A cycling day at the races
Posted August 27th, 2007 in Culture, Marketing
Right now the Australian horse racing industry is in lockdown mode because of a serious case of Equine Flu.
It’s a devastating thing to happen, for the thoroughbreds and to an industry that not only contributes hundreds of millions of dollars of economy and employment to Australia, but a rich cultural thread that is woven into our national myth making.
All Australians feel for our racing brothers and sisters right now.
But is there a short term way out for the racing and betting community? Can we as cyclists help? Simon Sharwood, the JargonMaster thinks so.
In any case, let me offer a modest proposal that could help in these horse-deprived times.
Bicycle racing.
Imagine that, instead of racegoers turning up to watch the horses charge down the straight, they instead got all dressed up to see mountain bike riders churning up the turf. We could put some berms and jumps around Randwick, Caulfield, Flemington and Rosehill. The crowds would love to see the lycra-clad riders (of both genders, naturally) and their shiny iron steeds.
I like it. Waddaya reckon?
technorati tags: cycling, bicycles, ideas, inspirations
What others have to say…
Did it about 15 years ago at Harold Park raceway as a MTB promo between races. Do you realise how sloooowww it is riding on really bumpy grass track? And it’s a long way around horse track.
The concept would need some work for sure.
Hi Phil. I know this is kinda OT, but you say “All Australians feel for our racing brothers and sisters right now.” - I’m not so sure about that…
Sure there’s lots of money being lost, but it’s a big business game. I’m certainly not losing sleep over it and I’m a bit taken aback by the blanket coverage of it all…
Allow me to be generous Grant, racing does have a lot of cultural meaning for many Australians and I for one won’t be churlish when their livelihoods are in doubt.
Sure it’s a big industry, but I’m willing to bet that many on the ground floor of this sport/business are motivated by the love of the animals first, there are a lot of stable hands etc that need the work.
And it is an industry that employs many characters that may not be so employable elsewhere.
I don’t think jockeys with their high pitched squeaky voices would make good call center workers, and the market for castrato singers is noticibly small these days.
Hehe - good point.
Mebbe I’m just a cynic, but I suspect the media focus is less about “the little guys” and more about the “big business” guys.
I suppose I’ve also never really got much cultural meaning out of racing, esp. horse racing (ironically, for an enviro-geek like me, motor racing is probably what I’ve connected with most) so that would explain the disconnect for me…
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not sure it will draw quite the same crownds, but it’s worth a shot.