An excerpt from Peter Davis' column in the Greyhound Recorder - "Sunday Finish On" 11/06/2023. CLARITY Thursdays program at Albion Park was highlighted by the Group 1 Flying Amy yet the track condition was a real talking point when the dust had settled. In recent months, times at Albion Park have been appreciably slower than what had been posted 12 or so months back. When times in the 29.50s were commonplace at AP, the Clegg Hammer rating for the track was as high as 10 but the surface is now prepared to range between six and eight essentially softer under foot and safer for racing. Safety is always a priority yet the lack of disclosure around track conditions for owners, trainers and punters alike is just appalling. Imagine if punters betting on Saturdays Stradbroke Handicap meeting at Eagle Farm were denied track condition reports! Punters need to know how a track is expected to race before placing a bet and, for way too long, administrators have treated punters like mugs. Theres no reason whatsoever why post-meeting analysis (of times) should not be published by stewards (in meeting reports) and for form guides to convey that message to punters in terms of form transparency. The wagering dollar is in decline (just ask Racing Victoria) and thats due to higher taxes. Higher taxes ensure bookies increase margins (lessening the return to punters by lower odds) and that, like increased poker machine take outs, sees a punter lose his money at an accelerated rate. Without reinvestment, turnover drops which, at the end of the day, sees less return to industry and prize money is the first casualty. The November 2013 decision by regulators to increase (gouge) take outs on exotic markets facilitated a sharp decline in Trifecta, First 4 etc pools and history is repeating itself. Responsible Gambling ads which have recently been foisted on every medium are a complete furphy and only appease those trying to make themselves important the anti-gambling lobby. Id expect not one single punter has ever taken credence of the RG messages and how many rusted-on smokers are deterred by adverse advertising. The real answer (for poker machine players and the three racing codes) is for Govt to decrease take outs and let people win more. Paul, "The industry as a whole would be far better off if we weren't so obsessed with times and track records. Surely animal welfare is the greatest priority, not how fast we can make the racing surfaces." ...no truer words said, obvious to most, but still our industry persists with the "obsession" ...when will people realise, fast dogs will always be fast irrespective of the surface they run on ...it would just be nice if those fast dogs careers were prolonged, and not curtailed prematurely due to "doctored" surfaces, all in the name of semaphore spellbinding glory!
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