TV exposure for the middle day of the 2018 Warrnambool May Racing Carnival will be diminished by nearly an hour under new arrangements.
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The agreement struck between Racing.com and Thoroughbred Racing South Australia to telecast South Australia racing on the channel will allow a Strathalbyn meeting to eat into the Galleywood Hurdle-Wangoom Handicap coverage.
The Warrnambool Carnival has been front and centre of a major outside broadcast for the Victorian racing industry since TVN started in 2005.
With on-course duties mixed with studio commitments, the 48 minutes dedicated to an eight-race card in country South Australia means Warrnambool will come off the worse.
Warrnambool Racing Club was unaware of the time constraints but upon learning from The Standard, expressed its concerns.
Club chief executive Peter Downs said he will have discussions with Racing.com about the arrangement.
“We were not aware that we would lose nearly an hour on the middle day of the carnival,” Downs said.
“It’s a bit of a worry. We’ve had dialogue with Racing.com since the agreement came in place and there will be further discussions regarding the coverage.
“Racing.com are still in a trial period with the arrangement and I’m hopeful issues can be sorted out.”
Club chairman Nick Rule also expressed his disappointment.
“It’s pretty disappointing to lose nearly an hour of live coverage on the Wednesday of our carnival not only for the club but for our sponsors and viewers,” Rule said.
“The club will have discussions with Racing.com about the television coverage not only for the Wednesday, but of the whole carnival.”
Racing.com editor-chief and general manager-content Shane Anderson said the channel had the full support of stakeholders Racing Victoria and South West Media.
“We’ve got the backing from Racing Victoria regarding having South Australian races on Racing.com,” Anderson said.
“We’ll still have an on-course presence at the Warrnambool plus our form analysis people back in our studios at Docklands.
“The racing clock will allow us to have a Victoria race then a 15-minute gap to a South Australian race and then there’s a 20-minute break back to Victoria.
“We have six minutes devoted to each race we cover from South Australia. We’re still fine tuning some aspects of our coverage as we’re only a few weeks into the agreement.”
BERIMAN OUT
FORMER Warrnambool jockey Nikita Beriman was found guilty of careless riding after her ride on Solgaze at Bendigo on Sunday.
Stewards found that, approaching the 800-metre mark, Beriman permitted her Mount to shift in when not sufficiently clear of My Boy Greg, which had to be restrained.
Her suspension started at midnight on August 15 and ends August 24. Stewards deemed the carelessness riding in the low range.
COLERAINE FACTS
TRIVIA buffs were adding new information to their records after the Coleraine meeting on Saturday.
For the first time in 30 years, the club now hosts two meetings a season in its own right. The club’s cup meeting is set down for decision on September 24. Another incredible statistic from the day is four of the eight races were won by the shortest possible margin – a nose.
CUP SHIFT
MOUNT Gambier Racing Club has been forced to shift its annual Gold Cup meeting from May to December 1 because of a $3.3 million track redevelopment.
The course will be closed after a twilight December 1 meeting until May 2019, when a two day carnival will be run on the new track.
The annual “summer cup”, which was to be held on Saturday, January 28, will be moved to Sunday, November 5, 2017 and renamed the Spring Cup.
Six other meetings to be hosted at Mount Gambier between December 2017 and July 2018 will be relocated to alternate Limestone Coast tracks.
Thoroughbred Racing South Australia is consulting with other clubs in the region to find a suitable solution to each race day.
The redevelopment will allow the club to race for a larger part of the year.
BIRTHDAY BOY
HIGH-PROFILE owner Kingsley Peach reached a significant milestone last week, turning 80 years old.
Peach, who resides at Macarthur and is a former Hamilton Racing Club committeeman, has raced top class horses including Sir Swayze, Super Lad, Hollowlea, Patch Adams, King Of Dudes, St Jean and former top mare Exceptional.
WARRIOR BOON
HORSE breeding in the Western District has received a boost with news that Shamoline Warrior will be standing stud at Caron Park in Hamilton.
Shamoline Warrior, who had been standing stud in New Zealand, has produced 15 winners from 28 runners.
His progeny have won races in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Macau and with more weanlings, yearlings and two-year-olds coming through, the numbers should improve.
Shamoline Warrior showed great promise on the track, winning races before being sidelined with a bad virus which ended his career when nominal favourite for the VRC Derby.
INVESTIGATION
STEWARDS have adjourned an inquiry into the tactics by jockeys on three horses trained by Mount Gambier’s Wayne Walters that ran in restricted race at Coleraine on Saturday.
Holly Holy, who won the 1800-metre race, was the $4.20 favourite, while stablemates Herman ran seventh and Buccelati 12th in the 12-horse field.