Last year,I managed to upset certain groups with Racing NSW’s proposal to beam The Everest barrier draw onto the sails of the Opera House.
This year,I seemed to have upset our Victorian friends by daring to suggestthere should be a discussion or debate about moving the date of the Melbourne Cup. Ironically,it was more to assist the other Victorian metropolitan racing clubs to get more clean air for their races that I made those comments,than it was for the benefit of NSW.
I’m a firm believer that there should always be debates about things of importance. Issues that were significant in the past may not necessarily be so important to people now or in the future. For example,you used to walk into a supermarket 10-15 years ago to buy a loaf of bread and could choose between white or brown bread. Now there is a whole aisle to choose from.
Similarly,pubs in the'90s offered you New and Old beer. Now you have dozens of craft beers such as Indian Pale Ales,American Pale Ales,session beers and summer beers. The preferences of consumers have changed and businesses have moved with the times and tastes of the market.
If anything,the actions by Victoria to block The Everest from being officially elevated to Group 1 status has contributed to the success of the race with the younger demographic. Young people don‘t want to do the same things as their parents. When their parents joined Facebook,they started using Instagram. If a parent is seen wearing a particular brand of clothing,the sales to the younger generation plummet.
The younger non-racing demographic probably think Group 1 is the first group of people to get through the gates on race day. Group status,being something important to the older traditionalist,may actually be a deterrent to the younger generation for the same reasons that they moved from Facebook to Instagram and stopped buying clothes that their parents bought. The Everest is their generation’s race and they have embraced it and made it their own.
All that aside,the profile of a race in Group terms is still important to racing traditionalists,which is why it is still important for The Everest to be elevated to its proper status,instead of being denied such status for political and commercial reasons.
Ultimately,we should embrace the rivalry between Victoria and NSW. Competition breeds innovation and success. As a proud New South Welshman,I firmly believe that we need to do more for our state. One only has to look at the outcry and passion and assault from the Victorians when I had the audacity to mention that we should debate moving the Melbourne Cup.
If someone suggested moving the Australian Open tennis from Melbourne,the uproar would be heard from the Yarra to the Barrier Reef. This illustrates to me how passionate,parochial and biased the Victorians are for their events and their state. They justifiably have an air of superiority.