
Dear Members,
As we embark on a new year, it represents a time of change for the Queensland Racing industry with a new Racing Minister and the announcement that Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott will depart in the coming months.
On behalf of the QTOA Board, we would like to thank Jason for his service to the industry and making himself available to stakeholders.
Whilst the nature of our respective relationships means we will not always agree on all topics, we appreciate Jason being accessible to owners and listening to our concerns.
The news comes as the QTOA prepares to meet with new Racing minister Tim Mander on February 13 alongside other members of the Queensland Thoroughbred Alliance (Breeders, Trainers and Owners).
The meeting will mark the start of a quarterly forum for key representatives to discuss matters of importance to the industry.
The QTOA will seek to ensure we have a significant voice in the new government’s priorities for the industry and we look forward to building strong lines of communications with Mr Mander and his office.
With a new year comes new hope, good things for owners and all involved in our great industry.
ADDITIONAL QTIS BONUSES FOR REGIONAL QLD
Following on from our proposal to Racing Queensland for additional QTIS prizemoney to be considered for North Queensland and Central Queensland, some new initiatives will be introduced from next month.
The new initiatives provided by RQ which will be trialled until May are as follows:
3yo/4yo/5yo Bonuses: Introduction of additional bonuses for 3, 4-& 5-year-olds on 2 selected races each month (i.e. one in each of the CQ/NQ regions respectively). Note, these races will not be restricted by age, rather will simply have the new bonuses programmed on them. This will be introduced in February 2025
3yo Handicaps, 1400m & further: These races will be programmed for both 3yo’s & 4yo’s going forward. Note, this change will make the previous (trial) protocol of adding (3yo) bonuses to other races on a program (if a 3yo race was deleted through insufficient nominations/acceptances) redundant.
3yo Handicaps, less than 1400m: If these races receive nomination numbers which, after nomination extension deadline, deem it likely to be deleted RQ may delete it prior to acceptances and instead may program a replacement race (at that meeting & calling for fresh nominations etc) for both 3yo’s & 4yo’s with QTIS bonuses applicable to both.
We would like to thank Racing Queensland for giving attention to our proposal and we will continue to press for what we think are equitable outcomes for regional Queensland.
LIGHTS PROVIDE A SILVER LINING TO CARNIVAL
The Magic Millions Carnival at the Gold Coast Turf Club was not without difficulty this year given the sabotage of the track and the intervention of bad weather.
It was reassuring to see the teams from Magic Millions, GCTC and Racing Queensland come together and respond quickly and efficiently to solve the problems.
Despite the challenges, the carnival was a great success and a tribute to all involved. Particular mention should be given to the success of the night racing meetings held under the spectacular new lighting at the track.
This will no doubt prove to be a significant boost for the region for many years to come.
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