Memory Lane And Where To From Here

Aquanita · August 2016

Having virtually lived on a Racecourse
from the 60s to the 90s I have been close up and personal with the golden era
of racing in this state. Stake money has never been better and the quality of
horses has improved through breeding and scientific training methods but the on
course experience is not a patch on what it once was. To emphasise this I point
to the following:

·
Racing has become sanitised like the AFL with
Perth Racing now the WAFL of National Racing.

·
Trotting at Gloucester Park has probably held up
better on a national comparison but is part of an industry that is becoming
increasingly irrelevant to the wider population.

·
Bookmakers Rings are no longer vibrant and
exciting like they once were.

·
Betting rings were full of characters such as
“Freddy Haircuts”, “Mad Mark” (the coin thrower and bin tosser), “Sandals” and
“The Penguin”. The latter currently barred from the course. There were many
others.

·
Return to Scales demonstrations were theatre and
a common occurrence but administrators took action to shut them down.

·
Bookmakers evolved from flamboyant characters
who did little or no form to Banker/Stockbroker types reliant on computers,
sophisticated databases and electronic boards.

·
Race Clubs with no understanding of the dynamics
of betting relative to On Course Tote/Bookmakers turnover killed the golden
goose by pricing bookmakers out of business.

·
There was depth in training and riding ranks and
ownership for that matter.

·
Food and beverage was not an issue as long as you
could get a cold beer, hot chips and an edible hamburger or pie.

·
Personally I have been on a Race Course perhaps
six times in the last decade and my wagering turnover is less than 10% of what
it was at its peak.

The on course experience will never return to the halcyon
days but perhaps the following would be worth a try to arrest the constant
decline:

·
Appoint a Dictator to each of the equines codes
on $1m+ for three years.

·
Finding the right people would not be easy and I
can see the heads shaking with them earning more than the RWWA CEO and the
Perth Racing Managing Director.

·
The Code Dictators would report to the RWWA CEO
for information purposes only but would not be answerable to him.

·
The Code Dictators would be strong enough
personalities to have full control over the Racing and Integrity Departments
and the capacity to ignore the lobbying of vested interests with decisions
being made for the whole of the industry and not certain sections of it.

·
Have a charter to arrest the decline in
attendances (future owners and participants do not come from TAB Shops, Pubtabs
and Home Entertainment Rooms).

·
Ensure that information disseminated to the
punting public is 100% accurate. Surprisingly this was never an issue when
racing was flying and those with the work ethic fed off the misinformation.

Thoughts?

JayJay · August 2016

Singing from the same hymn book...couldn't possibly put it better. Stratton was the "benevolent dictator" at the trots when the joint was packed, then Frank Ledger, Migro was the "benevolent dictator" at Claremont Speedway when you had to climb a tree to watch, was it Harry Bolton running the show at the races when the Perth Cup was the showpiece and Cummings, Hayes, TJ and Murphy sent plane loads over from the East....any galah that even thinks about mentioning terms like Key Performance Indicators, Stakeholders, Quality Assurance control, Enhancement of the Experience, Rationalisation or any of the other myriad of weasel words and corporate jargon should be arseholed out the door before they even get to interview. And as far as the Trots are concerned, re introduce a handicap system that is in fact a handicap system as opposed to the current nonsense that rewards mediocrity of performance and serves up dozens of fake "Group 1" races every year, thus eliminating the Fast Class ranks and the chance for the public to identify with the stars of FFA racing as they did in the past. The public love champions, characters and return to scale demonstrations.....and they don't need an avocado sous chef vinegraitte dip to smear on their racebook.

thefalcon · August 2016

thought provoking submission, gentlemen.

trivial question...why in hell has "the penguin" been banned? harmless little fellow.

JayJay · August 2016

He probably complained about the Fish n chips.

Thumper · August 2016

Only way to get to return to those days is to have tv and the internet outlawed. Good Luck.

Thumper · August 2016

Who is going to fund these 3 $1M roles?

Aquanita · August 2016

RWWA through industry distribution.

I only mentioned the Equine Codes as I believe the Greyhounds can hold their own as purely off course venues if indeed they survive the escalating animal welfare issues.

The Dictator would also have control over Clubs through distribution funds. If they did not conform they would lose funding.

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

'Mad Mark' ...now there's a character..he was as wild a punter as I've seen. Super knowledgable but a burning temper. Seen him throw his money into the air and walk away in disgust. I'm talking 50s too! How could anybody do that?!!! Last saw him at a TAB several years ago..funny man.

hash · August 2016

Jokes aside, why has the penguin been barred?
If you weren't skilled enough to ignore him or block him out when it counted then shame on you.. The bloke was harmless

EDIT - just read above and noticed falcon had asked the same question 8-} sometimes it pays to read what others have posted and not skim through

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

What Sean didn't know about exactas wasn't worth knowing! He was the exacta king. Knew his form and no fool. Good guy.

thefalcon · August 2016

always bit me for a coke..which I was happy to buy.

spinking · August 2016

Once saw Mad Mark take a flying run up and head but the tab board in the old tab that used to be at the Ascot hotel he was a mate of the ace good quinalla there

jum · August 2016

Is the Penguin, The little fellow with dark hair and a moustache. Mumbles stuff all the time, always complaining about bookies prices and jockeys rides. ALWAYS in the ring.

Gilgamesh · August 2016

jum said:
Is the Penguin, The little fellow with dark hair and a moustache. Mumbles stuff all the time, always complaining about bookies prices and jockeys rides. ALWAYS in the ring.

Looks like Mario from Mario cart.

spinking · August 2016

You got him Jum the Penguin

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

'Mad Mark' would shout out at full voice after giving a hoop a bollocking that 'it's got nothing to do with the money...I don't care about the money!!'..then throwing a fistful of dollars into the air as he stormed away. Another day thought for sure he was going to throw himself off the Ascot grandstand. Nobody could knock his passion he was as passionate as a punter could be. A funny thing though is hoops were taking the full force of his wrath and the race had only gone a few hundred metres! His prowess and punting ability were unsurpassed but if anything went wrong there was hell to pay. Was always happy to share information. He was a good judge in a lot of ways. Hopefully still is.

thefalcon · August 2016

sounds a bit like brad hardie... :))

when was this mad mark in his hey day?

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

First came across Mark in the early 90s last saw him a few times at the South Perth Tab about 7 or 8 years ago. He may have come over from the east and may have gone back. I often worried about his blood pressure. Not the low factor either.

hash · August 2016

Gilgamesh said:

jum said:
Is the Penguin, The little fellow with dark hair and a moustache. Mumbles stuff all the time, always complaining about bookies prices and jockeys rides. ALWAYS in the ring.

Looks like Mario from Mario cart.

Well before my time but Charlie Chaplin was another lookalike lol

Lost count how many times I've seen him storm through the bookies ring after Harvey had got one beat yelling and screaming abuse to anyone that'll listen

paraletic · August 2016

jum said:
Is the Penguin, The little fellow with dark hair and a moustache. Mumbles stuff all the time, always complaining about bookies prices and jockeys rides. ALWAYS in the ring.

to me, his key indentifying feature was the black dunlop sneakers....... With the valcro strap!

paraletic · August 2016

Does he still use twitter???

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

Saw an old fella chase him one Saturday out of Belmont racecourse over the old train line , the days when the train stopped and departed very close to the main entrance. The old boy was shouting...'I'm gunna get you!' He was serious too. Sean had some good laughs over the years about that incident.

youknowit · August 2016

The Penguin (allegedly) also liked to put his hands in the bookies bag and grab a handful of coins, might be something in that if he's banned

lick · August 2016

Race meetings too long - 30 mins apart should be the norm , and reduce drink/food prices.

Markovina · August 2016

In the colourful days of racing - i vary rarely went to gallops - but one day there i think it might have been Ascot a mid weeker along time ago - and as the beaten horses were coming back to the mounting yard - i was on the fence - and i had a go at Paul Dyson ( i had backed his unplaced mount ) and from the saddle he told me to get feucked .

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

Saw some good banter between one of the regular Greek punters out at the track and a senior jockey as they were coming back to scale...they both gave as good as they took...enter security fellow with hand on punters shoulder...oh brother.

goose · August 2016

JayJay said:
Any galah that even thinks about mentioning terms like Key Performance Indicators, Stakeholders, Quality Assurance control, Enhancement of the Experience, Rationalisation or any of the other myriad of weasel words and corporate jargon should be arseholed out the door before they even get to interview.

Jay Jay it is a sad fact that the bullshitters are winning worldwide the whole joint is being over run by multinationals full of these exact types who thrive on the **** they justify their own existence because they run the show.

No one is standing up to them mining,oil and gas management multinational types would turn your stomach they will go on unchecked.

But yer the idea of a dictator would be worth a try in all seriousness would be interesting to watch a bloke like Damien Wyer have a crack at it he seems to have some new ideas.

Penguin always think of the Dunlop Kt's they looked a few sizes too big.

Ridersonthestorm33 · August 2016

Called out to Paul Dyson too...one day at Northam..that was to ask him if he thought he had got the photo..had my final shekels on..he gave the nod and said I think so. Fortunately he was correct. Was along way back to Perth if it went the other way.

spinking · August 2016

Think it was Tommy Pikes brother Geoff who jumped the fence one day at ascot and snotted a bloke bagging Tom for his ride

spinking · August 2016

Once saw a old bloke at Ascot bagging Rod Staples real bad he ran fourth Staples says to the old fella meet me out the front of the jockeys room after the last and I will give you back whatever you had on it , as long as you use it to buy a new set of teeth

Squiddy · August 2016

The penguin is a regular at the left bank in freo, has a cult following down there. Always up for a chat also

G'day Punter!

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