Star Bet > "PUNTER FRIENDLY"..THE WAY TO GO?.SCROLL DOWN FOR "IPPY TIPS"
Hi folks..Now that we are finally forced to face the "corporate reality" (Bob Bentley) of a 30% reduction in prizemoney we should be thinking hard about our racing format.For a long time now,the bulk of TAB races in Qld have been conducted under "mobile conditioned" programming which is designed around the premise of stables being nearly always able to find race conditions which are favourable to the horses in their team,thus allowing them to earn a consistent income from prizemoney.In order for the light harness sport to reverse the current downhill trend,we must realise that we must operate like a retail business..we must, to address the needs of those involved in the sport,give them their correct ranking in order of importance for the sports survival.
No 1..The TAB punter as he or she provides the great bulk of our income.In short,if we do not grow TAB turnover dramatically we can only look forward to less and less prizemoney and we will cease to exist.
No 1 (a).The on-course punter..A rare bird these days but Clubs should be aware that given suitable conditions he or she will return and will happily pay the premium of an entry charge in exchange for fixed odds betting.(bookmakers as individuals or corporates).
No 2..The Owners..This group,who pay all the bills in relation to the stock they purchase and carry 100% of the involved financial risk are treated with contempt by the professional administrators.The owners are the providers of the product on which we expect the punters to bet,yet have few if any of the rights which they might reasonably expect as such.The administrators do not see it as any business of their's to encourage new or existing owners and in fact the recent fencing exercise at Albion Park could be seen as direct discouragement..
You can add to the list if you wish but everyone else is a bit player in comparison with these sectors.Everyone in the game is important,but the PUNTERS and the OWNERS provide the MONEY...and,we need MUCH MORE MONEY coming in than we currently have..
SUGGESTED "PUNTER FRIENDLY" PROGRAMMING FORMAT..
Three Clubs..each 2 meetings per week..
No restricted racing..
One win one C or M plus C penalty per win.
No more than two classes in mobiles other than FFA or Classic races.
No mares concession..Substitute fillies/mares races..
No races shorter than 1609m.
60% races at or about 2000m 20% 1609m and 20% 2600m..
25% stand starts excepting fast class at each meeting to be 50% discretionary stand and 50% FFA mobile.
Random barrier draw only..no seedings,no money.all within class excepting FFA and Disc hcp..