With New South Wales TAB’s open for business and owners allowed back on track from tomorrow, Victoria’s racing industry is lagging far behind with no date set for a return.
While it’s okay to walk into a Pub-TAB in Albury, New South Wales, this weekend to put on a bet, it’s not across the river in Wodonga. This is duplicated right along the border.
Every bet benefits the local industry in the state it is placed.
Ongoing restrictions in Victoria over the busy long weekend leaves our local industry hamstrung and many likely to travel over the border to NSW where they can have a flutter.
To rub further salt into the wound, NSW owners will return to the track tomorrow at Randwick, but they are still banned at the Flemington meeting.
The NSW industry is boasting that it also has a plan from government to open up on course attendances to members and then the general public, but Victoria has no timeframe. – we are a million miles behind NSW.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Racing Tim Bull:
“Due to the inaction of the Andrews Labor Government, NSW Racing CEO Peter V’Landys and racing in that state wins again.
“Of course we will hear Daniel Andrews and his Racing Minister point to health advice, but history tells us they are happy to overrule the chief health officer when it suits them.
“There is no health advice to say Pub-TAB’s can’t be open or preventing owners returning to the track. The fact is NSW is supporting its racing sector and is proactive about it returning to normal as soon as possible, but in Victoria we are not. I would also like to see the industry advocating more strongly and asking why we can have 200 people in Bunnings, but we can’t have 200 owners on course, in a much bigger space, under the same restrictions.”
