Meeting to protest changes in Qld racing

Sunday 13 December 2015, 12:49pm

Organisers expect several hundred people to attend a public meeting to protest changes to the Queensland racing industry.

Organiser Ian McAuley has been an outspoken critic of the changes which include a $18.8 million decrease in prize money and a restructuring of the control board system.

McAuley, who is on the committee of the Kilcoy Race Club, says he hopes the meeting at Doomben on Wednesday will endorse a recommendation calling on the state government to scrap the idea of a ruling board composed of a majority of non-racing industry people.

He said it was also hoped the meeting would call on government to appoint a board under the current guidelines and that board not make any changes until a strategy had been worked out.

New Queensland Racing Minister, Grace Grace, made her first trip to the races at Doomben on Saturday.

She spent the afternoon informally talking with Brisbane Race Club officials, trainers and the general public.

Grace said she would be listening to complaints but warned there was no magic fix for racing.

Meanwhile, Racing Queensland's acting chief executive Ian Hall has moved to clarify comments he made last week regarding industry income.

Hall raised eyebrows when he said RQ was working more closely with corporate bookmaker SportsBet, a rival to RQ's main source of income, UBET.

Under the racing funding model, the Queensland racing industry would receive significantly more revenue if all wagering was undertaken via UBET.

"The importance of the UBET relationship has been outlined in the Tracking Towards Sustainability Plan," Hall said.

He said RQ was working closely with UBET to promote racing in Queensland including the current State of Origin jockeys series.

"However, in today's wagering environment, achieving all wagering through UBET is not a realistic expectation," he said.

"Racing Queensland recognises the importance of developing positive working relationships with all wagering operators who showcase our product.

"The Queensland racing industry's objective is for Queensland racing to be a wagering product of choice for Australians."

– AAP

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