Punt Drunk: Crowds back at Flemington for Christmas races
Happy Friday Eve, punters! The weekend is within touching distance, and those beers are in the fridge are ready to be downed.
It’s the official start of the Australian summer today with the first Test getting underway at Adelaide Oval, but we still have plenty of racing to keep us occupied if cricket isn’t your thing.
The first at Corowa isn’t too far away, so jump aboard punters, there’s money to be won!
Payne parts ways with First Light Racing
After a wonderful adventure, with some fantastic horses and owners, which included some great wins and a recent treble – it is with sadness that I have decided to no longer train horses for First Light Racing. I wish the amazing horses and owners, and First Light every success. pic.twitter.com/TSnoGZgEve
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) December 15, 2020
One of the more surprising things to happen in recent weeks was the news that Michelle Payne was stepping away from a syndicate that she has had plenty of success with, First Light Racing. There’s been plenty of winners to come from the FLR syndicate, but Payne decided to give them the flick after they questioned her training methods. Payne is about to bid farewell to 15 horses from her already small stable, leaving herself with only a handful of gallopers. If we were talking in footy terms, she’s just traded off some top talent to embark on a rebuild that will start with the Magic Millions sales.
RV takes step back on whip rules
NEWS: RV has today confirmed that it will not be conducting any ‘whip for safety only’ race trials for the foreseeable future, including during the 2021 Festival of Racing.https://t.co/OMQ7i30Dui
— Racing Victoria (@RacingInsider) December 15, 2020
Ah, some common sense! Racing Victoria has opted against whip-free races for the foreseeable future after copping some severe backlash from the people who matter most in the industry, the jockeys, trainers and owners. The governing body had hinted at increased prize money for races that had no whip use in them; however, to steal a line from Michelle Payne, the industry turned around and told them to “get stuffed”. To be honest, we’re not sure we could have put it any better.
Christmas comes early for Victorian punters
NEWS: #Flemington Racecourse to welcome back up to 5000 patrons https://t.co/hxmrGb02tR
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) December 16, 2020
We can head back to the races, Victorian punters! On Saturday, Flemington will welcome up to 5,000 spectators for its Christmas race day, which is a perfect present in itself. It will be the last meeting of the year at Racing HQ, where 15 of 25 meetings have been held behind closed doors thanks to the pandemic. So, you know what this means punters: time to dust of those 7-Eleven sunglasses, prepare your pockets for plenty of cash (or scrunched-up tickets), get ready to tell your mates, “He’s my bookie, I won a maiden with him five years back and now we can’t go wrong with him” and, most importantly, how good will it be checking the horses out in the parade ring?