Provincial race clubs in NSW are at loggerheads with Racing NSW over Saturday race dates.
Tension is mounting as the Wyong, Gosford and Hawkesbury clubs press to usurp more Saturday dates from Newcastle and Kembla Grange.
The long standing "agreement" that has seen the Newcastle Jockey Club and Illawarra Turf Club as the only two provincial clubs sharing Saturday meetings is under threat as the other three clubs seek to expand on the rare Saturday fixtures that have come their way in recent seasons.
Hawkesbury has successfully established its feature stand alone Saturday meeting in the late autumn while Gosford and Wyong have picked up rare Saturdays in tandem with metropolitan meetings in the last season.
However the gloves are off as Gosford and Wyong are stepping up their campaigns for a bigger share of the Saturday schedule, a move that has upset the financially stressed NJC.
Newcastle is set to lose two prime Saturday race meetings to Gosford and Wyong following the release by Racing NSW of draft race dates for the 2012/13 season.
Kembla Grange has also lost a Saturday meeting to Hawkesbury.
Gosford has taken a Newcastle Saturday date on February 9 next year and a second Saturday meeting corresponding with Australia Day on January 26 will be lost to Wyong under an agreement sanctioned by Racing NSW and the Provincial Racing Association.
Wyong has a three-year deal to race on Australia Day no matter what day it falls on, taking another Saturday date from Newcastle in 2013.
"The last thing we want is to lose Saturday dates," NJC chief executive officer Cameron Williams said after receiving the dates draft for next season.
"You don't put up your hand to lose Saturdays. I will be taking it further but it is hard to think that the dates we lost will be replaced now."
Newcastle, fighting back after taking a severe financial hit due to the recent closure of racing at Broadmeadow for 10 weeks to allow for urgent track repairs, has been handed a Sunday meeting in 2013 to replace the Saturday lost to Gosford.
However Williams says Sunday meetings at Broadmeadow have been a financial disaster.
'Saturday is a favourable race date for us. Saturday is when the corporate dollar is spent at Newcastle," he said.
'If we lose Saturday meetings, we lose momentum.
Gosford wants more Saturday dates and is pressing Racing NSW for a stand-alone date in November that will enable the club to promote a $1 million Super Saturday program featuring the Gosford Cup, Belle Of The Turf, Gosford Guineas and Takeover Target Pacesetter Stakes.
Gosford applied for Saturday November 24 this year as a stand-alone date but it has not been included in the draft of dates issued by Racing NSW.
'I was hoping for good news when the first draft of dates was handed to us but Canterbury has been pencilled in for the Saturday date we were looking for," said Gosford chief executive James Heddo.
Wyong is already planning a huge Saturday meeting on Australia Day in 2013 as it coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the Wyong track.
Gosford and Wyong argue that despite the Central Coast having a population of over 300,000 residents the current race date structure forces them to hold unprofitable midweek industry meetings which are poorly attended but still provide important returns for the entire racing industry.
"Racing on Saturdays provides the huge advantage in being able to drive on-course revenue through gate takings and bar and catering sales," said Gosford chairman Michael Cusick.
"This also leads to increased revenues through memberships and sponsorships. The question we ask is why Gosford, Wyong and Hawkesbury should continue to be so badly discriminated against through the provincial race date model.
“We feel we deserve some reward by way of race dates that more patrons are able to attend. I would be fascinated to hear the argument as to why that's an unreasonable position."
