Bush Bashes Well Backed

The Age

Friday July 9, 2004

Tony Bourke

Beyond the big city meetings, a revolution is changing the way racing does business and builds support, Tony Bourke reports.

Victorian country racing is on a roll - at least in the short term. What will happen when Lion Nathan reassesses its Tooheys sponsorship of 32 provincial and country race clubs when contracts are up in two years remains to be seen.

While they lasted, the "beer wars" between Tooheys and Carlton & United Breweries, with both companies now "re-aligning" their sponsorship focus, were very good for Victorian racing.

Both city and country clubs benefited and now Country Racing Victoria, in its managerial role under the overall ruling body of Racing Victoria Ltd, is well aware it has to seek new major sponsors.

In the meantime, CRV has been able to post some highly successful results as a result of its first five-year plan launched in 1999-2000 and has also introduced some exciting programs for the immediate future.

CRV chief executive Mark O'Sullivan said this week that a $4.3 million Country Showcase would begin early in the new season, which was directly aimed at improving opportunities for most owners and trainers, rather than the minority lucky enough to have horses good enough to run in feature races in both the city and the country.

"It's great for the VRC to be talking about a $5 million Melbourne Cup next year, but more than 80 per cent of horses in Victoria run in races between maiden and class five," O'Sullivan said.

Under the Country Showcase scheme, two races will be worth double the minimum prizemoney levels on the selected days.

The two races will be from maidens to class four, including two-year-old races, on a Thursday and Sunday program, when there is no corresponding metropolitan meeting.

For example, when the scheme kicks off in Ballarat on August 5, there will be two maiden three-year-old races over 1400 metres worth $22,500 as the Showcase races, with the other six races on the program made up of class ones, twos, threes and fours and a hurdle, all worth $11,000.

The format will be the same on Sundays but will also include a feature race worth no less than $40,000.

"It's an initiative that we hope will go some way towards demonstrating our commitment to owners and trainers," O'Sullivan said.

As well as the Country Showcase, CRV earlier announced a new summer series to attract more starters during a period when field sizes can be smaller than usual. It will involve six heats and a $50,000 final at Bendigo on March 6 next year.

It is reasonable to suggest that the successes enjoyed by country racing over the past five years have been due in no small way to the introduction of Sunday racing.

Initially, the idea was that the city clubs would be better off racing on Sundays than midweek but it has been the country meetings that have boomed, while the city meetings have invariably struggled, to the extent that only nine Sunday city fixtures are programmed for next season.

Most country clubs have now switched their cup meetings to Sundays, which increasingly has become the main leisure day for potential racegoers. This has led to a steady increase in attendances and even more impressive tote and bookmakers' figures.

The most unlikely country venues have been attracting record crowds. There were about 2000 people at the Manangatang Cup; the town, between Swan Hill and Mildura, has a population of about 200.

CRV is also trying to develop greater interaction between the country clubs and their communities.

This has led CRV to become involved in the marquee hire business and helping the clubs in beautifying the surrounds at their courses by, for instance, arranging the transportation and setting up of marquees, picnic umbrellas and seating.

O'Sullivan said the sales of marquee packages had soared to 60,000 this season, up more than 20,000 in 2001-02.

Country racing is being promoted as a "great day out" and CRV has come up with a new green and blue colour scheme for its signage and packaging.

Hopefully, the green will not be a turn-off for the army of superstitious punters who regard green in any shade, other than on grass, as bad luck at the races. At the same time, it is unlikely to bother the fashion conscious and could well be the "in" colour for spring.

© 2004 The Age

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