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.