I know I am starting to sound like a broken record with this subject but I find it almost mind boggling what is currently occurring. I am no marketing guru but there surely must be a way that HRV can "piggy back" off the juggernaut of the Melbourne Spring Carnival and the tens of thousands who attend those meetings.
If we look at the past 3 weeks (including this week) which has seen the Caulfield Guineas, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate days, Harness Racing Victoria have only run 10 races with prizemoney greater than $8000 with the majority of races only being worth $5000. Of those 10 races, 2 were for the FFA trotters which leaves 8 races over a 3 week period for pacers above what Tasmanian country front horses race for every week. Nothing short of disgraceful. Here is a list of the 8 races:
FFA - Geelong Bullet
Mares FFA
M2-M4
M1
M0
FFA Stand - Kilmore Cup
FFA Sprint
M0
Compare that to WA where they have run 28 races in the same time frame with minimum prizemoney of $16,000 per race (including 2 x $35,000 races). Just to repeat that, over the past 3 weeks Victoria has run 8 races for pacers worth more than $8000 whilst WA have run 28 worth at least $16,000. No wonder every half decent M2 or better horse is scuttling over the Nullarbor post haste
Every meeting that goes by where Victorian Harness Racing is more focused on turnover at the expense of the quality of racing is simply another nail in the coffin of the future of the industry
The fields for this Friday night are nothing short of an embarrassment to be frank and this at a time when thousands of punters will be in Melbourne for the Cox Plate and no doubt a few would be interested in a flutter on the Friday night prior to their big day out at the Valley. Sounds like an ideal opportunity right? Obviously HRV don't think so as they have programmed a Stawell meeting worth $5000 every race with a ton of drivers competing who should never be allowed to drive on a Friday night in front of the biggest audience Harness Racing gets.
This "death by a thousand meetings" currently being implemented by HRV is painful to watch
