When I first got down to Australia I was in fear of my health due to the flu outbreak that headlined the news day in and day out. Several adults and children had
succumbed to the illness and the news was casting a pall over the country as though the plague was back and strong as ever...... that is until the Australian beloved horses began to come down with a version of the flu. The front pages and top stories no longer were talking about the human factor and was now all about how
devastating the
horse flu would be to the entire economy of Australia and perhaps the future of this country! Of course I am exaggerating but not too much. The top stories have followed the outbreak from Melbourne to Sydney and now as of yesterday Brisbane. I can fully appreciate that horse
racing is a very big business in Australia but the level of news and drama that follows this story is almost funny. That is to anyone but an Aussie. When the news first broke out about the horse flu several weeks ago in Melbourne I asked my co-workers about it and got a first hand account on how important this industry is to Australia and the Australian psyche. As you walk around this country you can bet that on every other corner instead of a
Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks you will find a TAB. Not exactly sure what TAB stands for but its the Australian off track betting locations. They are everywhere. In malls, on random corners, attached to pubs, attached to police stations.... now with horse racing on hold I guess the money that comes in from these TAB locations will be
trickling in instead of flowing freely. Personally I think the main story should be the upcoming federal election in which a new prime minister most likely will be elected but hey, I am just a Yank!
When I first got down to Australia I was in fear of my health due to the flu outbreak that headlined the news day in and day out. Several adults and children had succumbed to the illness and the news was casting a pall over the country as though the plague was back and strong as ever...... that is until the Australian beloved horses began to come down with a version of the flu. The front pages and top stories no longer were talking about the human factor and was now all about how devastating the horse flu would be to the entire economy of Australia and perhaps the future of this country! Of course I am exaggerating but not too much. The top stories have followed the outbreak from Melbourne to Sydney and now as of yesterday Brisbane. I can fully appreciate that horse
racing is a very big business in Australia but the level of news and drama that follows this story is almost funny. That is to anyone but an Aussie. When the news first broke out about the horse flu several weeks ago in Melbourne I asked my co-workers about it and got a first hand account on how important this industry is to Australia and the Australian psyche. As you walk around this country you can bet that on every other corner instead of a Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks you will find a TAB. Not exactly sure what TAB stands for but its the Australian off track betting locations. They are everywhere. In malls, on random corners, attached to pubs, attached to police stations.... now with horse racing on hold I guess the money that comes in from these TAB locations will be trickling in instead of flowing freely. Personally I think the main story should be the upcoming federal election in which a new prime minister most likely will be elected but hey, I am just a Yank!
