January was certainly a month that the Central Queensland racing fraternity will remember for quite a while.

Blondes really had more fun at Callaghan Park on the 19th January when four lady jockeys, between them, made history and rode all of the winners on the seven race program. Among them were local apprentice Alisha Taylor.

The magnificent new grass track was opened on 29th January with an excellent race card and before a large crowd of racing enthusiasts. It is truly a credit to all involved with the project and has passed all tests, particularly that of recovery from wet weather effects, with flying colours.

On a more serious note the future of Callaghan Park, and indeed that of the racing industry in Central Queensland, was discussed at a meeting between the Rockhampton Jockey Club (RJC) and Queensland Racing Limited (QRL)

executives.

QRL have delivered an ultimatum that in return for the recent track development and further substantial investment at Callaghan Park they are seeking direct control and overall management of the racetrack itself and ancillary facilities.

This is likely to be achieved through a joint ownership arrangement of the facility with the RJC via a separate corporate entity.

The management model as proposed by QRL will ensure the future of the provincial racing industry and will drag it, albeit kicking and struggling at times, into the 21st Century. From a strategic business perspective QRL need to have full control over the facilities that they will manage, to ensure that a consistent standard is delivered across all tracks and to ultimately protect the industry’s sizeable investment.

However the methods that the QRL Board adopt when making these somewhat radical changes are certainly unpalatable to a large number of industry participants. Most feel that they need to adopt a more consultative approach when dealing with the stakeholders in the industry. This has created a large degree of distrust of the overall reasons behind the changes being made.

However, in the cold light of day, we need the support of QRL to ensure that our local industry not only survives but also flourishes. There is little doubt that if the ultimatum delivered by QRL is not acceded to, our future looks bleak indeed. Our main focus should now be on lobbying to retain, or hopefully expand on, the number of race meetings held in provincial and country areas.