During my University days I spent most of my Marketing lectures in the Uni Bar sampling a few or down at the Tote but I did pick up enough snippets to understand the importance of Branding in the marketplace.
I have some major concerns in the message Melton is sending in regards this issue. It has a glut of restricted and low level provincial races being run there currently and to be honest, I am sick of it and guarantee I am not alone.
My belief is that Melton should be held up as the pinnacle of the sport, a place where participants strive to get to. In much the same way that country football or cricket doesn't get played at the MCG we need to adopt the philosophy that "less is more". Take a leaf out of the thoroughbred fraternity who only use their flagship tracks at Flemington and Caulfield for major racedays and use subsiduary tracks at Moonee Valley and Sandown for midweek and below par winter meetings. Any individual who gets to play at the "G" earns it by performance and you don't get any easy wins at Flemington in any class.
There seems to be 3-4 meetings run at Melton per week currently and the standard is quite simply abysmal the majority of the time. An owner should get a buzz out of having one good enough to race there but the meeting I watched there last Sunday (30/5) was the last straw. Most races were bottom up points in field selection so not only were we getting the lowest classes racing, we were getting the worst horses at that level. Not surprisingly the thing that goes hand in hand with bad horses is bad drivers and it was almost comical watching a few of the races. That simply should not be happening at the headquarters of Harness Racing in Victoria.
It is also very confusing to mug punters as well as I regularly hear comments such as "this thing ran 3rd at Melton so must go okay" and I haven't the heart to tell them that it was in a R0 race that should have never been run at the headquarters of Harness Racing. No doubt these punters will soon become disenchanted with the industry and stop investing on the product totally.
My guess is that it all comes down to narrow minded administrators who are looking to get a quick return on their investment on the facilities in place there instead of thinking about what is best for the industry long term. By taking the long term approach it would allow Melton to become a showcase track where punters are confident they are backing the best horses and best drivers and thus inject some much needed confidence back into the industry. Whilst Moonee Valley had a few shortcomings both as a venue and a track, all punters knew that if they saw a meeting programmed at the Valley on a Friday or Saturday night then it was a Metropolitan class meeting and any midweek meeting was for lower class horses. With Melton, the average punter has no idea currently.
It isn't rocket science, set a schedule in place so that if a punter sees a Melton meeting he knows what he is getting and utilise one of the major provincial tracks should the need arise to cover meetings from other tracks. Victoria is extremely lucky to have numerous top class tracks all within a 90 minute drive of Melbourne all of whom were recently upgraded as part of a track rationalisation scheme!!!. I would only race at Melton on Friday nights with Metro class racing and have an upmarket provincial meeting on a Wednesday night with an additional 20% of prizemoney compared to regular country class racing to attract the best fields of that ilk. Treat it as a centre of excellence.
The venue could easily be marketed to attract crowds there on non racing nights similar to other clubs of its size and the name of Tabcorp Park, Melton would actually hold some prestige to all participating in the industry.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Adam Crettenden - No longer a racecaller who drives
The bloke can drive, its as simple as that. A lot of people tend to think of him as a racecaller who drives the occasional horse but of all the claiming drivers out there he is definitely in the top bracket. I definitely don't have any hesitation in backing a horse I like if he has got the reins.
Sure, when he started out a couple of years ago it was a bit of a novelty and a few of his early drives probably got noticed more than others due to his profile but it is time to stop thinking of him as a part-time driver and I think his record speaks for itself. So far this season, he has had 72 drives for 11 winners which isn't startling in itself but it has him sitting in 7th position in the Concession Drivers standings which is a great effort considering a few just above him have the backing of top stables which Adam doesn't have.
I actually believe the racecalling experience gives him an advantage over a lot of his contemporaries in that it gives him the ability to be able to read a race based on the fact he is familiar with the horses he is taking on. A few owners obviously believe in his ability as well as he has driven horses of the calibre of Albert Jaccka and Make Waves to success which in itself is a feather in his cap.
Just wanted to put it out there as it tends to denegrade his actual ability as a driver when he is continually referred to as a racecaller who also drives.
Sure, when he started out a couple of years ago it was a bit of a novelty and a few of his early drives probably got noticed more than others due to his profile but it is time to stop thinking of him as a part-time driver and I think his record speaks for itself. So far this season, he has had 72 drives for 11 winners which isn't startling in itself but it has him sitting in 7th position in the Concession Drivers standings which is a great effort considering a few just above him have the backing of top stables which Adam doesn't have.
I actually believe the racecalling experience gives him an advantage over a lot of his contemporaries in that it gives him the ability to be able to read a race based on the fact he is familiar with the horses he is taking on. A few owners obviously believe in his ability as well as he has driven horses of the calibre of Albert Jaccka and Make Waves to success which in itself is a feather in his cap.
Just wanted to put it out there as it tends to denegrade his actual ability as a driver when he is continually referred to as a racecaller who also drives.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Harness Bets - Thursday June 3
Cranbourne
R3#11 Ultimate Deal, looks well graded in claiming class - around $4
Other fav was scratched which killed his price but bolted in at $2.0
R6#5 I Look A Lot, super keen on this one, heats of this race were run last week and one heat was infinitely stronger than the other and this bloke ran 3rd in it and no doubt should have won and should atone here - around $2.50
Won easily but had to take $1.70 - obviously a few saw the video of last run!!!
R7#3 Bee And Jay, sit/sprint type who drops in grade here and race looks as if it might be run to suit with a ton of gatespeed off the front - around $6
weak animal it, every possible and staggered into 3rd
Best exotic bet
R2 - box quinella 2,4,5,9
2 horse was scratched so no real value left. Collect $4.90 for $3 outlay but was a safe bet
R3#11 Ultimate Deal, looks well graded in claiming class - around $4
Other fav was scratched which killed his price but bolted in at $2.0
R6#5 I Look A Lot, super keen on this one, heats of this race were run last week and one heat was infinitely stronger than the other and this bloke ran 3rd in it and no doubt should have won and should atone here - around $2.50
Won easily but had to take $1.70 - obviously a few saw the video of last run!!!
R7#3 Bee And Jay, sit/sprint type who drops in grade here and race looks as if it might be run to suit with a ton of gatespeed off the front - around $6
weak animal it, every possible and staggered into 3rd
Best exotic bet
R2 - box quinella 2,4,5,9
2 horse was scratched so no real value left. Collect $4.90 for $3 outlay but was a safe bet
On The Soapbox - What is wrong with Harness Racing
I generally try to be positive as there are too many "trots bashers" out there already but a couple of observations stand out to me like the proverbial dogs .... and thought I would air my thoughts
There is a distinct lack of professionalism in Harness Racing, predominately by trainers in who drives their horses but surely the governing bodies should introduce a mandate that all drivers at Metro grade meetings must adhere to a certain qualification criteria. If we look at the fields for this Friday night at Melton which has a Group 1 and 3 other group races on the program then the following all stand out to me - Joanne Taylor, Clinton McSwain, Stephen Cleave, Kerry Clarke, Geoffrey Allen, Mal Whiteford, Alex Douglas, Paul Paton, Kevin Ford, Juanita Breen and Paul Davies. Could probably even add Graeme Lang to that list as rarely drives nowadays but I could imagine the commotion that would cause which in itself is half the problem in that people will point to things he did 30 years ago instead of making the hard (and correct) decision based on what needs to be done today!!!
The list named there simply do not drive in enough races to be in receipt of a Metro licence in my opinion and yet it happens week in, week out and you can bet your bottom dollar that one of them will ruin a race this week. To further magnify the issue this week, a couple are listed to drive in Group races!!!
Punters need to have confidence in the product and when you are presenting your marquee meeting with novice drivers aplenty it does little to inspire any confidence at all. The fix is simple and all it requires is for somebody in control to make a decision that isn't going to please everybody. Maybe that is the issue, somebody needs to grow a set.
The caper still hasn't evolved from a 1950s mindset in this matter and whilst there are some admirable traits in the majority of industry participants the simple fact is a lot of them just cannot drive a horse under race pressure. Imagine if the VFL in the 1980s had been so set in their ways that they didn't make a few hard decisions to set in place the AFL we see now - they would be in the same boat as Harness Racing with a rapidly declining interest amongst the public. They need to make a few hard decisions and fast.
The driver one seems a no brainer to me, don't make it impossible to get a metro licence but set a few guidelines such as minimum 200 drives and 20 winners a year which is after all only 4 drives a week and less than 2 winners a month on average (do you really want them at Metro meetings if they cannot meet that standard) and obviously have a wildcard system for situations such as a top driver having a serious fall and not driving for a while. Reckon thoroughbred stewards would laugh at a jockey who applied to ride at Flemington without meeting those standards and that criteria would still give a minimum 30-40 drivers who qualify (Greg Sugars and Nathan Jack have driven 30 winners between them over the past 10 days). Trainers who don't want to let a better driver sit behind their horse still have the option of driving it themselves - at a bloody country meeting for 1/3 the prizemoney instead of ruining the marquee meetings and giving people with the "red hots" mentality further ammunition to belittle the industry.
I simply cannot think of another multi million dollar industry that showcases its product with amateurs.
Have a few other issues to discuss such as running RO races at our premier venues, remember we are in the horse racing industry and not purely a gambling industry plus a few others so stay tuned
There is a distinct lack of professionalism in Harness Racing, predominately by trainers in who drives their horses but surely the governing bodies should introduce a mandate that all drivers at Metro grade meetings must adhere to a certain qualification criteria. If we look at the fields for this Friday night at Melton which has a Group 1 and 3 other group races on the program then the following all stand out to me - Joanne Taylor, Clinton McSwain, Stephen Cleave, Kerry Clarke, Geoffrey Allen, Mal Whiteford, Alex Douglas, Paul Paton, Kevin Ford, Juanita Breen and Paul Davies. Could probably even add Graeme Lang to that list as rarely drives nowadays but I could imagine the commotion that would cause which in itself is half the problem in that people will point to things he did 30 years ago instead of making the hard (and correct) decision based on what needs to be done today!!!
The list named there simply do not drive in enough races to be in receipt of a Metro licence in my opinion and yet it happens week in, week out and you can bet your bottom dollar that one of them will ruin a race this week. To further magnify the issue this week, a couple are listed to drive in Group races!!!
Punters need to have confidence in the product and when you are presenting your marquee meeting with novice drivers aplenty it does little to inspire any confidence at all. The fix is simple and all it requires is for somebody in control to make a decision that isn't going to please everybody. Maybe that is the issue, somebody needs to grow a set.
The caper still hasn't evolved from a 1950s mindset in this matter and whilst there are some admirable traits in the majority of industry participants the simple fact is a lot of them just cannot drive a horse under race pressure. Imagine if the VFL in the 1980s had been so set in their ways that they didn't make a few hard decisions to set in place the AFL we see now - they would be in the same boat as Harness Racing with a rapidly declining interest amongst the public. They need to make a few hard decisions and fast.
The driver one seems a no brainer to me, don't make it impossible to get a metro licence but set a few guidelines such as minimum 200 drives and 20 winners a year which is after all only 4 drives a week and less than 2 winners a month on average (do you really want them at Metro meetings if they cannot meet that standard) and obviously have a wildcard system for situations such as a top driver having a serious fall and not driving for a while. Reckon thoroughbred stewards would laugh at a jockey who applied to ride at Flemington without meeting those standards and that criteria would still give a minimum 30-40 drivers who qualify (Greg Sugars and Nathan Jack have driven 30 winners between them over the past 10 days). Trainers who don't want to let a better driver sit behind their horse still have the option of driving it themselves - at a bloody country meeting for 1/3 the prizemoney instead of ruining the marquee meetings and giving people with the "red hots" mentality further ammunition to belittle the industry.
I simply cannot think of another multi million dollar industry that showcases its product with amateurs.
Have a few other issues to discuss such as running RO races at our premier venues, remember we are in the horse racing industry and not purely a gambling industry plus a few others so stay tuned
Harness Tips - Wednesday June 2
Ballarat
R1#1 Eleanor Eden, is better than these and whilst I am a tad concerned with the barrier will have something on
2nd, had its chance. Quinella with fav paid $7.80
R5#6 Kidinacandyshop, figure form isn't flash but has run 3 enormous races since transferring to the Emma Stewart camp. Has chased home Villagem twice and Bonavista Bay in the other and find this way easier. Only look to be 2 dangers on paper in #3 Captain Dale who has been disappointing in my eye at past couple and #8 Stirling Charmer who went like a jet first up but has a horror draw
UNP but very good run I thought after working very hard early, definitely one to follow
R1#1 Eleanor Eden, is better than these and whilst I am a tad concerned with the barrier will have something on
2nd, had its chance. Quinella with fav paid $7.80
R5#6 Kidinacandyshop, figure form isn't flash but has run 3 enormous races since transferring to the Emma Stewart camp. Has chased home Villagem twice and Bonavista Bay in the other and find this way easier. Only look to be 2 dangers on paper in #3 Captain Dale who has been disappointing in my eye at past couple and #8 Stirling Charmer who went like a jet first up but has a horror draw
UNP but very good run I thought after working very hard early, definitely one to follow
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Harness Racing Tips - Tuesday June 1
Nyah
I don't usually get involved up the Sunraysia but going to have a play in this race tonight
9.30 pm: Race 7, pretty confident that race can be narrowed down to 4 chances in #2 Dual Agent Tabman, #9 Mazarahti, #10 Low Down and #11 Miami Rocket and of those 4 selections, I am most keen on the 2 and the 9.
Reckon the best way to attack the race is with exotics, I will be taking quaddie, DD, RD into both 2,9 so with a bit of luck will have them running for something which could change my tact a bit but I believe that this is almost a bet to nothing quinella wise as can't see both 2 and 9 missing a quinella spot
2,9 x 0.4 units (return approx 3 units)
10/2,9 x 0.2 units (return approx 1.4 units)
11/2,9 for 0.1 units (return approx 1.5 units)
#2 Dual Agent Tabman has had no luck at all recently and I give him half a chance of finding the front tonight despite not being blessed with a ton of gate speed. #1 probably has the speed to lead but has been beaten half a lap the last 2 times it kept front so surely will hand up which leaves 3,4 as the major worries as neither would hand up. #6 can fly out but would take a sit if it got over. If he led, I would love to be on
Read the race completely the wrong way and never looked like getting a thing. Might leave that neck of the woods alone for a while I think
I don't usually get involved up the Sunraysia but going to have a play in this race tonight
9.30 pm: Race 7, pretty confident that race can be narrowed down to 4 chances in #2 Dual Agent Tabman, #9 Mazarahti, #10 Low Down and #11 Miami Rocket and of those 4 selections, I am most keen on the 2 and the 9.
Reckon the best way to attack the race is with exotics, I will be taking quaddie, DD, RD into both 2,9 so with a bit of luck will have them running for something which could change my tact a bit but I believe that this is almost a bet to nothing quinella wise as can't see both 2 and 9 missing a quinella spot
2,9 x 0.4 units (return approx 3 units)
10/2,9 x 0.2 units (return approx 1.4 units)
11/2,9 for 0.1 units (return approx 1.5 units)
#2 Dual Agent Tabman has had no luck at all recently and I give him half a chance of finding the front tonight despite not being blessed with a ton of gate speed. #1 probably has the speed to lead but has been beaten half a lap the last 2 times it kept front so surely will hand up which leaves 3,4 as the major worries as neither would hand up. #6 can fly out but would take a sit if it got over. If he led, I would love to be on
Read the race completely the wrong way and never looked like getting a thing. Might leave that neck of the woods alone for a while I think
A Day On The Punt - Monday May 31
By the very nature of what I do, my sleeping habits are a stark contrast to most of the population and last night was no different as I had a decent bet on the Red Sox v Kansas City game which started at 3.35am Aussie time.
After copping a bad beat the night before with the implosion of the Yankee bullpen after leading 10-4 after 6 innings, I have to admit that I was a tad apprehensive despite Boston being up 7-1 after 7 innings. Managed to survive that unscathed and in fact add another insurance run in bottom of the 8th so after a successful evening it was time to grab some shut eye at about 6.30 am this morning.
My alarm clock is generally set to around 30 mins prior to the first Victorian Harness race but with a very average meeting at Stawell today I decided to give the first few races a miss. Awoke around 1.30pm and already had proposed bets selected and had a couple of hours prior to initial race so took the dog for a walk on the beach (yes, it is tough living on the Gold Coast), grabbed a roll on the way home and then a shower and settled down into it just after 3pm.
Was expecting to take around $1.70 Igetaround in race 6 at Stawell and the first thing I noticed was that its main danger was scratched so thought it would be a no bet race as any semblance of value had disappeared. To my surprise it was consistent at around $1.90 about 5 mins prior to the jump so allowing for the scratching I thought this was great value as was prepared to take $1.70 with 2nd fav in the field. I therefore programmed bets with all 3 Australian TABs to back it and all I had to do was hit the submit button and decided that if it was still $1.70 when scoring up then would be on. It was actually still $1.90 scoring up so all bets were on and it was time to watch the race.
Began just fairly but was amazed that the 2 horse kept kicking up early (@ $122!!!) and it took him 400m just to get to the death and then the driver decided to keep pressing on and found the front but had smashed the clock running a sub 60 second first half (quick anywhere but suicidal around Stawell) and from there I had given up as surely couldn't keep going. Driver decided to just keep running which was exactly the right thing to do as wouldn't have a kick left if he let his dangers work into the race without making them chase. He was out on his feet at the 400 but kept plugging on and looked gone the entire last 400m but was still in front in the straight and just when it looked as if he might hang on he got grabbed right on the line in a finish the caller couldn't split. Sure enough he got rolled by a nose and my day hadn't started very well at all.
I learned a while ago that when you lose races that you should have won that I can do silly things so decided to head out for a while and clear the head. Came home and started doing form for Wednesday's races as wasn't going to have a bet until the Hobart trots that started at 6.15pm.
Managed to back the first winner in Hobart at $2.03 average which got the majority of the afternoon loss back and put me in a better frame of mind. Decided to wait until race 4 for next bet and had a decent crack at the regally named Thirtysixtoes who was an abject failure running 3rd but still got a result in the race as thought there were only 3 chances in the race and they ran 1,2,3 so got a $120 trifecta a few times. The only other race I liked was race 7 where I was going to back 2 horses both whom I thought would be $6 plus in numbers 1 and 5. As this race was the 2nd leg of the Daily Double, I decided to invest a little bit and see if I could get them running. Sure enough, a $25 pop won the first leg which I had for $3 in the double and approximate double divs were $241 and $184 so didn't need to back the others as I had them going for $720 or $550 from my $48 DD investment.
When race 7 came around, I decided to just cover my bets with standout quinellas with both of them as I was extremely confident that one of them would run 2nd at worst. Best case scenario occurred as they settled down to fight it out which meant I also got both quinellas that I took as a "saver". Still a tad dirty that I didn't have something on the 5 that won the race as paid $8.30 but that is just the silly punting mentality kicking in.
In essence, I had a shocker of a day in reading the races and my 2 best bets got beaten but I still finished up $800 in front even after the disaster early. It was just one of those days where I got bailed out by exotic bets when I should have taken a hit.
Anyway, its now 1 o'clock in the morning and have 3 hours to kill until my MLB bet in Kansas City game starts so plenty of time to finish the form for Wednesday.
We are strange beasts us punters
After copping a bad beat the night before with the implosion of the Yankee bullpen after leading 10-4 after 6 innings, I have to admit that I was a tad apprehensive despite Boston being up 7-1 after 7 innings. Managed to survive that unscathed and in fact add another insurance run in bottom of the 8th so after a successful evening it was time to grab some shut eye at about 6.30 am this morning.
My alarm clock is generally set to around 30 mins prior to the first Victorian Harness race but with a very average meeting at Stawell today I decided to give the first few races a miss. Awoke around 1.30pm and already had proposed bets selected and had a couple of hours prior to initial race so took the dog for a walk on the beach (yes, it is tough living on the Gold Coast), grabbed a roll on the way home and then a shower and settled down into it just after 3pm.
Was expecting to take around $1.70 Igetaround in race 6 at Stawell and the first thing I noticed was that its main danger was scratched so thought it would be a no bet race as any semblance of value had disappeared. To my surprise it was consistent at around $1.90 about 5 mins prior to the jump so allowing for the scratching I thought this was great value as was prepared to take $1.70 with 2nd fav in the field. I therefore programmed bets with all 3 Australian TABs to back it and all I had to do was hit the submit button and decided that if it was still $1.70 when scoring up then would be on. It was actually still $1.90 scoring up so all bets were on and it was time to watch the race.
Began just fairly but was amazed that the 2 horse kept kicking up early (@ $122!!!) and it took him 400m just to get to the death and then the driver decided to keep pressing on and found the front but had smashed the clock running a sub 60 second first half (quick anywhere but suicidal around Stawell) and from there I had given up as surely couldn't keep going. Driver decided to just keep running which was exactly the right thing to do as wouldn't have a kick left if he let his dangers work into the race without making them chase. He was out on his feet at the 400 but kept plugging on and looked gone the entire last 400m but was still in front in the straight and just when it looked as if he might hang on he got grabbed right on the line in a finish the caller couldn't split. Sure enough he got rolled by a nose and my day hadn't started very well at all.
I learned a while ago that when you lose races that you should have won that I can do silly things so decided to head out for a while and clear the head. Came home and started doing form for Wednesday's races as wasn't going to have a bet until the Hobart trots that started at 6.15pm.
Managed to back the first winner in Hobart at $2.03 average which got the majority of the afternoon loss back and put me in a better frame of mind. Decided to wait until race 4 for next bet and had a decent crack at the regally named Thirtysixtoes who was an abject failure running 3rd but still got a result in the race as thought there were only 3 chances in the race and they ran 1,2,3 so got a $120 trifecta a few times. The only other race I liked was race 7 where I was going to back 2 horses both whom I thought would be $6 plus in numbers 1 and 5. As this race was the 2nd leg of the Daily Double, I decided to invest a little bit and see if I could get them running. Sure enough, a $25 pop won the first leg which I had for $3 in the double and approximate double divs were $241 and $184 so didn't need to back the others as I had them going for $720 or $550 from my $48 DD investment.
When race 7 came around, I decided to just cover my bets with standout quinellas with both of them as I was extremely confident that one of them would run 2nd at worst. Best case scenario occurred as they settled down to fight it out which meant I also got both quinellas that I took as a "saver". Still a tad dirty that I didn't have something on the 5 that won the race as paid $8.30 but that is just the silly punting mentality kicking in.
In essence, I had a shocker of a day in reading the races and my 2 best bets got beaten but I still finished up $800 in front even after the disaster early. It was just one of those days where I got bailed out by exotic bets when I should have taken a hit.
Anyway, its now 1 o'clock in the morning and have 3 hours to kill until my MLB bet in Kansas City game starts so plenty of time to finish the form for Wednesday.
We are strange beasts us punters
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