THE REVAMPED turf club in Mackay has bold new plans to celebrate 150 years of racing at Ooralea in July. In a departure from tradition, the cup (July 1) will be run a week earlier than the Newmarket that will be staged on the actual Anniversary Day date, July 8.
An added feature on Newmarket Day will be the first the first running of the George Moore Cotton Fingers Sprint over 1100m at weight for age.
The race, of course, is named after one of the city’s most famous sons who learnt the craft that made him a world hero punching ponies around canefields. And later the showgounds in the sugar city where he was born.
The club is inviting George’s sons John, a top trainer for the past 30 years in Hong Kong, and Gary, who has resettled in Sydney after a spectacular riding and training career in Europe and Asia.
George last visited Mackay in the early 1970s as guest of the Turf Club. He told this writer at the time it was one of his most memorable days on a racecourse.
He said he never ever forgot his early days at the Mackay showgrounds where his skills were spotted by a taxi driver who paid the teenager’s train fare to Brisbane and into a racing stable that was the beginning of much international fame and fortune.
It is a worthy gesture by the MTC to honour him and it will be a bonanza if John, Gary or both can attend.
CEO Ryan Van de Velde is hoping to lure John because it is off-season in July for Hong Kong.
Flood recovery work continues at Callaghan Park
RECOVERY work continues at Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park after flood waters finally receded last week leaving a repair bill of more than $300,000.
The training track re-opened on Thursday and 75 horses went through their paces.
Racing Queensland CEO Eliot Forbes inspected the track and facilities later that day and was obviously impressed with what he saw.
“The team from the RJC deserves a pat on the back. What they have achieved here in a short time is simply amazing. The club looks great and that’s because of the dedication and hard work of everyone involved. It won’t be long now before it’s business as usual at the track,” he said.
The main sand training track will re-open on Wednesday after a complete and compulsory makeover.
Barrier trials will be held on the course proper on Tuesday May 2 to test all equipment before the first race meeting on Saturday May 6 – Grammar School Race Day.
MEANWHILE, the club has been granted 40 race meetings in the new calendar for 2017/18.
This includes 15 Thursdays, seven Fridays, nine Saturdays and nine Tuesdays.
All are TAB meetings – the only exception being Melbourne Cup Day on November 7.
A Rockhampton lady reports opening an account with Bet365 last week. She lost $300 the first day of gambling with the giant bookie and says that next day her account was closed.
“Just because I backed a dog at $8 (fixed price) that started $2.80,” she claims. And was beaten!
So she opened an account with Crownbet and turned $700 into $6500, and then lost the lot – all in a week. Then, when attempting to load her account she says she got an email from the bookie. “We want your bank statements,” demanded Crownbet.
How dare they.
Really, it’s time government stepped in. This invasive behaviour by the corporates must stop.
In the meantime surely punters should be free and able to accept the prices on offer by a bookie and win without fear of redress.
It just would not have happened in the reign of Allan Tripp, the forefather of legal off course betting in this country and former owner and creator of Sportsbet.
And it certainly should not be happening now.
WHILE Australian gaming authorities sit on their hands and are seemingly dictated to by the powerful corporates, in the UK the bookies are under scope.
The latest is a government investigation into whether online bookies are breaking the law.
It has found in favour of two punters who complained about software being downloaded on to their computers without their permission.
The gamblers believe the software could be used to track their betting history and close their accounts if they are winners.
The software at the centre of the complaints is called iesnare or iovation and downloads automatically when you log in to some online gambling websites. In some cases, it's downloaded when you visit the homepage.
Australian website Onthepunt reports Brian Chappell, who runs the UK website Justice for Punters, has had his accounts closed with online bookmakers after placing winning bets.
The UK horseracing industry is worried about punters not being able to place a bet.
In April last year a survey revealed more than 1000 closed accounts and 4000 restricted accounts in the previous six months. Of those surveyed, 59 per cent said their interest in the sport had fallen as a result.
A report by the Gambling Commission alleges Bookmaker Paddy Power (Sportsbet and Betfair) encouraged a problem gambler to keep betting until he lost five jobs, his home and access to his children.
It says Power also failed to ensure customers were not using its betting machines to launder money
The Gambling Commission detailed two cases in which Power failed to apply money laundering controls. It stated someone with £100 in cash could place £48 on black, £48 on red and £2 on the green zero on a roulette machine. The maximum loss would be £4, at which point the player could ask a bookmaker to put the remaining £96 on their debit card.
Money laundered! So simple.
Of course there is one simple solution – ban the machines. But that would be TOO simple.
IN New Zealand the Minister for Racing Nathan Guy has given the green light for the overseas corporates to operate legally.
He announced dramatic changes that will allow live betting on races and will introduce legislation aimed at making overseas betting agencies pay their way.
"These offshore operators use New Zealand race information without paying a royalty back to our industry. And work at an unfair advantage to the TAB," Guy said.
"A working group found that in 2015, about 40,000 New Zealanders turned over $518 million offshore. And lost $58 million – a potential lost revenue of up to $45 million for local racing and sports organisations,’’ Guy said.
“A consumption fee will also be charged to the overseas operators, which will result in a portion of betting turnover from oversees bets returned directly to the community. The royalty charges will put money directly into the each racing code’s coffers, which is news they welcome.”
Yet it is the same corporates that are blamed for the lacklustre state of Australian racing. And it is the same an off course betting system that is banned in the leading racing centres of the world – Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Go figure.
The fear is the government owned TAB in New Zealand will be gobbled up by the multi-million dollar overseas corporates unless a very hefty turn over taxed is introduced and carefully monitored and controlled.
