IGB plan raft of measures to boost turnover and prizemoney
A combination of the normal 5% increase with a cut back in incentive schemes allows the Board to increase prizemoney grants by 10%, or a total of approximately €450,000. This money will cover the prizemoney at the new Dundalk track with the balance providing for extra races as required at local tracks.
However the Board has a few other moves up their sleeves in this regard. They plan to impose a 1% levy on punters' winning bets and the money raised will go back towards prizemoney at the track where it was collected.
The Board also plans to increase the number of races at each developed track on Friday and Saturday nights. The normal schedule is ten races but each track will be expected to stage eleven races while it's possible that the two Dublin tracks will be increased to twelve races. Apart from increasing the commercial take, it will also have the effect of substantially increasing the betting revenue with the bookmakers and the tote.
There will be a new distribution system for prizemoney in feature events with the size of the winner's prize now limited to a maximum 50% of the total prizefund while there will be an increase in the size of the cheques for the other finalists.
Obviously all these proposed moves will have to be discussed with the various sectors and the later finishing times could well meet with opposition in certain quarters. In addition, in order to achieve a greater number of races, extra kennels will have to be provided at certain tracks.
Saturday's meeting at Curraheen Park features the final of the Bambury Bookmakers 525 and here Dower Jet will be expected to take the prize of €1,200 on the evidence of a blistering 28.48 semi-final effort.
The 12 dog €700 January 29.20 Stake closes on Monday night with the heats next Thursday while entries close on Tuesday for the 12 dog €700 Bally Burdon 29.00 Stake. Next week's Getting Out Stake is a 28.70 525 contest and it also closes on Tuesday.
Brian Collins is inundated with entries at Youghal and is thinking along the lines of resuming Tuesday night racing earlier than planned. He has the semi-finals of the Quality Meats 30.00 Stake as the highlight of his card tomorrow night.
The build up to the Clonmel Festival of racing, in conjunction, with the National Coursing Meeting, gets under way tonight with the first session of heats of the valuable IGB Unraced Stake. The remaining heats will be run on Sunday evening with the final to be run on Tuesday, February 3rd.
Once again this year there will be international races over 550, 750 and 1,015 yards on the final night of the Powerstown gathering, Wednesday, February 4th. The two shorter races will have a winner's prize of €3,000 each while the eight bend marathon will carry a €1,500 prize.
Racing over the festival period will take place each night from Saturday, January 31st to Thursday, February 5th inclusive. Tonight's Clonmel card features the final of the New Year 575 in addition to the unraced heats.
Okay, it may be only the first week of January but what do owners and trainers want for their pups. We have regularly been regaled by trainers over the lack of opportunities for puppies who have clocked fast times in their first or second race.
So the Track Bookmakers Puppy 525 at Harold's Cross looked the perfect competition. A prize of €7,500 for three runs for pups whelped in February '02 or later looked a real winner. Entries were to close on Tuesday last but up to Wednesday afternoon Eamonn Mackey had only received 16 entries and so is being forced to run the competition as a 12 dog two-run affair and with a much reduced winner's prize.
As a consequence, the HX management are seriously questioning their policy of staging as many puppy events as possible and the only people to blame are those who shun such a valuable and well framed competition.
Shelbourne punters this weekend have the entire first round of the €10,000 John J Casey 575 and the Stephen Bourke trained Karma Knight (ex Droopys Ferdy) has been put in the 4-1 favourite by Paddy Power. He goes in a red hot concluding heat where fellow leading fancies The Other Domino and Chestnut Jet are in opposition.
The Paddy Power betting is: 4 Karma Knight; 6 Chestnut Jet; 8 Detagh Davy; 10 The Other Domino; 12 Three Bells Hell; 14 Kanoute, Shelbourne Dell; 16 Davran Chief, Glenske Honcho; 20 Alamshar, Bo Bo, Johnny Jump Up; 25 bar.
On the subject of Shelbourne there has been a massive response to the appeal for sponsors and nominators for the major President's Awards Gaisce Benefit Night on January 22nd. The pool is currently heading towards €175,000 but there are still spots open for sponsors at €3,000, nominators at €1,000, restaurant seats at €100 each and donations at €50. There are also twelve top class races to be filled with magnificent trophies on offer.
It has been decided to give prizemoney across the board of €500, €200 and €100 for the first three in each race.
The Stanley Racing Tax Free Open 525 is the most valuable event ever run at Galway and the first round will be run on Saturday, along with the final of the Bypass Byway 525.
It's also a busy weekend at Waterford with the semis of the Friday Night 29.80 Stake tomorrow and then the semis of the Waterford Fireplaces 730 on Saturday.
The semi-finals of the Comerford Cakes Novice 750 will be run at Newbridge tomorrow while there are a few graded stake finals down for decision at Limerick on Saturday.
