Speaker 1Fox News coverage of Democracy 26 is streaming live on Fox 1. Stream your midterm election coverage from the Fox News voices you trust in the days leading up to November 3rd, live on Election Day, and in the days after. Don't miss breaking election news as it happens, expert analysis of every pivotal race, crucial conversations, and more. When America decides the balance of power, turn to the voices you trust.
Speaker 2This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses, setup required, compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.
Speaker 3Join the conversation. Text us on 0499 736 736. Live across Australia. This is Giddy Up with Gareth Hall.
Speaker 4Yes, good morning. This is Giddy Up with Gareth Hall on this Monday, the 26th of October. It's a big hello to you listening on your local SEN track and RSN 927 dials. Wherever you may be listening, of course, on the SEN and RSN apps. If you're listening to us a little later on the podcast, hello to you and, of course, if you're watching us on racing.com. It is a massive show coming your way as we get set for the biggest week in Australian racing, of course, Melbourne Cup week. We kick off with the Derby on the Saturday, Melbourne Cup day on the Tuesday, Oaks day on the Thursday, and then it's Champion Stakes day on the Saturday. So Kylie Rogers, the CEO of the VRC, will join me from the top. It was an interesting weekend, I thought there, of course, with the running of the WA. I was at Cox Plate on Saturday at Flemington. I don't know what you thought, 0-4-double-9-7-3-6-7-3-6. It was one hell of a result for WA racing with Cosmic Crusader taking out the Cox Plate in unbelievable fashion. Well done to Bob Peters. He's been in this game for a long time. He's always done it Bob's way, and he was emotional. I've seen him probably cry maybe once before that, Bob, after he won a railway stakes, but it was understandable to see him so emotional. After winning the Cox Plate there on Saturday, and Andrea Leake can take a bow, one of the great rides from William Pike as well. And it was a terrific day for WA racing. So we'll discuss all of that as the morning unfolds. We'll recap a big day at Flemington, also at Randwick, and then it's going to be a massive means test just after 9.30. Johnny O'Neill and Wayne Hawks will be ready to go just after 9.30 to discuss everything, what happened on the weekend, and as I said, as we get set for Cup week. But let's get started. Welcome to the show. It's two minutes past eight. Giddy Up always brought to you by Bet365. It's never ordinary when it's brought to you by Bet365. What's gambling really costing you? For free and confidential support, visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. And don't forget to text in your Simply Sensational performance of the week and tell us why. The best one will win a $100 Ribera's Port Melbourne restaurant voucher because it's Simply Sensational. My first guest here on this Monday morning to kick off the show, David Gately, not far away with his breakdown. But it's Kylie Rogers, the CEO of the VRC. Hello to you, Kylie. Thanks very much for joining us on this Monday.
Speaker 5Good morning, Gareth. How are you? It's great to be here.
Speaker 4How are you feeling? Awesome. Are you excited?
Speaker 5I am. Jumped out of bed this morning. Five more sleeps, my friend. Yes. Harden Victoria Derby Day. We obviously had a Ripper Cox Plate on Saturday. And Flemington just looks so beautiful at the moment.
Speaker 4I was talking to a few friends there yesterday over the weekend. I was lucky enough to be there at Flemington on Cox Plate Day. To me, it was weird, in a way, to have the Cox Plate at Flemington, 35,000 there, which was a handy enough crowd. But 35,000 at Flemington feels like it's still empty in a way.
Speaker 5It doesn't really feel full until we've got that 100,000.
Speaker 4No, 80,000. Like that Derby Day last year is one of the best days I've ever had on a racetrack. And that was unbelievable. But, yeah, 35,000 for a Cox Plate. And I know it was done a little bit differently. But, yeah. Yeah, just how did you find it?
Speaker 5Well, I just don't think it feels like a Cox Plate. Let's be honest. My team, our team did an outstanding job hosting. And we worked really closely with Michael and Moonee Valley. And they're a great team. But it's not the same. No. It's just not the same intimate feeling as when you are at the Valley. And I do think it talks to that merger conversation and protecting racetracks. And I'm excited. to hopefully see them up and running again next year with Cox Plate.
Speaker 4Do you think that the Cox Plate will be back at Flemington next year?
Speaker 5I actually think it'll be back at Moonee Valley.
Speaker 4Yeah. Okay. Those mergers, we had Michael Brown this time last week. He joined the means test towards the back end. It was an interesting chat with Michael because depending on who you ask in the racing industry regarding these mergers, some parts of the industry in Victoria, like Aaron Morris and the CEO, believes that we need to have a strong look at coming together in a way anyway. What's your take
Speaker 5on the mergers as
Speaker 4the CEO of the VRC?
Speaker 5Yeah. Look, one thing I've learned is the three metro clubs have very different business models, but we have synergies that need to be taken advantage of and we need as an industry to look at efficiencies. I don't buy into the number that's been going around, which is $50 million. My understanding is that is back of an envelope, percentage savings, if you put in all the expenses across all racetracks in Victoria, not just the metro. And I just don't think it's a realistic world to be merging all of them into one. So I think it's dangerous to be quoting and talking 50, but there are efficiencies too. We are all about shared services and we're certainly working with Racing Victoria and another club at the moment on just that.
Speaker 4What would be the shared surfaces that you think that you could come together?
Speaker 5It's mostly back-end activities. It would make sense to me that Liam ran our racetracks. There's an example.
Speaker 4Well, you already have a business that involves Liam O'Keefe travelling the world.
Speaker 5Exactly. And that makes us good money and it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 4Yeah. And then we've got. And then we get set for Melbourne Cup week. Like, how's it all going? Because we've got Robbie Williams on the Tuesday and then Fisher on the Saturday. My mail is it's going to be difficult to get a ticket for Champion Stakes Day, which is the final day of the carnival.
Speaker 5Gareth, I can't tell you, the sales have been phenomenal. Yeah. Off the back of last year, which was quite extraordinary, 65,000 people on the coldest day in November in 113 years. World-class racing with a world-class music act after, the last. It was tremendous to see everyone come and support. So off the back of that, we are up 45% in sales. I'm hoping we'll have 80,000 people on our last day. We're going to celebrate all the trainers and jockeys who won the major races on the stage with Fisher at the end to wrap it all up.
Speaker 4A bit like they do in Japan, in a way.
Speaker 5That's right. So I think that's fitting. But you're right. We've got Jess Glynn this coming Saturday. We have Robbie Williams. Robbie Williams on Lexus Melbourne Cup Day and Vanessa Amorosi on Oaks Day. So it's elevated music. It's elevated food and wine with our Chris Lucas partnership and world-class racing.
Speaker 4How did you get Robbie? Was he easy?
Speaker 5He's fantastic, Robbie. We obviously built a relationship with him when he played for us at the AFL. And our music agency, Mushroom, do a stellar job. And, of course, they rang Robbie for us. Yep. And reminded Robbie of the team that worked at the AFL and now at Flemington. And let's have a bit of fun. And actually said to him, they have this race and it stops a nation. And he said, no one stops a nation but me. I'm in. So it's been terrific.
Speaker 4And then Fisher's been, like, I thought that was one of the greatest ever gets from a race club to get an entertainment or entertainment like that. Like Fisher is so popular, especially with the younger generation. But Champions Day is becoming nearly the biggest. I think it's going to be the biggest day on the Australian racing calendar, especially when you can get Autumn Glow who will rock up. Tempted will be there. I don't know how many is going to be competing against Autumn Glow, however, in the Champions Mile. But the Cox Platefield might rock up once again in a Champions Stakes.
Speaker 5Look, we are so hoping for Tempted and Autumn Glow. Well, they're there, Kylie.
Speaker 4It's just so exciting.
Speaker 5That 90 minutes of racing is the best in the world. Yeah. And it's a massive credit to Neil Wilson and Lee Jordan who were the architects of that. And we knew. We knew just to marry that world-class racing with world-class entertainment. And to your point, bring in the more youthful racing fan to celebrate that last day because it is historically family day. And our worst nightmare last year was for, you know, the young junior members and racing fans to come in after the last in their festival gear to enjoy Fisher. They just didn't. They came for race one. They were dressed up in racing gear. Yeah. a loving our sport and we've seen that increase now over the ticket sales for the four days of this carnival it's going to be tremendous so
Speaker 4it'd be bigger than last year that the carnival do you
Speaker 5think i feel i feel that our forecasts are up certainly across the board um it's always tricky ga tickets are really not sold until that last two weeks so this week and next week is is still an important period for us but our corporates are up 12 percent um sales to date just on stakes they are 45 percent up yeah i feel we'll hit that 300 000 number weather is a lever we can't control yeah but if the weather's kind to us we should hit that 300 000
Speaker 4and um let's hope the weather is okay it's looking okay it's okay okay not great but okay but you never know there's optimistic there's a long way to go depending like some people want the rain because they've got horses that will enjoy some giving the ground for a melbourne cup but there's others that like you and most of us racing fans that hope the sun is shining all week i was a little
Speaker 5nervous with the weather last night and yesterday with our birdcage build we've still how is that
Speaker 4all going because i walked into flemington i saw the birdcage there and i thought geez it'd be great for it to be open on cox plate day but unfortunately that couldn't happen we're not
Speaker 5open till the morning of my friends there's a lot to do uh we're on track we're on time i went i went on multiple walks last week uh but we have our birdcage reveal this coming thursday yes so we will be ready yes and it looks spectacular and you've got a big media
Speaker 4launch today yes
Speaker 5we do 10 a.m we have a media launch
Speaker 4i'd love to be in town why are you not coming we can't get there i can't i can't be in two places priorities my friend um we're just looking at the melbourne cup field now obviously the ct scan is going to be done in the next couple of days those international horses that arrived in the second shipment they'll have their scans today or tomorrow um there's a little bit of debate and we're going to bring this in the next test paying back to a hundred thousand dollars it's going to be a few horses there at two hundred to one um and some say they're doing this because they're going to get melbourne cup tickets and a hundred thousand
Speaker 1fox news coverage of democracy 26 is streaming live on fox one stream your midterm election coverage from the fox news voices you trust in the days leading up to november 3rd live on election day and in the days after don't miss breaking election news as it happens expert analysis of every pivotal race crucial conversations and more when america decides the balance of power turn to the voices you trust the mosquito bowl is the incredible
Speaker 6true story of four college football stars who walked away from nfl careers after pearl harbor to enlist in the marines from friday night lights director peter berg and starring nicholas gallatin bill skarsgård ray nicholson and tom francis comes a story of brotherhood and sacrifice four men who traded the gridiron for the battlefield the mosquito bowl in theaters october 30th
PodcastTranscript AI