Dear Members,
The curtain has come down on another successful Magic Millions Carnival and congratulations to everyone involved.
The Carnival just keeps on getting bigger and better each year and some of the results achieved both on and off the track are certainly reflective of that.
Early indications suggest wagering and turnover figures were up on previous years and that result was no doubt assisted by the largest ever racing program with 11 races.
On the sales front, more than 1000 yearlings were sold over the course of the week-long sale, with figures up across the board.
Whilst there is certainly no stopping the higher end of the market, despite external economic influences, it was great to see that there were also bargains to be had at the middle to lower end of the market.
The racing was again extremely competitive, and we all know how hard it is to qualify a runner for the day, so congratulations to all that were able to experience being a part of the big day.
It was wonderful to witness some of the scenes in the mounting yard with large groups of owners and syndicates celebrating winners across the program.
It is those types of scenes that will assist with getting more owners involved in racing into the future.
Well done to all the winning owners, trainers and jockeys.
AGM UPDATE
At our most recent QTOA Committee meeting earlier this month, we were able to progress some of our financial matters and have commenced the process of our annual financial audit.
This will allow us to host our next AGM in early March, and we will advise QTOA members of a specific date and time once finalised.
One thing we do need to continue operating as a viable organisation moving forward is the support of our membership base.
We have been operating with around 300 paid or financial members for the first few years of our existence and we need further support if we are to grow the voice for owners in Queensland and remain viable.
We have been assisting owners with a number of matters in recent times from an advocacy point of view and what this has highlighted is some of the owners we are assisting have not not been paid members of the association previously.
In order to be able to continue assisting with disputes and advocate for owners - which takes time and resources - we urge as many owners as possible to become financial members of the association.
We thank our current financial members and commercial partners for their support as we look to grow the voice for Queensland owners.