Welcome to 2010! I trust you have had an enjoyable break over the Christmas period and are ready for a big racing year with the new-look Virtual Formguide.

Christmas and the New Year period is a time to unwind and spend valuable time with family and friends that just isn’t possible in the frenetic lives we live.

However in the Racing industry, there is no such luxury. A break on Christmas Day is all that is offered.

Below is a list of Victorian race-meetings staged in a four day period between Friday January 1, 2010 and Sunday January 3, 2010.

Friday (New Year’s Day)
TAB
Flemington
Mornington
NON-TAB
Burrumbeet (Cup Meeting)
Hanging Rock
Terang
Murtoa
PICNIC
Pakenham
Merton

Saturday (January 2)
TAB
Geelong
Stony Creek
Moonee Valley (Night)
PICNIC
Dederang

Sunday (January 3)
TAB
Cranbourne
Bairnsdale (Cup Meeting)
PICNIC
Balnarring

That's seven TAB meetings in the space of three days and a total of 15 meetings in total. The glut of meetings just isn’t justified by the quality of horseflesh on display.

Surely that number should be reduced. The onus on participants to prop up the industry at this time of the year is too great.

I propose a couple of changes for next year over the silly-season.

1. Only one provincial meeting on a Sunday instead of two. The Bairnsdale Cup meeting was completely undermined by having Cranbourne, Moonee Valley, Stony Creek and Mornington within the period. The prizemoney saved could go towards perhaps extending these highly successful Super Vobis racedays that run through the month of January.
2. Twilight meetings in places over 1 ½ hours drive from Melbourne CBD should not be conducted. Once again, meetings at Bairnsdale and Echuca added very little to the calendar and just agitated a lot of jockeys, trainers, strappers etc. Who wants to arrive back home from a Bairnsdale twilight meeting at 11:30pm and ride trackwork the next morning?

The obvious rebut is “don’t ride at the meeting”, but as many would realise, you can’t afford to be too selective if you wish to retain a ride on a promising galloper or maintain a healthy relationship with trainers/owners.

There are many more changes that should be made, but they are two glaring issues which should be rectified for next season.

What do you think? Leave us a comment below.