The night before, when most of the game’s workers were happy that their horses were fed and tucked up in their loose boxes, what has been hailed as a game-hanging Bill had its first reading in Parliament.
Finally, action! The cheers quickly spread across social media, though at a relatively slow pace compared to Donald Trump tweeting.
Congratulations must go to the new Racing Minister, David Bennett, for finally getting this across the line.
Whether he took the portfolio over at the right time or drove the Bill from the some dusty, far-reaching corner of Parliament to get it in front of the House is not definitive. But regardless, he is the man who has got the job done and he should be applauded for that.
While I was among those pleased to see the advancement of Racing Amendment Bill, I think it also served as a symbolic point of concern for the racing industry. In this job I talk to all kinds of contributors to racing, including administrators, from all facets of the industry. There have been few conversations about the future of racing that have not touched on this piece of legislation and its possible impact.
I can quite confidently say that racing’s leaders have hung their hat on this Bill delivering big benefits to racing.
I think that is a scary thought.
Does the promise of millions upon millions of dollars flowing in to the industry’s coffers seem a little unrealistic? Something that would fit nicely in the tale of Jack buying his magic beans?
Like everyone else I want this legislation to be effective, but I think pinning the hopes of an industry on it is dangerous.
The Department of Internal Affairs report into the legislative change suggests that compliance with the new laws will effectively be voluntary for overseas bookmakers. So, let’s not count that cash before it has been banked.
Rather than letting the legislation dominate the thinking on racing’s future, it would be safer to see this as one of several possible changes that could sustain racing. At the moment there are only three on the table — the Racing Act amendment, which is front and centre; the proposal to build all-weather racing tracks, and the development of a fixed-odds betting platform that would allow the TAB to be more competitive.
Surely we need more. After all, this is a sport of the biggest of dreams, is it not? The sport for which people get up in the early hours with the dream of breeding, racing, training, riding or driving a Melbourne Cup or New Zealand Cup winner? Without these dreams,day-to-day racing wouldn’t survive.
If you have any of big-picture ideas or schemes let them be heard, because some of the greatest things we have in racing we started from those dreams.
Happy trails.
