VIC Racing doomed!

Seventeen horses have been balloted from Thursday's Cranbourne meeting as Victorian trainers attempt to give their horses a run ahead of next week's race-free period.

A total of 475 nominations were received for eight races at Cranbourne but advertised field limits range from 11 to 14 starters plus four emergencies due to the seven-metre rail position which ensures that no more than 101 horses, excluding emergencies, will be able to compete.

The demand for a berth at Cranbourne on Thursday saw Racing Victoria split two races, a 1300-metre maiden and a 1000-metre Benchmark 64 race, as well as adjusting field limits to enable up to six emergencies per race.

As a consequence, 176 acceptances, including emergencies, have been listed for Thursday's 10-race card.

CRANBOURNE, THURSDAY - MEETING BREAKDOWN

Race 1: 2YO Maiden Plate (1000m) - 20 original acceptances
11 starters, 6 emergencies, 3 balloted

Race 2: Maiden Plate (1000m) - 24 original acceptances
11 starters, 6 emergencies, 7 balloted

Race 3: Maiden Plate (2060m) - 18 original acceptances
14 starters, 4 emergencies, 0 balloted

Race 4 & 5: Maiden Plate (1300m) - 40 original acceptances
28 starters, 12 emergencies, 0 balloted

Race 6: Benchmark 64 Handicap (1300m) - 27 original acceptances
14 starters, 6 emergencies, 7 balloted

Race 7 & 8: Benchmark 64 Handicap (1000m) - 29 original acceptances
22 starters, 7 emergencies, 0 balloted

Race 9: Class 1 Handicap (1200m) - 17 original acceptances
12 starters, 5 emergencies, 0 balloted

Race 10: Benchmark 78 Handicap (2060m) - 18 original acceptances
14 starters, 4 emergencies, 0 balloted

The surge in acceptances for the Cranbourne fixture comes as RV has cleared the calendar next week, scheduling no race meetings from Monday, July 26 to Friday, July 30, which has caused consternation in some training quarters.

With acceptances to be taken on Thursday morning, hundreds of entries are anticipated for Sunday's meetings at Sale and Wangaratta, which will be the last thoroughbred fixtures in the state until the final day of this season at The Valley and Pakenham Synthetic on Saturday, July 31.

Racing Victoria’s executive general manager of racing Greg Carpenter said the negative reaction from some parts of the industry to next week’s race-free trial has surprised him.

Following enormous nominations for Sunday’s Sale and Warracknabeal meetings - which are to be the final meetings for six days in Victoria - some trainers have expressed their dismay at the trial and the ramifications of a backlog of horses ready to run during a week of no racing.

But Carpenter said on Wednesday that he was more than satisfied licensed people should have known and prepared for the race-free week, which is being trialed in an attempt to find some downtime for the hard-working participants after a long season.

He said it was as if some stables had simply turned the page of the calendar and found no racing in Victoria next week.

“This was announced three times,” Carpenter said. “It has been out there for 18 months so there has been plenty of time to make plans for this period.”

Carpenter said he had even heard comments that Victoria will have less races for the season due to the week off.

“What people have to understand is there are no less race meetings no less races, no less VOBIS bonuses to be paid and no less racing opportunities as we’re running the same amount of races as we have in past seasons.”

He said it was not preferred to run 10-race programs but Sunday’s new Warracknabeal meeting could rise to 10 on the back of 454 nominations. RV has already extended Thursday’s Cranbourne meeting to 10 races to meet some of the demand.

Field limits of 12 at Warracknabeal on Sunday however mean that if there are 10 races, just 120 of those horses nominated across the original seven races will face the starter.

There were 504 horses nominated for the flat and jumps Sale meeting across nine races on Sunday, but it is unlikely a race will be split to find a 10th race because of the logistics involved with running a mixed flat and jumps meeting.

Final acceptances are taken for both meetings on Thursday morning

The Australian Trainers' Association led a last-minute push to postpone next week's race-free trial in Victoria, arguing the current lockdown in the state should see racing continue.

ATA CEO Andrew Nicholl and President Robbie Griffiths met with Racing Victoria Chairman Brian Kruger and CEO Giles Thompson ahead of an RV board meeting on Tuesday this week.

Nicholl told Racing.com their late argument to race next week was based around participants' inability to travel and have a meaningful break due to the lockdown and that any data from the race-free trial would not be adequate.

He said that trainers are also mindful of the number of horses in Victoria currently needing to find a race.

Their arguments were then presented to the RV Board late on Tuesday and while there was some support of scheduling meetings next week, the RV Board ultimately decided to proceed with the original plan to give participants a five-day break.

"Robbie and I had a conversation with Brian Kruger and Giles Thompson, just to say look at the current climate here in Victoria, we understand the objectives from a RV perspective was to lighten to load, but we now also need to look at what's best for the participants, they can't go on holidays, they can't even leave the house," Nicholl said.

"In the current climate, when we are talking lockdown, border closures and the inability to really do anything, are we really going to get data from this trial that is going to be meaningful?

"We are locked in a bubble, people really aren't allowed out of their homes, punters are sitting on the couch. Are we really achieving the end game with this trial?

"But we put this to them, 'Let's not abandon the trial, why don't we defer this initiative to another time to later in the year, and we can do it in a free environment and test the waters to produce the data we want to see'."

Nicholl said RV had 'been terrific' working through a backlog of horses wanting to run following a number of cancelled meetings due to poor weather and track conditions.

But he said the backlog of horses needing a run, and missing out, was another factor in pushing for meetings to be scheduled next week.

"You have 475 nominations at Cranbourne [on Thursday] and RV have been terrific trying to accommodate some changes to ensure as many horses get into a field," he said, adding that measures had been implemented, including increasing emergency numbers for Thursday's meeting.

"But you've got a program and that hasn't been overly conducive [to horses getting a run].

"And our view was to reconsider, move it to the later part of the year, and let's trial it then."

Nicholl said RV's leaders took on his points, which were presented to the Board.

"Brian and Giles then took it to the Board, and they then had the conversation late into yesterday," he said.

"It did go close, but there are other factors too that worked against it … but kudos to RV for listening to the participants and what we wanted."

While the Victorian Jockeys' Association's members were largely in support of a break next week, with 80 per cent saying they were in favour, 57 per cent of trainers voted against the trial.

"The view of many trainers is it's RV's job to program meetings and for trainers to decide where and when they race and that's a very fundamental view of many them and a forced week off is forcing them in a way to change how they think and caused many of them to come out publicly and disagree," he said.

"Clearly, we are disappointed for the trainers, given those factors, they clearly wanted the choice to run or not rather than have that option taken away.

"They are going to be disappointed, the material benefits [from a week off] is immaterial to them really, they don't attend every race day as it is, they will often just send the foreman, it may give them a little bit of lay period during the day, but they still have significant amount of other tasks to complete."

The ATA's original feedback around the trial was just one of many provided to an RV sub-committee, but Nicholl said he understood RV's decision took into consideration other participant groups.

"They took back the feedback, but the benefit of the week is not targeted at just one group," he said.

"We will sit down with RV and really examine what we want to achieve in this area, it has much a material benefit for trainers, the participant group they are also targeting, its race-day officials, barrier attendants, vet staff, jockeys etc, etc..."

Connections of about 100 horses are likely to be denied a start across Victoria's two Sunday meetings ahead of next week's race-free week-day period.

Races have been divided at Warracknabeal and Sale to accommodate the overwhelming number of acceptors at each venue.

A total of 504 nominations were received for Sale, which will host nine races, starting with three jumps events. Twenty-six horses were balloted from the remaining six flat races, which feature 31 emergencies.

Earlier this week, Racing Victoria scheduled a meeting at Warracknabeal on Sunday due to the state of the Wangaratta course proper and that meeting was also inundated with entries.

Ten flat races will be held at Warracknabeal, with 10 horses balloted, 41 horses listed as emergencies and fields no greater than 12 with the rail out two metres the entire circuit.

After Sunday, the next Victorian meetings will be held at The Valley and Pakenham Synthetic on Saturday, July 31.