Victoria Park

[Northalives]

What an absolute joke of a track.
Anyone that thinks that spending $35 million + will make any difference to the racing surface is fooling themselves.
Vic. Park is and always will be a "public access" park and the racing surface will always be the way it is now ie. harder than concrete or a quagmire.

PS.
4 years before anything happens anywhere and prizemoney will remain the same throughout this time and after bulldozing top class Cheltenham. Same or more prizemoney on offer @ Victorian non-Tab meetings than midweek SA meetings - country or metrop.

 

[SaintsSupporter]

Victoria Park is the worst racing venue in Australia.

 

[footyman]

South Australian racing is trash anyway. The tracks are not the only thing ordinary about it. The fact horses who get beaten at Victorian country meetings like Terang and Hamilton can actually go and win a Saturday race there shows the poor local product, and I'm not much of a fan of the SA jockeys either.

Whatever the administrators do they need to strengthen their industry. How they do they I don't know...but perhaps selling the asset at Cheltenham will give them the finances to help them do it. Vic Park might be public land, but as far as I know (not being a South Australian myself), Vic Park is very close to town and Cheltenham is not.

 

[SaintsSupporter]

South Australian racing is trash anyway. The tracks are not the only thing ordinary about it. The fact horses who get beaten at Victorian country meetings like Terang and Hamilton can actually go and win a Saturday race there shows the poor local product, and I'm not much of a fan of the SA jockeys either.

Whatever the administrators do they need to strengthen their industry. How they do they I don't know...but perhaps selling the asset at Cheltenham will give them the finances to help them do it. Vic Park might be public land, but as far as I know (not being a South Australian myself), Vic Park is very close to town and Cheltenham is not.

Exactly. Winning or running a place at a reasonably poor meeting like those Terang and Hamilton meetings you were talking about is Saturday Adelaide form. South Australian racing is in the absolute dire straits in terms of quality.

 

[defier]

Bulldozing Cheltenham has been on the cards for about 8 years now. Why close a track where you can train horses, just to keep one because it is closer to the city? Its not like Cheltenham is hours away.
And as for South Australian racing theyd be praying David Hayes and Magic Millions dont transfer all their operations to Victoria.

 

[Northalives]

South Australian racing is trash anyway. The tracks are not the only thing ordinary about it. The fact horses who get beaten at Victorian country meetings like Terang and Hamilton can actually go and win a Saturday race there shows the poor local product, and I'm not much of a fan of the SA jockeys either.

Whatever the administrators do they need to strengthen their industry. How they do they I don't know...but perhaps selling the asset at Cheltenham will give them the finances to help them do it. Vic Park might be public land, but as far as I know (not being a South Australian myself), Vic Park is very close to town and Cheltenham is not.

Selling Cheltenham will not give them the finances to increase prizemoney because all of the money the SAJC will receive, will go into building a new grandstand and realigning the track at Vic. Park.
This will not make a scrap of difference towards improving the state of racing in SA.
All it will do is give Ploubidis (SAJC CEO) and his yuppie mates a new place to be seen. These are the types of people that idiot wants to attract to the races even though none of them will ever own a horse or contribute anything worthwhile to racing.

 

[footyman]

Selling Cheltenham will not give them the finances to increase prizemoney because all of the money the SAJC will receive, will go into building a new grandstand and realigning the track at Vic. Park.
This will not make a scrap of difference towards improving the state of racing in SA.
All it will do is give Ploubidis (SAJC CEO) and his yuppie mates a new place to be seen. These are the types of people that idiot wants to attract to the races even though none of them will ever own a horse or contribute anything worthwhile to racing.

Well the thinking then is to have a place where people want to go. Hardly going to get people to the track or to return to the track if the facilities are 1970s standard.

Improved infrastructure = improved crowds = greater income = more money for the industry.

I agree with you on the yuppies issue, but as tragic as a racing enthusiast like myself find it, Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival is built on yuppies. These people who rock up because 'its the place to be seen' over a month long period do prop the industry up financially. Most of them also contribute nothing to the industry or will never own a horse.

 

[go fullta]

Exactly. Winning or running a place at a reasonably poor meeting like those Terang and Hamilton meetings you were talking about is Saturday Adelaide form. South Australian racing is in the absolute dire straits in terms of quality.

thats why fullta will be looking for a no metro win races for fillies and mares (1200m-1400m) this winter!!!

 

[eastaugh36]

Sure the current setup is ordinary but there is no doubt that there is a better future in vic park than Cheltenham. It's closer to the city (and to me!), the crowds are better there apparently in its current state so imagine how many more will go after its upgraded, the xmas twilight meetings show how important it is to have a central track that people can just stroll to after work.
To those bagging Adelaide form, how do you explain horses that have gone over to Melbourne and performed well in Saturday metro meetings recently? I have seen just as many victorian horses come over here and fail dismally than those who have won too.
It all goes hand in hand, if the industry over here improves $$$$ wise then the decent trainers stay which = better horse quality, new trainers come along, and owners buy horses . Selling Cheltenham is a step in the right direction for a state which has contributed more than what would be expected to Australian racing over the years.