Without doubt, the Melbourne Cup is the premier horse race in Australia - and it has become a world event. It is certainly one of the richest races with a prize of $6.4 million and it is a race for "stayers " at two miles - 3,200 metres. Unfortunately, this year it was involved in controversy.
The event favourite collapsed and died of a heart attack after the race had been won and another contestant was spooked by a waving flag, collided with a fence and suffered a broken leg - and was mercifully put down. This resulted in calls from the Animal Liberation front for horse racing to be banned on cruelty grounds.
There were grumblings from the betting public that the Melbourne Cup was being "invaded " by foreign horses and was losing it's Australian characteristics. Unfortunately it is now rare for Australian horse breeders to aim for "stayers " as the big money is more reliably spread over shorter races. This entire industry relies on developing horses that can pay their way by winning and the average racing programme is studded with shorter race opportunities.
A wide gulf has opened between horse racing in Melbourne and Sydney. Each Saturday the Melbourne field is double and sometimes treble the runners starting in the New South Wales event and the racing industry blames racing taxation for that imbalance. For every hundred dollars wagered, the tax take in Victoria is $ 1.28, Queensland levies a mere 82 cents - and New South Wales grabs a whopping $ 3.22. There are calls for New South Wales to remit more prize money to the industry to boost the number of starters.
Pressure is building to create a Sydney event that will surpass the Melbourne Cup as an Australian icon, and some racing interests think that is possible within a ten year time span with the right money offered as a prize. Wise heads would advise that seeking a contest with the Melbourne Cup would not be the best way to achieve a new racing icon. The Melbourne Cup is now a legend that is known world wide and it has passed into Australian folklore. It would be wiser to promote a rich Sydney race as a supplement that now brings two great Australian events, rather than trying to denigrate one to the advancement of the other.
The first step in improving horse racing in New South Wales is to increase the field numbers and that will need a bigger prize pool. Breeding and training horses is an even bigger gamble that the mug punters betting on the results. Only a small fraction of each year's horse crop have the genes to become consistent winners - and only one in many hundreds has the potential to become a true champion that bestows millions on it's owners and connections. Black Caviar comes to mind !
The racing industry is a big employer of people and it's expansion would deliver a dividend to the state treasury. As the numbers grow it would tend to become self sustaining, hence the issue in question is a decision to return more of that gambling tax as seed money to get the ball rolling. It seems that the state is reacting favourably to the suggestion of creating a major Sydney race event and that would certainly give impetus to the breeders and trainers who are the core of this industry.
If we want a Sydney based world event - that would be attainable, but we should avoid the mistake of attacking the Melbourne Cup in the way we present it. The richness of the prize is what first draws attention. The "legend "that follows is a work of art craftily created in the minds of the public by the attention the event draws - and can only come to pass over a period of time.
Creating a legend is a lengthy business !
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