smokin

With the announcement that the Future Music Festival will be held on the 12th March making it clash with the Randwick Guineas meeting, the response has been swift in condemnation and ridicule for the decision that the AJC has made.

Trainers have come out quickly to condemn the move, punters are up in arms and the "participants" are apparently appalled!

Is this the new environment that things are going to exist in, post possible win of the race fields legislation case?

If this announcement had been made only 7 days earlier, the overall response would of been, looking at the bottom line, a possible 600K return to the industry for the use of one of its facilities is worth the disruption. However, now everyone is falling into the golden carrot of money being thrown around from left right and centre and losing sight of what the AJC is attempting to do with the festival.

An event that has grown from 7K to 42K people in the time that the race-club has hosted it is too good to lose. Especially when the competition is so hot for events as it is. Here the race club has discovered and developed a new revenue stream that has been the mantra of the Druitt St bunker and everyone who has had two cents to add to the racing debate, yet they are quick to jump down the throat of the club for doing exactly that.

To move the event away from Randwick is total lunacy.

I don't recall reading or hearing that the AJC and Racing NSW has decided to cancel the Randwick Guineas Next year, they are moving it to another of the AJC's racing facilities, or is that more the problem here?

The AJC has Warwick Farm that more often than not sits there, yet provides more training hours to more horses than any other facility in Sydney. It already has had the Chelmsford and Warwick stakes meetings taken off it, so it gets to run the Randwick Guineas for one year. Big deal!

600k to the AJC for the movement of 1 Group 1 race, for 1 year to accommodate the earning capacity of the facility, or stuff the money and host the raceday which may make 30K if they were lucky?

Don't cut your nose to spite your face. If the AJC has a guaranteed revenue stream, foster it, harbour it and turn it into genuine money that can be reinvested back into the facility and the industry.

smokin.....