IN his popular column, ‘SILKS & SADDLES,’ published in the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, respected racing writer TERRY BUTTS reports on the wave of northern protest to politicians over the inequity of the prize money allocation in the wake of the new RQ deal with Tattersalls.
Butts also reveals how the Member for Burdekin, Rosemary Menkens, is far from impressed after learning she was misinformed on the allocation to the Townsville Turf Club by All Codes Chairman.
The column also contains an alarming report and photographs of giant divots in the Cluden track which is desperately in need of replacement and hopefully that work will begin shortly.
Here is the Butts’ column:
POLITICIANS BOMBARDED WITH PROTESTS AT ‘UNFAIRNESS’ OF PRIZEMONEY DEAL
STATE Member for Burdekin, Rosemary Menkens, is not a passionate racing person but she is a dedicated politician. And she resides in a region that has an extremely strong representation in racing.
It was no surprise therefore that many of her constituents were on the phone last week after the prize money announcements by Brisbane Racing (aka Queensland Racing).
The callers let their sitting Member know in very strong terms that they were not happy.
The announcement coincided with a poll that clearly indicated the Premier and his Party were fast losing favour with the voting public and can ill-afford to lose more support.
And Campbell Newman knows too that there is a huge number of votes associated with the racing industry.
MP FAR FROM HAPPY AT BEING ‘MISINFORMED’ BY RQ BOSS ON FIGURES
THE no-nonsense Burdekin MP last week called Racing Minister Steve Dickson seeking more information and to inform him of the northern backlash to the announcement.
The Minister, not surprisingly, hand-balled it quickly to the RQ All Codes Chairman Kevin Dixon, who dutifully called Mrs Menkens and told her that Townsville had received a 23 per cent increase and ‘had little cause to complain’.
The State Member is no fool when it comes to racing or politics and she now knows that figure is entirely wrong – and is far from impressed that she was ‘misinformed’ by the RQ Chairman – to put things politely.
Townsville Turf Club chairman, Kevin O’Keefe, says the correct figure is in fact 14.2% (not 23 per cent as his one-time business partner and colleague Kevin Dixon reported to the MP) and that ‘the club has been short-changed in the whack-up by $350,000’.
Mrs Menken is not the only politician being targeted by northern clubs in the hope that the Government (or perhaps the Premier) will intervene.
They want Campbell Newman to act immediately on what they claim is ‘a distinct bias against them’.
“It is obvious when the percentage increases to each club are compared, the south east clubs have been treated more favourably at the expense of our northern clubs,” said O’Keefe.
RACING IN MACKAY REALLY COPPED THE RAW END OF THE PINEAPPLE FROM RQ
WHILST Townsville received a ‘disappointing’ 14.2%, Mackay – with a mere 8.5% - was the biggest loser.
Concerns have resurfaced as to the viability of racing at Ooralea that is largely reliant on visiting horses (without travel rebates) from Rockhampton and Townsville and centres in between.
Rockhampton has retained most of its Sky 1 designated dates so has fared better with a 19% increase, while Cairns was disadvantaged with a lower than expected increase of 12.8%
These increases are being compared to Sunshine Coast up 36.1% and Toowoomba – remarkably up by 28.5%.
The increases are said to be based on turnover of each club between January and June.
Townsville has had to battle with the ‘terrible Tuesdays’ but still managed a turnover of $450.5k for 20 meetings. Toowoomba, with 22 Saturday meetings, posted a turnover of $482.k.
Is that fair?
TOOWOOMBA GETS ‘FAVORED TREATMENT’ YET CHAIRMAN IS STILL ‘BLEATING’
THE prize money increases were, of course, welcomed by the south-east Queensland clubs – but Toowoomba Chairman, Bob Frappell, said he was a ‘little disappointed we haven’t got parity with Ipswich and the Gold and Sunshine Coast clubs who received a 47% increase’.
“We have been told if we get our turnover up we will get parity with those clubs”.
Talking of Toowoomba turnover – does that club’s figure include the big opening night meeting on December 31 to which the time-honoured Bernborough Handicap – a $125,000 race – was transferred?
And did the figures they trumpeted as showing increased punter interest in the new Clifford Park track also include the meetings that were transferred to Toowoomba from Ipswich?
Just wondering!
TOOWOOMBA THE ‘MOST CUDDLED’ AND ‘ADVANTAGED’ RACE CLUB IN THE LAND
TOOWOOMBA’S leading trainer, Michael Nolan, was quoted as saying: ‘It’s the best news we have had for a long time’.
Really?
Toowoomba just happens to be the ‘most cuddled’ and advantaged race club in Australia in recent years. Just ask anyone outside the Darling Downs.
However, the North’s top trainer for the past 20 years, Roy Chillemi, doesn’t share the Nolan enthusiasm.
“I wish I had never left my pastry shop to take on horse training,” said Roy this week as he highlighted the rising costs of fuel, transport and feed and lack of prize money over the past 10 years.
Cairns-based Trevor Rowe was also scathing in his attack on Racing Queensland in an article in the local newspaper during the week.
Rowe was so incensed he rang the Racing Minister direct and let him know the feelings of his colleagues and racing participants in Cairns.
“He didn’t even know that Cairns is not a TAB club,” Chillemi said.
“Or that we only got $1000 per race increase.
“He just doesn’t understand.
“He told me to put my complaint in writing,” said the gobsmacked trainer who described the paltry increase as a ‘kick in the guts’.
HOLES A BIG AS FOOTBALLS AS CLUDEN TRACK DESPERATELY NEEDS REPLACING 
THE urgency of a new racetrack for Cluden was made abundantly clear, as the photographs accompanying this column will attest.
Last Saturday morning a gang of turf club workers, with reinforcements, spent hours replacing divots (some as big as footballs) on the course proper that were damaged by the meeting the day before.
Imagine if Cluden had been subject to some heavy rain during the week?
There is no doubt the racing surface is simply worn out – or in the words of one track employee – ‘completely ruined,’ if not downright dangerous.
Cairns and Mackay will host the race meetings already allocated to Townsville which will close when work on the new Cluden track hopefully gets underway next month.
But the question is will those clubs be racing for the Townsville prize money?
And will rebates be paid for Townsville trained horses to compete at those meetings?
We’ll see!
IS IT TIME FOR THE NORTH QUEENSLAND AMATEURS TO BE TAKEN OVER BY TTC?
MAYBE it is time for the North Queensland Amateur Turf Club to hand over the running reins to the Townsville Turf Club.
Cairns did the same years ago and it makes so much sense.
It would allow the committee of the NQATC more time to concentrate on the social side, which everyone knows has slipped markedly from the good ol’ days.
It was sad to see just a handful of cars at Cluden on Sunday for the recovery. A decade ago it was standing room only.
Sadder still was site of an old racing stalwart of this city in the queue to buy a ticket into the track on Saturday.
The former jockey and Cluden legend has been to every Amateurs meeting for the past 50 years. He is given a complimentary membership of the TTC every year in recognition of his past services – but was asked at the gate on Saturday for $25 admittance.
That is a disgrace.
He was slugged $25 for what? For the doubtful privilege of drinking beer at inflated prices from plastic cups!
Worse, not even his well-worn pension card could command a discount at the gate.
“I will never be back,” he declared.
And who would blame him?
IT’S TIME TO CHANGE EWAN ANNUAL TO A CORN FED MEETING
A total of 41 horses were paddocked on Sunday for the upcoming Ewan grass fed annual at the end of September.
This a few shorter than last year’s total and well down on the number paddocked in past years.
It again begs the question whether Ewan should revert to corn fed racing – a question that is raised and debated every year.
One wonders how many horses would contest a corn fed meeting this year.
Olivia Cairns, a great supporter of Ewan over the years, paddocked four horses on Sunday. Last year she paddocked 12.
If it had been a corn fed meeting she said should would ‘probably have a dozen or more’ – the same number she took to the recent Oak Park meeting.
We all know there is a lot of tradition involved with Ewan, and for this writer a lot of fond memories.
But circumstances have changed.
And maybe, as Gough Whitlam so famously said, ‘It’s time’.
HAVE SADDLE WILL TRAVEL AS WATSON HEADS OFF TO KUNUNURRA
HAVE saddle will travel seems to be the story of comeback kid, Graham Watson, who slipped the Townsville Amateurs and jetted off to Kununurra, on the banks of the majestic Lake Argyle, last Saturday.
And Graham rode a winner too – and several placings – mainly for ex-Townsville trainer Dick Leech who has been domiciled in Darwin for the past 14 years.
By the way the winning jockey of the Broome Cup last Sunday was the former NQ apprentice Campbell McCallum who learned his skills around the Gordonvale track under the astute and watchful eye of Ralph Baker.
Campbell surprisingly announced his retirement from the saddle after the Cup win claiming weight was getting too hard to control. In a relatively short career the ex-North Queenslander rode nearly 200 winners, mainly in the west.
INGHAM GOLD CUP DAY ON SATURDAY PROMISES TO BE BIGGEST IN YEARS
DONT forget it is Ingham Gold Cup day on Saturday.
Always a top day out and this will certainly be no exception.
Already marquee bookings are a record and the club genuinely expects the biggest Cup day in years.
With 50mm of rain last week, the club reports the track to be in first rate order with a thick, lush covering of grass.
The only downside is the $2,000 extra per race the club are to receive under the new prize money allocation does not come into play until October.
COLUMN COURTESY OF TERRY BUTTS AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, one of Australia's leading rural newspapers.
TERRY BUTTS can be contacted by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
