Austrotforum

"TROT TACTICS"..07/01/2012..

First things first,and the first thing today is to decide that a trip to the Marburg trots this afternoon is the way to go.Keep the New Year spirit bubbling with a great trot program and the finest of country burgers,cold beer,cool wine,all at bargain prices and a bet on the local trots and major gallops meetings with Rob Duncan and Terry Piccone,bookies who come to Marburg to have a go.Education starts at 11.00am,first trial at 11.25 and racing commences at 12.40pm..Don't miss it..

It's fair to say that most decisions made by a trainer when entering a horse to race,are based on his or her perception of the horses chance of success in the class for which it is eligible.In the light harness game,races fail to stand up because trainers are reluctant to enter runners where they feel that the opposition,while they may be the same class on paper,are in fact far superior.Dayl March,a Warwick based trainer who is faced with at least a five hour total drive time to race his team (which sometimes numbers up to twenty pacers ) is one such reluctant dragon.Who can blame him,as logistics for fuel,time and vehicle upkeep continually remind him of the need to earn.Dayl doesn't want much,just a re-jig of the ridiculous rule which allows a C1 pacer to start in and win an M0 race,and come home as a C2/M1.As Dayl points out,we were comfortable for many years with the requirement that a horse be at least a C4 to start in an M0 race,and,should it win,come home as a C6/M1...Think of this in the light of another factor,the drop back in class rule where after ten runs without a win the horse drops back one class,(even if it has run ten consecutive seconds in listed races and won $40,000).D.March wants the dropback deal to end at C3,thus fluctuating between C3 and C1,and therefore benefiting the moderate performers.It's worth a thought!!

I was somewhat disturbed at a suggestion in an email to by Pat Frazer of Toowoomba to the effect that "nothing can be done to save harness racing in Queensland".There are a number of things which are achievable in the short term,which may result in in a long term re-building of what was once a great sport and betting medium.

I for one would be amazed if the LNP would be interested in any distribution scheme which did not reflect our tote turnover percentage at the time of re-negotiation of code-share distribution.(2014)..The LNP is not,and can not be seen to be a benevolent society.What must be done,is what successive Queensland Harness Control Boards in the last twenty years have failed to do..(1) run the control body with a much reduced staff,and see that that staff performs to a high standard. (2) Make a serious attempt to present a sport which is tightly controlled and is seen to be so..(3)Prizemoney must fall,that must be accepted,but more races must be run.A minimum of 200 more than the current quota.(4) A portion of prizemoney must be withheld for promotion in print and electonic media but not necessarily 4TAB or Sky Channel as they have certain moral obligations to promote the products from which their income is derived. (5).Show racing must return.It is a direct form of advertising.

Back to Mister Frazer's well intentioned but ill-informed statements.Botra went to RQL,not looking for any extra funds,but to re-jig the Harness incentive scheme (QRIS with a sulky attached) so that it was possible that the budgeted funds might be better distributed among those Q-Bred horses eligible rather than RQL hoping that the races which were assigned the bonus would,in the most part, be won by horses imported from inter-state or New Zealand.Mr Frazer may not know that RQL reclaims for its own central coffers the prize from any race not run,any meeting abandoned and any incentives not won.There is no machinery for those reclaimed monies to be returned to the harness code.

Resultsville..Gold Coast 30/12..Meeting abandoned...Newcastle NSW 30/12..Final Champion (Gary Whitaker for Bill Crosby)...Albion Park 31/12..Our White Knight (Chris Petroff for Brett Cargill)..Albion Park 03/01..Veni Vidi Vici (Kelli for Geoff Dawson)..Beetee Bromac (Gary Whitaker for Shane Sanderson)..Highstead (Chris Petroff for Lynn Beaton)...Redcliffe 04/01..Black Cruiser (Narissa McMullen for Ron Sallis)...Gold Coast 05/01..Our Poppa Jack (Mick Dux for Francis Weston)...