Op-Ed: Racing NSW Equimillions 'A massive slap in the face'

Written by Sharon Manning, Godolphin Australia

Regarding the Racing NSW Equimillions weekend to promote people taking on thoroughbreds off-the-track thoroughbreds to rehome and give a good life after racing.

I was thinking this was such a good idea, until reading into the finer details and now seeing the feedback on social media even from a lot of my showing friends, which is not only disheartening but I feel it is putting a bigger divide in the public perception of the racing industry as a whole.

People that are taking and rehoming thoroughbreds are the 90 per cent that love the horses so much and can give them a perfect home, but they literally struggle themselves to live because they put every dollar into the horses with no return.

Now Racing NSW are giving those 90 per cent of people that own those horses a massive slap in the face, by bringing an event that could provide them an opportunity to compete their horses with the possibility of winning some money to help pay expenses, but no they have made it for those 10 per cent of elite competition people and horses that have the money already.

If only they could make the competition, say $100 per class (which is still excessive, but achievable for most) and have more classes with $5000 prizemoney split between first five to 10 placings (as an example) then different states could bring on the same competition and maybe take it to a big state versus state final which would be massive for rehoming in the future and bring a better light for all over racing which it needs sooner rather than later.

If this show goes ahead, it will be so detrimental to the racing industry and push the fact it is all about the mighty money rather than the horses we are racing.