Straight Up – The Brickpit – Foresight or a furphy?

The entire Rosehill issue has evolved into a complex melange of politics, power, real estate, transport and, occasionally, the best place to race Sydney’s top thoroughbreds.

Seeing the wood for the trees is hard enough, let alone when you throw in 25,000 homes on Rosehill, varying estimates of the development from $1.6 billion to $23 billion, and a possible new racecourse on a site currently occupied by a wetland which evolved on an old industrial brickpit.

Is the Brickpit, located at Homebush, a legitimate option for a fourth racecourse in metropolitan Sydney, or is it a furphy, a distraction or a rodeo clown, in a process which has yet to provide little clarity on what the future landscape of Sydney racing may look like?

Racing NSW provided the most detail yet on its thoughts around the Brickpit during last week’s Select Committee inquiry. Chief Operating Officer Graeme Hinton was very much on the front foot, making it a key aspect of his opening statement.

He said he and CEO Peter V’landys were determined to ‘think big’ on a replacement for Rosehill. That includes the likelihood that any new racetrack on the Homebush site would take out two major roads in run into sites on Wentworth Common and bordering mangroves.

Significantly, V’landys re-iterated Racing NSW wouldn’t support the sale of Rosehill unless an alternative site was secured by the ATC.

Much of this detail was lost in V’landys’ more sensational testimony on the day but adds important context to the Rosehill discussion.

Rosehill is far from the only racecourse with questions about its future. There has been significant discussion about Thoroughbred Park in Canberra, with the ACT Labor government committing to a partial redevelopment recently which would preserve racing and training on the site.

The Greens are keen to shutter the local racing industry, attempting to leverage it as a housing issue ahead of an October election, but the government’s move makes that path much harder in a boost for racing in the national capital.

Meanwhile in Tasmania, long-awaited legislation which will completely revamp that state’s integrity structure has passed through parliament.

Staffing is one of the biggest issues in the Australian thoroughbred industry and building pathways to recruit young people is a major priority.

Racing SA is implementing a program to introduce year 11 and 12 students to the racing industry and that program is being spearheaded by Group 1-winning jockey Clare Lindop.

Combining with Racing Queensland as a registered training organisation, Racing SA will deliver a Certificate II in Racing to encourage school leavers into the industry.

There is plenty going on in the wagering space at the moment, with gambling advertising reforms on the national political agenda throughout this week.

But beyond that, we had Sportsbet’s parent company Flutter confirm that its Australian arm is still weathering a downturn, spearheaded by a decline in racing. Meanwhile, betr’s brand will live on after it was chosen as the new consumer vehicle for the newly merged Bluebet Holdings.

Waterhouse VC’s investment in data and content company Racing and Sports is also another interesting development, so too was managing director Tom Waterhouse’s comments about his ongoing faith in racing as a profitable space for investors.

With spring just around the corner, attention turns to stakes racing at Caulfield and Rosehill this weekend.

Warwick Barr spoke to Fortuna Racing’s John Galvin, one of the key players in the story of 14-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle, to talk about the spring ambitions for his promising filly Bellatrix Star.

Enjoy your racing weekend!

Regards

Bren O’Brien

Managing Editor and Founder

The Straight