When it comes to Trans Tasman rivalry in harness racing, the facts usually get lost in claim and counter claim regarding the merits of horses, trainers, stallions or tracks.

Agreement is seldom reached as both sides defend their position with reasoned arguments which in most cases is done in good spirit.

There are few areas where either New Zealand or Australia could claim a huge advantage over their neighbour but one that does stand out in our view is the television coverage of the industry.

In New Zealand we have Trackside and we cannot sing their praises loud enough.

There are two channels in play which allows the programmers to give the viewer in depth previews of races from within New Zealand for every race run.

We are given a three to four minute lead in for most races which allows the average viewer a chance to get a feel for our industry and why participants are so passionate about it.

It is a major plus for our industry but one that we tend to take for granted.

On the major race days such as the New Zealand Cup Day or the Harness Jewels meeting, we have the luxury of having one of the channels exclusively for that one meeting.

Wall to wall coverage of those special meetings helps immensely in keeping the profile of harness racing as high as it is in New Zealand.

The presenters are extremely knowledgeable with Michael Guerin, Greg O'Connor and the 'Whale' all having a feel and passion for the industry and they present a great shop window for our industry.

In short, Trackside is providing a great service and should be accorded the kudos that their efforts deserve.

And you quickly realise how good we have it when you tune in to the coverage of harness racing from Australia as we did on Saturday night.

The Sky Racing service provided is just so inferior you have to wonder why they even bother.

The $120,000 Ballarat Cup was an absolute beauty with Smolda and Lennytheshark going to war a long way out with neither giving an inch.

It was a brilliant race and one where you would have thought that Sky Racing  would have spent a few minutes post race talking to the major players in Mark Purdon and Chris Alford.

Not a chance.

Off we go immediately to a low grade greyhound race from Mandurah in Perth.

No follow up at all, just the odd comment from the presenters as the races are jammed together like sardines.

Gareth Hall and Adam Hamilton try their best with the limited time they are given pre race with quick comments from the drivers as they parade before the start but the overall feeling is this is a service that is designed to meet the needs of Sky TV and not the actual customer, the betting public.

In our view the coverage is detrimental to the image it is portraying of harness racing and is a drag on the ability of the industry to even maintain let alone grow its market share of gambling industry.

As long as Sky TV continues to provide it's racing service in the format that it currently does, then harness racing in Australia will continue to struggle to be heard in the marketplace.

So the next time you think you might like to take a potshot at Trackside over some minor hiccup, pause and take a deep breath and realise just how lucky we are on this side of the Tasman.

JC