Officials from Racing Victoria and Racing NSW met Friday to discuss the implications of Racing Victoria's current trial of 30-minute gaps between races, as opposed to 35 minutes. The potential for change is an issue that has divided racing across the country, with some supporting the change, some open to it on weekdays but not weekends and others concerned about the clash of races in other states, particularly as it relates to television broadcasting. During the first part of the trial that took place last week, seven of Caulfield's nine races on Saturday were bumped to Sky Racing's secondary channel, Sky Racing 2, due to clashes. For that reason, Racing Victoria Executive General Manager Greg Carpenter said the organization was unable to gather an accurate set of data on how the change affected wagering, prompting the decision to extend the trial another week.
Racing Victoria and Racing NSW issued the following statement after their meeting Friday: “The meeting considered the experiences of both states through the current trial and discussed the potential implications and opportunities that any future expansion may bring. The discussions were fruitful and a possible future compromise was put, which will now be referred to both boards for consideration. No further comment will be made at this time.”
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