FAQs

What is The Straight?

The Straight is a digital publication featuring in-depth coverage of the racing, wagering and breeding industries.

Staffed by experienced and respected journalists and backed up with specialist columnists, it is designed to be a one-stop destination for those looking for news, features and analysis about the business of the thoroughbred industry.

It has a highly engaged audience, with over 9000 signed up free members, while the digital product reached over one million people since launch in late 2023.

We switched technology platforms in October 2025 and joined Indiegraf, which will allow us to better serve you, the audience, while maintaining our quality-led approach to covering the breeding, racing, and wagering industries.

What doesn’t change?

Firstly, the quality content you have come to enjoy will be maintained. Our commitment to independent news and analysis remains central to what we do, underpinned by the same editorial charter and the same professional level of coverage.

The basic functionality of The Straight is the same as it has been since our launch two years ago.

If you signed up to receive our newsletters, then these will continue as they were, with The Straight Daily News delivered every morning and our ‘Seven days in …’ feature newsletters still delivered every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

You can unsubscribe at any time from these newsletters by clicking the link at the bottom.

If you notice any bugs, or have any issue accessing any of our content or have any feedback about the new site, then please feel free to email info@thestraight.com.au.

What will change?

We haev introduced a paid membership program. This means that certain exclusive content will be available only to The Straight members who have paid the monthly or annual subscription fee.

The cost of membership will be $19 per month (inc GST) or $199 per year (inc GST).

We are offering a discount to those who sign up to an annual membership by November 30. Enter EARLYMEMBER2 in the coupon code to secure $20 off. 

Corporate discounts are available to companies or organisations with more than 10 accounts.

Membership is the only way to guarantee access to all content across The Straight.       

Non-members will still get access to our daily and feature newsletters (should they sign up), selected news and feature content, our podcasts, The Straight Jobs, plus one member-only article per month.  

How do I sign up?

Go to the Membership link at the top of the page. Enter your details, click on whether you want a monthly or yearly membership, create a unique and secure password and follow the prompts to create an account.

Please note, even if you previously had an account on our previous system, you will need to create a new account.

You will be prompted for payment. Our payment is facilitated through Stripe and is encrypted and secure.

Payment is best made by credit card, but can also be facilitated via Google Pay. If you wish to pay via a different method, please contact info@thestraight.com.au.

If you have a discount or coupon code, you can use it during this process when prompted. We are offering a discount to those who sign up to an annual membership by October 31.

How do I manage my account?

Once you are signed in, you can change your details, payment methods and membership status by clicking My Account at the top of the site. 

If you wish to cancel your subscription, then please do so via this method, clicking the subscription option. If you cancel, you will still have access to The Straight membership until the end of your current payment period.

I have an issue with my membership. What do I do?

Please contact us at info@thestraight.com.au and we will look to resolve it as soon as possible.

Why would I pay for a membership?

As we said, membership is the only way to guarantee access to all content across The Straight.

The Straight’s focus is on providing the best news, analysis and features for those who have a professional or commercial interest in the racing, wagering and/or breeding industries.

These interlinked industries are complex, and their coverage requires a professional-level understanding of the issues that affect those involved.

We want not only to continue serving this market but also to expand it.

Providing that professional level of coverage and sourcing that level of expertise has a cost, and in order to preserve our quality and independence, paid membership is a key aspect of our long-term commercial model.

When we launched The Straight, we said this was our plan. We have just been waiting for the right moment to launch this, and the new platform makes that possible.

The value The Straight provides will differ for each person, but for those who value what we do and the service we offer, the membership fee will be worth paying.

There will be people who don’t believe in paying for content or who feel the value we offer isn’t worth the price of a membership. That’s fine, as mentioned, The Straight will always have some content made freely available.

Will you still have advertising?

The commercial model for The Straight has been driven by advertising in its first 22 months, with the intention to go to a hybrid membership/advertising framework.

Advertising will always feature on our site and in our newsletters.  If you are interested in advertising with The Straight, check out our Advertise With Us page. 

Why The Straight?

The Straight is the decisive point of any racing contest. It is the place where the whips are cracking, where winners are crowned, and losers are consigned. It is where history is made.

We are in that very spot when it comes to covering the thoroughbred industry. We report and analyse as the key decisions are made and the winners and losers in the racing, wagering and bloodstock industry are decided.

It also has a dual meaning. In an industry which is often full of media spin, and which can be less than straight forward, it is our brand promise to be ‘straight’ with our audience.

We report in the most straightforward way. We are on a mission to educate and inform our audience and help our members master the complexity of the specific areas of the thoroughbred industry.

Who are those involved with The Straight?

The Straight was founded by Bren O’Brien and brought to life with the backing of people who share in Bren’s vision for an independent professional level of coverage of the racing, wagering and bloodstock industries.

Bren has an extensive background in digital media, and specifically in the three aspects of the broader thoroughbred industry which The Straight focussed on. He has become an industry leading journalist and analyst in the wagering, racing and bloodstock space.

Over the many conversations held with industry leaders in this space over the years, it was apparent that the value of independence, in a media landscape tied up in conflicted interests, has never been greater. There is a real desire to cut through the parochialism and self interest and provide a level of professional independent coverage that an industry of this size, not only requires, but demands.

Joining Bren is experienced thoroughbred journalists, Warwick Barr and Tim Rowe, plus freelance contributors. These experts in the field share the vision for an independent media company to report and discuss the challenges and opportunities of these industries.

How independent is independent?

The Straight is committed to an editorial charter which defines how we report and analyse the racing, wagering and bloodstock industries.

This charter commits the editorial team to best practice when it comes to how we source and report on stories, focusing on balance, fairness and independence.

The editorial coverage and decision-making of The Straight is determined by the editorial team, headed by the Managing Editor.

Any advertisers, commercial partners or investors in The Straight have no influence on the editorial agenda.

The other reason why independence matters is it is a key commercial driver for the success of the business. Without this independence, the value of what The Straight offers is significantly diminished.

Our reputation for reporting without fear or favour is one of our key commercial assets, and why we want people to become members, because they see the value in that.