how your horse fared when the result popped up on the screen. Then just after the last race at Sydney they closed up all TABs and shut off all TVs even though there were still races at Melbourne and Adelaide. I had bets on there and I didn't even know how I fared until I scanned the tickets at a pub later on in the evening. I confronted one of the TAB staff members who said they were under strict instructions to get everyone out as soon as possible.
I know these events are designed for people there for the party rather than the racing but surely for $150.00 a ticket they have to accommodate punters better than this. I will write a formal letter to the AJC but doubt it will do anything.
Warning: don't go to these events in the future.
Cheers
ShoeIn