Dear Members,
The Queensland racing industry came together to celebrate at the annual thoroughbred awards on Sunday where it was wonderful to see owners play a leading role.
Hosted at the newly opened The Star in Brisbane, the awards paid tribute to the heroes of our industry including the season’s champion jockeys, trainers and horses.
While there weren’t any specific awards for owners, it was fantastic to see owners being recognised on the night throughout every acceptance speech and celebration.
One of the highlights of the night was seeing the Robert Heathcote trained ABOUNDING honoured as the 3-year-old Horse of the Year.
Accepting the award on the stage were an excited and boisterous syndicate of owners - including a first time owner - who are clearly having the ride of their lives and enjoying every moment of ownership with this horse.
Their enthusiasm exemplifies what ownership is all about and provided some entertaining scenes on the day.
Trainer Tony Gollan received his 11th consecutive trainers premiership and reflected on the thousands of owners he has in his stable to make it all possible, while Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick also paid tribute to his owners as he collected his sixth Provincial Trainers’ Premiership.
Antino was a deserving winner of Queensland Horse of the Year and 4YO and Older Horse of the Year and was represented by his ownership interests on the night.
Congratulations to all awards winners and well done to Racing Queensland on putting it all together.
10 RACE CARDS TO RETURN FOR SPRING / SUMMER
Ten race programs will return to the Saturday Metropolitan racing scene in Queensland from October 5.
After the trial of 10-race programs was adopted last year, Racing Queensland has advised the QTOA that these are planned to run from October until April 2025 which marks the end of daylight savings period in the southern States.
RQ have reported that the 10-race cards have so far been highly successful from a wagering perspective, with wagering returns covering the increase in prizemoney of the 10th race.
The introduction of the 10-race cards, which saw a race moved from Wednesday Metropolitan programs to Saturday to create an additional race with enhanced prizemoney, have provided increased opportunities for owners and we will continue to monitor the success of these from a wagering point of view.
Following on from the recent release of the revamped Summer Racing Carnival program, which was slightly delayed due uncertainty over tracks in Queensland, we have requested that future programming by Racing Queensland be made available to the industry further in advance to assist with planning for all stakeholders.
Comments