Spring racing carnival 2023: Beau Mertens on Skybird in Thousand Guineas at Caulfield; Racing Victoria wants field finalised earlier to bump up betting

The big turning point has been the appointment of analyst and sectional guru Hayden Byrne as a coach and mentor. “He’s given me another outlook on racing,” Mertens said.

“He’s been a big part of the last nine months. Similarly, my fiancee Hayley, she’s been the backbone of most things. She’s seen the ups and definitely seen the downs, and she’s always there to push me back up.”

One of Peter Mertens’ biggest thrills was his 2005 ride in the Melbourne Cup, aboard 200-1 shot Envoy, who he steered to seventh behind Makybe Diva to win $110,000 for the horse’s connections.

Beau had a similar experience in last week’s Melbourne Cup, when he managed to run third on Sheraz at the same price, albeit his result netted $550,000 for the connections.

“I said to a lot of people when I came back after running third in the Melbourne Cup, it definitely felt like I’d won the race by how happy and celebratory the connections were,” he said.

“They were all grabbing me and hugging me, they were stoked.

“I think my family all knew how much winning a group 1 meant to me. But with the Melbourne Cup, it’s a whole different ball game. Probably my old school friends that don’t follow racing as much but when the Melbourne Cup’s on it’s all eyes on, I had a lot of messages from a lot of old schoolmates saying how unbelievable it was to see it and watch me do that. On two different levels, it’s quite surreal how it all worked.”

Mertens’ group 1 win on Attrition was for trainer Mitch Freedman, and together they pair up on Skybird in Saturday’s Thousand Guineas. Mertens produced the ride of the day on Cox Plate day to win the group 2 Fillies Classic on the three-year-old star, but Saturday’s feature race is another level.

“She’s taken me on a bit of a ride,” he said.

“She’s obviously come from maiden grade to a group 2 winner pretty quick. Now to be favourite in a group 1 Thousand Guineas, I’m pretty excited.

“I used to ride for [Freedman] as a kid, as an apprentice, and I had a bit of luck here and there with him. Through no fault of anything, we didn’t really unite for a long while. Skybird was probably the one to reignite that flame, getting a win on her at Ballarat, and obviously progressing onto Attrition into the group 1 Toorak. Since then, we’ve obviously bonded a pretty close relationship.

“We’ve done some celebrating, it’s been pretty good, and he’s obviously a great trainer, having his horses ready to go for me to win on has been extra special.

“Hopefully, we can have some luck on the day.”

Racing Victoria wants Cup field finalised earlier to bump up betting

Racing Victoria will pitch for Derby Day and Champions Day to become 10-race cards from 2024 in an attempt to stop a decline in Cup week wagering.

The governing body will also push for the Archer Stakes - the final golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup - to be moved from Derby Day, allowing the Melbourne Cup barrier draw to be held on the Friday before Cup week, therefore giving punters more time to bet on the all-in market.

Turnover on last week’s Melbourne Cup Carnival dropped 15 per cent year-on-year, falling to $665 million, albeit a 5 per cent increase on the pre-COVID 2019 levels. The fact a number of favourites lost during Cup week meant bookmakers were more profitable, in turn, cushioning the blow on Racing Victoria’s revenue for the week.

That drop was greater than the overall 10 per cent year-on-year decline in wagering turnover over all 14 spring racing carnival feature meetings, with the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate carnivals also down 10 per cent on last year.

The figures point to a continued wagering correction, consistent with a drop in discretionary consumer spending, which saw Racing Victoria’s wagering revenue decline by $32.4 million last financial year. Their annual report was released on Wednesday, with the sport’s bottom-line recording a $200,000 surplus - effectively a break-even.

Substantial prizemoney increases added to costs last financial year, but the decline in wagering revenue had the biggest impact on Racing Victoria’s profit and loss sheet. A significant proportion of that decline has come from the sport’s joint venture with the TAB, a deal which will end in August next year and replaced with a more secure funding model, as the TAB continues to lose market share to its corporate competitors.

Chief executive Andrew Jones said Racing Victoria would need to continue to dip into its piggy bank to soften the financial blow.

“By building our balance sheet over the past decade we are able to cushion the downturn in FY24,” Jones said.

“We will report an underlying operating deficit accordingly.

“Initiatives to return to growth are important and will continue to be a focus. We must work together as an industry to ensure a bright and prosperous future.”

One of those initiatives will be to add 10th races to the two Saturdays in Cup week to maximise the most popular punting day of the week.

Racing Victoria has been running with 10-race Saturday cards since the start of August, but the Victoria Racing Club maintained nine-race cards for the bookends of its Cup week.

Another initiative has been the extension of the spring racing carnival, which will see the Thousand Guineas and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes provide the sport with another feature race day this Saturday.

Fields for those two group 1s were released on Wednesday, with Racing Victoria officials rapt with the acceptances and field sizes for both races.

One change proposed for Cup week will be the moving of the listed Desirable Stakes from Cup Day to Derby Day. A race for three-year-old fillies over 1400 metres, it would increase the gap to the Thousand Guineas from 11 days to 14, and would see Derby Day retain a full card of black type racing.

The Archer Stakes, as well as the Coongy Stakes on the Wednesday before the Caulfield Cup, will also provide discussion points for Racing Victoria and the clubs, as trainers become less inclined to try and win their way into the Cups off the short back up.

In response, VRC chief executive Steve Rosich said: “The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) is aware that Racing Victoria has discussed interim and incomplete wagering data for the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The VRC will provide a full picture of domestic and international wagering results when they are available.

“With respect to the Melbourne Cup Carnival race program, this is carefully considered by the VRC to maintain the carnival’s world-class status. The annual review process will commence shortly and it is premature to discuss any possible changes.”

Meanwhile, Racing Victoria has recently made a submission to the federal Department of Communications reaffirming its desire for racing content platforms to be exempt from gambling advertisement bans.

Racing officials were optimistic the government’s inquiry into gambling advertising will not have a significant impact on the sport’s future earnings, with expectations an announcement would be made before Christmas.