Canterbury Horse Racing Track in Australia
I guess we must just be satisfied that our favorite sport of horse racing is so different because there is no shortage of commercial successes with games after sunset under floodlights! Cricket even spawned a new version of the game Down Under when promoters arranged matches on week nights. It must have been quite logical for Australians to follow their profits from other sports by floodlights by instituting the same with horse racing, but it does not seem to have taken off - not for the time being at least!
One can find no fault with the location for this experiment with horse racing at a time when animals are accustomed to resting, for Canterbury is such a becoming suburb. Not more than a few minutes from the bustle of downtown Sydney, the quiet and well-laid streets bear the stamp of a residential area of distinction.
Floodlights lend the Canterbury Park Racecourse such a modern ambience that it appears almost surreal for veterans of the real thing. Perhaps it helps to draw in some enthusiasts from other disciplines and forms of sports betting, but it sure takes some time for adjustment by folk who have spent many afternoons in the sunshine following horse racing with passion.
Horses were not active by night even when they were principle vehicles in battlefields of yore. Imagine going out on a gallop after bugles announced the end of fighting for the day. Seriously, we all know how long thoroughbreds take to get accustomed to a new track, so it is not difficult to imagine what horse racing under floodlights can do to everyone’s bio-rhythms.
Mid-week racing after dark has not caught on at Canterbury. The racecourse has been plagued by a series of selfish moves by rival TV stations, and by the fact that visitors have been denied screens of simultaneous horse racing from Melbourne and other Aussie venues. However, no one knows for sure if changes in these respects will put the Canterbury Racecourse on surer financial footing. Perhaps they should let the floodlights rest, and start events by day like everyone else! However, Canterbury does have 3 other competing racecourses in Sydney itself!
The track at Canterbury Park suits horses which take early positions for it is relatively small at less than 2 thousand meters. The straight is less than 500 meters. There is no room for horses which specialize in stamina!