Imagine learning the Guineas wasn’t on at Flemington on Saturday, or you wouldn’t get to see Via Sistina v Ceowulf (and Fangirl) at Randwick. Or even the Woolamai picnics would be nothing more than just that, a picnic near Philip Island.
This is not to be read as some alarmist fantasy (or nightmare).
In the rapid modern media cycle, much can get clicked before missed, baited, blocked and then lost into the ether.
So, have you seen the call for the ban on horse racing - not just one of the biggest industries in the country but part of the fabric of Australian society and community, virtually since foundation.
Surely this would have to be coming from some crackpot, nutbag, wacko group, operating from a back-yard garage wearing tin-foil hats, hence as such, easily dismissed into obscurity.
No, this is the stated platform of The Greens, an Australian political party, heading into a position of key negotiating power to shape a possible minority government, with the markets having a “hung parliament” as short as a $1.40.
This is nothing new for The Greens. In their stated “AIMS” on their website: “an end to commercial horse racing” is Number 25, followed by a goodbye to greyhound racing at 26.
But it is now that The Greens have lit the kindling beneath the campaign promise fire heading into May 11 (well that’s the favoured date say the bookies), that should have those who not just run Australian racing, as much as those who are fans of it, but especially those who derive a living from, through and off of it, to not just be aware but prepared.
The Greens now have put “meat on the bone” of this policy to ban horse racing and remarkably they say it will be the punter who pays for it.
This is The Greens Plan:
One horse dies every three days on Australian race tracks.
After years of exposés on the cruelty of horse racing and growing public support, it is beyond time to shut down horse racing.
To shut down commercial horse racing in Australia, the Greens have a clear Horse Racing Transition Plan.
Industrial transitions need careful planning. As part of the Horse Racing Transition Plan, we will establish:
• A Horse Racing Transition Taskforce to coordinate and manage the shut down of the horse racing industry
• A Horse Betting Levy of 1% of betting turnover related to commercial horse racing to finance transition activities
How would it work?
The Horse Racing Transition Taskforce would design and plan all key aspects of the industry shutdown, including:
• A national ban on horse racing
• Transitioning racing facilities to open green spaces
• Planning for workers currently employed
• Assisting in rehabilitation and rehoming of horses
• Implementing the betting levy.
The Horse Betting Levy of 1% of betting turnover is projected to raise $494 million over its first two years. This money would fund activities decided by the taskforce, including: retraining programs for workers, rehoming schemes for animals, and redeveloping racecourses.
We know that the horse racing industry cannot be fixed - it must be shut down.
It would be easy to fob this off as pure folly, but this is not just hollering loudly with an oversized megaphone.
The Greens hold four seats in the Lower House, 11 in the Senate, where with six other minor party members and four independents, they much to do with the balance of power - decision making.
Their campaign states “change starts with your vote - this election, you have a once in a generation opportunity to make it happen.”
Ok, obviously that's standard political positioning, but if you can’t name a Green, you may be aware of the “Nup To The Cup” slogan, a mantra passioned by deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi from New South Wales – who obviously not only wants the racing industry (and greyhounds shut down), but says “it’s time to put the Melbourne Cup in the dustbin of history.”
“The only reason this carnival of cruelty goes on is because gambling companies make a windfall, and they bankroll the two major parties into silence.
“The Melbourne Cup epitomises the farce of the horse racing industry in a single day: a shameful cocktail of animal cruelty, gambling harm, corporate profits and dirty donations.”
It’s obvious Ms Faruqi was not then part of the past Cup carnival, that saw an uplift of more than $1b contributed nationally to the economy, those figures released by the Victoria Racing Club yesterday.
“It was a year of growth on all measures, with more than half the adult population (11.5 million, an increase of 500,000) engaging with the race that stops a nation by watching, listening or participating in an activity to celebrate the day, providing an uplift in spending across the country, said the VRC.
Of course, Ms Faruqi is rampantly dismissive of the Cup and it’s place in Australian folklore, or read a letter from Rudyard Kipling to Banjo Patterson circa 1901 that said: “You people in Australia haven’t grown up yet – you think the Melbourne Cup is the most important thing in the world” or that Mark Twain came out earlier and called the event “The Great Astonisher."
The Cup remains, but Faruqi’s Greens not only want it gone, but all of racing gone, and that is just the start.
Thanks to long serving Gippsland MP Darren Chester (Nationals) for rightly raising the awareness, if not the indignation initially last week in case you missed it.
"The policy on the Greens website proudly boasts of their ‘plan' to shut down the entire horse racing industry. The national ban on horse racing would see 75,000 Australians lose their jobs with a flow-on impact to hospitality, fashion and catering industries.''
“If the Greens are in a position of power with Labor after the next election, say goodbye to country cups and picnic race meetings. The policy on the Greens website proudly boasts of their ‘plan’ to shut down the entire horse racing industry.”
So, yes, we are to take this seriously and be pre-emptive, proactive and brand the message and massage the storytelling.
If so, who will hold racing’s loud hailer and shepherd a mainstream as well as social media campaign, because you can be sure The Greens are better prepared and obviously already at it.
It helps little that the territorial structure of Australian racing is state based and self-serving as such and that an organisation masquerading under the title of “Racing Australia” had for too long been an impotent force, marginalised by a major shareholder in Racing New South Wales. And there is “no” pattern to it – pun intended. And much more.
The Greens policy at least highlights the size and scope of the racing industry at least – hence they rustle up $494m from “punters” or customers to fund their own grab, and the flippant distain for employers, employees, social fabric, I can go on, but I’m sure you get it, is a mere dot point.
That is not to ignore the challenges one of Australia’s biggest industries, some say the third largest “behind mining and tourism), must face, but if there is no-one or no one body there to spruik it, then there is exposure to such shallow Greens nonsense without any meaningful pushback.
As Les Carlyon once eloquently (well he always did) wrote: “They will tell you racing is a big industry, and it is…but the fact that racing is a big industry doesn’t make it interesting, Packaging is a big industry yet no one stands alongside the production line to applaud the cardboard box that they think happens to be rather better than other cardboard boxes.
No one suggest a cardboard box has character.”
Packaging is indeed a big industry, 30,000 employees from my research, market capitalisation anywhere from $3.6b to $12.8b from various studies, but no Black Caviar or Winx or as Carlyon wrote: “Racing is based on “compulsive loss making- racing is seldom food business, it is a good business.”
“It is loaded with danger, physical and financial, and comes with the hint of conspiracy. It doesn’t necessarily build character, but it throws u some characters….and they are good to write about.”
Yet The Greens only want to cheer it’s demise, and yes you can look at their raft of other policies and dismiss them as a little fanciful, but racing needs to be better prepared and messaged for such challenges, imminent as they may be in this election cycle.
But in their own words The Australian Greens believe that:
1. Animals must be recognised as sentient beings that deserve our care and respect.
2. Animals have intrinsic value, separate from the needs of humans.
3. Humans have a duty of care to minimise physical and psychological suffering of animals resulting from human activity.
4. Strong animal welfare standards and laws are necessary.
The Greens proudly display on their website all the leverage of policy they have been able to achieve. (as an aside it was The Greens that got the horse drawn carriages of Melbourne shut out of Swanston Street.)
Racing can also proudly talk in numbers of its size, some $9.5b I annual economic contribution, some 51% of that in regional Australia.
Of course, the number of jobs is slated at 75,000 with Aushorse noting 160,000 participating as employees or volunteers, some 63% of those in regional areas. And the tentacles spread much more broadly, so real numbers are harder to nail but we should keep hammering them.
Yet The Greens seem exigent that all this is closed down and punters, because Aussies love having a bet, can fund the transitions, but what of the fallout?
Just look at these numbers. No other industry or sport covers the breadth and scope of the country like horse racing. (And if The Greens get it gone, what do they do with pony clubs, equestrian sports, trail rides, keep thinking?)
As Darren Chester said: “All of this would be funny except the risk of a minority Labor-Greens-Teal Government after the next election is real, and we’ve already seen how far the modern Labor Party is prepared to sellout timber workers in the regions, for Green preferences in the city.”
So, can The Greens also explain what happens to the 387 race clubs and their 342 racetracks (a lot of green spaces there), the 2574 meetings they ran last season, those 19199 races run with 36,009 horses competing.
Trainer jockeys, strappers, track riders, farriers, blacksmith, float drivers, veterinarians, trackmen, ground staff - just keep adding so many more into those tentacles where racing reaches out to provide a living.
It’s an industry, a sport and a passion the envy of the world. As Aushorse points out, horse racing has worked hard to be able to stage 105 races worth $1m or more or return near on $1b in stakes to those keen to play.
More than 140,000 owners are engaged for shares in it or one in every 254 people and yet a horse whose mum cost $1000, ridden by an Irish jockey better known for singing than riding can win The Cup at 100-1, showing anyone can play.
You can drop in that the average prizemoney per race was $54,000 and one in every 43 horses had earned more than $500,000, one in every 132 more than $1m compared to 1 in 345 in Europe.
There are breeders backed bonus schemes, auction houses incentive race series and perhaps most importantly, the industry investing heavily from its riches in equine welfare, the sort of care and diligence The Greens would, or should marvel at, and support - if they only had a better understanding or were presented with real evidence as such.
And to the punter, the lifeblood of the industry and it’s mostly largely unrepresented customer, can wager billions where their investment is shadowed by stern messages “what are you about to lose” etc, yet soldier on and now to be seen as Greens playthings and fund their transition plan.
Back to Chester speaking of what he calls “The Greens fantasy world”: “there’s no mention of the compensation costs or the social, economic and cultural value of the industry which stimulates billions of dollars in business and creates thousands of jobs.
“Think about it. Jobs in horse training, riding, grounds keeping, veterinary support, catering, hospitality, fashion and transport would all disappear under just one Greens policy.
“Spread the word” he says.
I have.
Chester has labelled The Greens "The Fun Police". Who'd want to kill this?
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