Is anyone else a bit perturbed about the state of racing in S.A.?
Today(27.7.06), for example, there are only six races and the fields at Port Augusta are somewhat underwhelming. I watched Race1 which only had 3 starters even though it was a "bonus" race....what is going on in that state?
I rarely bet there but it is the homeplace of some of Australia's largest training enterprises and breeding nurseries but the standard of racing has noticeably diminished in recent times. Prizemoney is paltry when compared with other interstate metropolitan venues and if any runner shows any semblance of ability it is quickly shipped over to Melbourne to compete for the more lucrative prizemoney.
Can this State's racing be resurrected or is it a "lame duck"?
I look forward to any views on this matter.

Cheers.

my assessment is made from listed horses racing these days.
most days in south australia there are none.
on the past two saturdays only two races have included listed horses each day. generally there are about 600 races a year that are listed and group races which gives about 1800 qualifiers albeit many that are multiple qualifiers and yet many race meetings have none of these horses running in them.
i dont know where they have gone other than many of them seem to only race for a short time and then disappear either retired or shipped overseas or something.
most country meetings have no listed horses also many good quality country races such as grafton cups, tatts cups, sydney listed staying races, adelaide cup brisbane cup etc are only a shadow of their old self or maybe its a perception.

i think the good old days are gone and the corporate stables have too much dominance now and the lesser trainers arent getting the quality to compete.

this leads to having less bets but perhaps thats a good thing.

i noticed that they suspended a jockey for riding poorly in a race (not giving a horse its best chance in a race). if they are fair dinkum about that we are going to be short of jockeys in the future as well.

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laurie

Hi Xanadu,
you raise a subject which is of concern to many. Some people are very critical of the state of play in SA. I dont have any answers, mostly because I do not know the core problem. I have read a little about it on Ausrace, but would also be interested to read any comments on this subject.

SA has long been been a nursery for some of the country's top horses over the years via the likes of Hayes and Hawkes, both of whom moved their operations. South Australia's loss in my opinion.

In parallel terms the same could be said about SA being a nursery for Aussie Rules football, and losing most its star players to Victoria et al. In recent times S.A has turned that around. (albeit not entirely on its own). I suspect that for racing to flourish in SA again that outside help would also be necessary.

Cheers
w924

G'day topsy99 and w924,

Thanks for your interesting comments regarding a subject which must be causing the appropriate officials some concern.
As a punter I usually give S.A. last priority in my wagering but there is still some value to be obtained there. For example, the Hayes stable will provide opportunities for profit and there are some other quality trainers/jockeys there so we will not "write-off" this venue for the forseeable future.
I agree that maybe it warrants some urgent action by the politicians as the racing industry is one of the largest employment industries and any adverse effect cannot be underestimated on the State's economy.

Cheers.

Interesting topic. Until very recently i, like many of you, paid little or no attention to Adelaide even though i reside here. What is interesting were comments made by David Hayes on racing retro recently. When asked about the poor state of SA racing, he suggested that he was to busy with his 200+ horses to get involved. I found the comment to be in very poor taste and perhaps a little more diplomatic answer could have and should have been given. But in all fairness i suppose it sums the situation up perfectly. With all the larger prizemoney races being held in the eastern states, who cares about SA?

I know i'm hardly suggesting anything that isn't obviously apparent to one and all, LOL. However by the same token i find that should i be fortunate enough to be on the race winner, the colour of the cash i receive from the bookies is the same as that from other states. Unfortunately, for this punter and like others quoted, that's all i give a damn about too. In the end i'm sure the situation will be addressed. Perhaps a leaf from the book of Queensland racing could be taken.

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I like Bing Lee.

i suppose you cant put a poker machine in every nook and cranny and expect things to stay the same.
these machines lead to the impoverishment of just about everything particularly older people and diverts cash away from traditional activities such as food,rent, sporting activities, family you name it.

they say that less than 5% of people are pro blem gamblers but this 5% has families and borrow money, steal money and neglect children etc.
i guess you could say that 20-25% of people are affected by problem gambling in one way or the other.
racing is just showing the early signs of this diversion. I expect it to get worse. but we know all of this and it wont change because governments are addicted.

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laurie

I think the problem with racing in SA is a symptom of a malaise affecting racing Australian wide. Too many races and owner costs have gone through the roof. Not a good combo for quality racing. The Brisbane carnival has had 2 of their groups 1's downgraded due to the lack of quality runners for few years, due mainly to the breeding industry being in a mess.

Yeah, good point crash,

In respect of rising costs I firmly believe that syndication is the way of the future. Unfortunate....yes...but it ensures the introduction to racing of potentially thousands more "battlers" who will keep this industry viable for the long-term future. These new inductees to racing can enjoy their day out for minimal cost and keep the dollars ticking over at the track(s) when their horse is running.
topsy99,-with the competition of other gambling options the authorities should maintain their efforts to prioritise horse-racing wagering in the minds of the betting public. What we need is another equine "champion" to excite the Australian betting public to draw massive media and public attention to this industry. Also, the appropriate authorities should maintain their efforts to ensure that public confidence is not diminished and thereby eliminating those nefarious perpetrators who attempt to benefit at the punters' expense.
mad-the "buck" stops with the Govt and maybe specific attention should be given to revitalising racing in S.A. as it represents such an important place in the S.A. economy.
Let's hope we do not replicate the situation which confronts the NZ breeding industry today whereby they have virtually sold a whole generation of their best bloodstock to the Asian market. Sure, how can you stop this when horses are mainly sold at auction to the highest bidder be they locals or overseas bidders but I have definitely seen a real decline in the quality of NZ horses competing in our carnivals this year. Maybe they can address this problem ....but....if not, their whole future may be affected.
Thanks for your incisive comments.

Cheers.

Considering NZ horses cleaned up a very large wedge of the prize money on offer during the Bris. carnival [and will probably do the same during the spring carnival], what does that say about our breeding industry ?

Our last champion [the deva] was a $1200 nobody brought by a taxi driver, yet magic millions sales are producing massive prices ....for what exactly?
Have a look at stud fees of our top sires [who won what?] .....and then have a look at what their high priced offspring are doing ...swfa and the idiots are lining up to buy them ....in syndicates ....why? ...because most of them know nothing about horses and even [quiet often] less about punting but gee, they can say ...'I own [part of] a race horse' !!!

The Brisbane Cup has been downgraded from Group 1 to Group 2 and the T. J. Smith (a 2YO race, 1600 metres) and the Queensland Oaks (3YO fillies race] are on notice, that they in danger of being downgraded.

This year Show A Heart is the leading Australian first season sire and has had 27 individual runners on the racetracks of Australia and only 9 have been able to win a race at any track including the bush tracks. Not one of his offspring has been able to win a stakes race and buyers are still lining up to own one of these 'future champions' at the yearling sales.

In the Brisbane Cup the first four horses across the line – Art Success, Gorgeous George, Sculptor and Pentathon were all Kiwis, which says a lot about the state of Australia's stayer breeding industry too and this is a race that has now been downgraded and an Ozzie horse still couldn't get a look into the places, let alone win it !

The T.J.Smith was won by Reigning To Win [short priced favourite]. Guess who the mother is? A Kiwi. A group 1 running double to N.Z.
The Derby [oh finally] was won by Ice Chariot an Ozzie, but the 5 place getters behind him - Cape Breton, Lionhead, Sculptor, Scattergun and Kincharm were ....yep, born and bred blo... Kiwis !!

PS: Now who is going to win the Melbourne Cup:-))