Racing Queensland shuts down punters filming on course

Racing Queensland
IF there’s one way to put punters’ noses out of joint a month out from your biggest racing carnival of the year, this is the way to do it.

Racing Queensland has purportedly issued Twitter page Punters Collective a cease and desist order on filming footage from the mounting yard at all Queensland racing meets at the behest of Sky Racing.

The Brisbane Racing Club CEO contacted the administrator of Punters Collective Nick Meredith directly to inform him of the news, who believes the move was made by Sky to “protect their content”.

Meredith, who wanted to stress he has had nothing but support from both the Brisbane Racing Club and Racing Queensland, said he was “expecting (the ban) at some stage”.

“Seems petty but it’s only a very small part of what we are doing,” Meredith told HorseBetting.com.au.

“(The ban) Just makes us more determined to be honest.”

The move is a surprising one given the social media success racing has been over the last year.

The top trending topics on a Saturday race day are typically thoroughbred racing related, and the bigger races generate as many discussions across Facebook and Twitter as any of the nation’s larger sporting codes.

Punting pages on Twitter especially have been a great strength of the racing community since social media’s inception, giving enthusiasts the opportunity to let their voices be heard as well as provide on-track updates and footage for those who cannot make it to the track.

Sky Racing is yet to issue a statement on the situation, but punters have rallied around the Twitter page.

A flood of condemnation came in from all angles.

It is unclear at this stage what is behind the move, but ostensibly the cease and desist order is to protect Sky’s content agreement alongside Racing Queensland.

HorseBetting.com.au has contacted Sky Racing and Racing Queensland for comment and will provide statements when they come to hand.

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DC
DC
6 years ago

Looks as though Sky Racing is trying to protect their product, but the punter gets shafted as usual!