IN ANSWER TO AN INVITATION FROM RACING QUEENSLAND LIMITED,CALLING FOR COMMENT ON RQL'S MASTER PLAN FOR TRI-CODE RACING.HARNESS DEVOTEE,GREG HAND, HAS HIS SAY..
Dear Sir,
I have read with interest your plan for the future of multi-code racing in Queensland. As a Harness Racing participant I find your plan to be very lopsided in favour of the Thoroughbred industry. Out of the seven proposed upgrades harness and greyhound racing only have an interest in one, Deagon.
Now that the Commonwealth games are to be held on the Gold Coast, it will quickly see harness racing at Parklands close, then there will only be two TAB venues left in the whole of Queensland, Albion Park and Redcliffe. If Racing Queensland has its way there would only be Redcliffe and MAYBE Deagon, which is ridiculous as they are so close.
If you can find money to renovate the six thoroughbred complexes, and you are fair dinkum about multi-code venues, why do the planned redevelopments not include harness and greyhound facilities?
I feel that Racing Queensland is detrimental to the success of Harness Racing in Queensland and should not be the controlling body of anything other than Thoroughbred Racing. If Queensland politicians were fair and just, the tri-code amalgamation would be abandoned and the assets of Harness and Greyhound Racing would be returned, plus an additional amount equal to the interest that could have been earned since the takeover by Racing Queensland. This would allow the separate codes to get on with their future, a future for which the current RQ board members show little or no regard.
Yours sincerely
Greg Hand