I simply do not have time to challenge all of Peter V'Landys statements on this week's edition of Racenet's Punters Show, so I won't. There were so many inconsistencies, and so many statements that defy fact. As usual, Peter spent most of his televised time repeating the same long-winded rhetoric to ensure that his interviewer's questioning was reduced to a minimum. He refused to allow, let alone acknowledge, host Dallas Baker making any refuting arguments. He answered different questions than what were asked of him. He continues to believe that shouting down any opposition to his line of thought makes him correct. Clearly, I was offended that I am an industry participant that Peter V'Landys has no time for, not only on one, but two fronts. a) Professional winning punters are "rogue participants" in this industry, and are not important. b) Independant media writers who have different views to Racing NSW are corporate bookmaker lackeys. It appears I am guilty on both counts. But I don't see how my turnover is any less important than the next punter, and I don't get paid by anyone to push a view.
Peter did make some valid points. No doubting that. But they don't deserve to be listed here considering the number of clearly misleading and incorrect statements he also put forward. Despite his continued line of "fairness", clearly, punters' are going to be the primary taxed participant in the horseracing industry, going into the future. There appears to be no fallback from this position if punters, collectively, leave the industry. There are no legislated industry watchdogs put in place to protect punters, and there is no interest from any official to change that situation. It was difficult for the panel to get a word in throughout the show, but I wish the following questions had been raised: * If computers are banned from NSW racecourses to stop commission agents, then how come we still have a major problem with commission agents regardless? * If the country racing fields are so overflowing due to Benchmark handicapping that runners need to be balloted, then why do we need to increase prizemoney in the country areas? * If the reason for continuing the court cases instead of negotiating fees with Corporate Bookmakers is so that Racing NSW is protected from a future rogue bookmaker/s who choose not to pay anything, then why not address that situation when it actually occurs, considering that it may not occur for a very long time? and one further question, probably not so important for the industry, but I am personally very interested: * What was Peter V'Landy's secret to being a winning punter between the ages of 10 and 18? And why did he give professional punting away at such an early age? This week’s edition of the PUNTERS SHOW is now available for viewing here. But it comes with a health warning: it is tiresome, obnoxious, and lengthy. Kevin Skene, TRACKDATA, 22/07/2010 |
SO MUCH BLUSTER I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN
