The Australian Turf Club and the Australian Racing Board have accepted the $10 million offer, by the New South Wales Government, as a boost to the two day Sydney autumn carnival, increasing stake money to a record of $18 million.

All sounds pretty good, racing is predicted to boom in the harbour city, whether that will actually happen remains to be seen.

We have seen these hair brain ideas fail before, trusting a Government is flawed with danger for very obvious reasons.

Naturally the offer has been accepted as you would expect, however, questions are being asked, is it on going and will it last?

The current New South Wales Government is putting up the cash, but that could soon dry up if and when there is an ultimate change of Government.

We are yet to hear from the opposition; surely they will be barking at the door directly, they are not going to let this one slip through to the keeper, unless they are in the land of nod.

Sydney racing is in the doldrums, has been for years, it is scraping the bottom of the barrel, the crowds have disappeared, that is obvious.

$18 million does not encourage the rank and file, they have to create incentive and gate receipts are not the right recipe.

Racing has lost a lot of patronage in Sydney, Easter Saturday, Doncaster Day, once crowds of 80,000, formerly a four day carnival reduced to two days, and the spring from four to one day, these are hardly signs of progress.

In his address John Messara said, “ it is too late to target international horses for April of next year,” which would be agreed, however, there will be no overseas horses until a quarantine station is built on a racecourse with training facilities.

Werribee was thrown up as a suggestion, surely that could only be a joke.