The folly of having two NSW racing awards nights should not happen again. The first was an awards night for the humans hosted by Racing NSW after a race meeting at Rosehill, then five days later the horse awards, the domain of the NSW Racehorse Owners' Association, was a more glamorous affair at the Star last Thursday.
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Racing is once again shooting itself in the foot. The industry does not get many opportunities to come together because of its nature, being a seven-day-a-week business, and two awards nights further divide it.
The idea behind the Racing NSW night was to honour the people within in the industry, but to take it away from the traditional night hosted by the owners' association simply does not make sense. Recognition awards should be given in front of the biggest audience and that is the owners' night.
What should be a celebration of what is good about the industry became a point-scoring exercise. The crowds were similar for both events and the debate about why are there two awards nights got a good airing.
There is a need to recognise the leading jockey, trainer and apprentice, which the Racing NSW awards did, but it was only for the metropolitan premiership winners, the state premiership winners did not get a mention. The award to Robert Thompson for his 4000-winner milestone and Billy Dale for his lifetime in racing could have quite easily been fitted into the night at the Star.
There is no legitimate reason for two award ceremonies and both need fine-tuning. The horse awards once again threw up what would be called a surprise result. The owners' awards are for NSW-owned horses that perform anywhere in the country. They are decided by a points system and this year's winner was Boban, a three-time group 1 winner for the season. Taking nothing away from Boban's achievements, Fiorente should have won the horse of the year given he won the Melbourne Cup and Australian Cup. The imported stayer will fight out the Australian horse of the year title with Lankan Rupee.
The points system has its place to give category winners of sprinter, miler, middle distance and stayer as well as the age-group award, but horse of the year should be decided by a panel of experts. They should be given the the category winners and then make an assessment on the quality of races they have have won to come up with the horse for the year. Racing NSW and the owners should sit down and put together a night where the industry can celebrate – with the centrepiece being the Bart Cummings Medal and horse of the year.
The idea of recognising metropolitan premiership winners at the track has merit and maybe should be done on the first Saturday of any new season. However, it should connect with the punters and be done between races rather in a room after the last. That would leave the state premiership winners to be awarded at the industry awards. If done properly, the NSW racing awards night would be a time for all rather than an elite few. It would be on all racing folks' calendars. It would give racing a chance to celebrate and recognise its achievements and, for one night, can do so together as one.
