And so let the blood letting begin

[mardigras]

3 hours ago, curious said:

I thought you ran a bakery not an oven repair business.

 

Covid-19 - time to reskill.

[Porky]

9 hours ago, Hesi said:

There is simply no accountability and never has been at the NZRB, 

A totally disgraceful situation, and hard to believe it could ever have been allowed to happen

If stakemoney is not maintained at levels close to 19/20, then industry participants will bail in numbers

Therefore the only options, are to cut costs big time, borrow money or get given it, or sell assets

 

7 hours ago, VC! said:

The bleeding is certainly flowing I have noticed a fair few ex kiwi horses either transferred or sold to Australian interests 

Won’t be long before Opie Bosson is over here,  as the influx of Kiwis continues

satellite stables in Sydney and Melbourne just a matter of time before the bigger NZ trainers have these up and running 

It would be extremely difficult to own a horse in NZ... plenty of fees!!!

 

You hit the nail on the head Hesi, 

lets be positive...how much do they have in the kitty to maintain freeloaders jobs and stakes ? ...by

• closing country racetracks in NZ, which should never have been considered, It's the very "fabric of NZ racing"
• machines on course instead of tote staff
• fewer meetings to have to find stakes for..
• Budget handout
• TAB income
• Pokies revenue
• Borrow money for Building these White Elephants (more suited to somewhere with a population 10 times the size)

          Yeah VC,

NZ will just become a base and nursery for Big satellite stables to Oz, 

obviously though, with hand on Heart, Kiwi and all , I hope they don"t fuck NZ racing for good

and someone / group takes up the reins.

[curious]

 

2 hours ago, barryb said:

I love cheese scones, toasted with heaps of butter and raspberry jam, can you accommodate me Curious?

Might have to visit you for this rather than Whitebait which is looking like the racing industry.

I can't get whitebait because the couriers can't deliver it overnight from the mainland any more. Our rural postie has his wife working full time to keep up. I make cracker cheese scones though and we have home made raspberry jam if we need a back up

 

[mardigras]

4 minutes ago, curious said:

 

I can't get whitebait because the couriers can't deliver it overnight from the mainland any more. Our rural postie has his wife working full time to keep up. I make cracker cheese scones though and we have home made raspberry jam if we need a back up

 

I prefer plain/sultana/raisin scones when I'm incorporating the raspberry jam - my palate obviously not as sophisticated as Barry's

[Freda]

18 minutes ago, curious said:

 

I can't get whitebait because the couriers can't deliver it overnight from the mainland any more. 

 

I can.

[LookingForValue]

In the past I was known for my white chocolate muffins (with grated orange peel & sultanas). 

[curious]

14 minutes ago, Freda said:

I can.

We might have to fly down for a feed. Mountain/Mohammed. When's your filly running Barry?

 

[curious]

13 minutes ago, LookingForValue said:

In the past I was known for my white chocolate muffins (with grated orange peel & sultanas). 

Why is that in the past LFV?

 

[VC!]

1 hour ago, Porky said:

 

NZ will just become a base and nursery for Big satellite stables to Oz, 

obviously though, with hand on Heart, Kiwi and all , I hope they don"t fuck NZ racing for good

and someone / group takes up the reins.

Hopefully this is the start of something big for NZ racing, and not the beginning of the end

They need to attract people especially the young to watch participate and grow the product new ideas are needed, if they follow the same path they’ll be dead within 12?months

Unfortunately through Covid 19 Australian racing has been put on a pedestal probably quite a few Kiwis opening Corporate accounts and betting on the Australian product, 

Unfortunately NZ racing is at the bottom so they need to start somewhere they just need the right people in the right sectors

Some new initiatives needed Bazza named about 8 somewhere else all with relative merit 

Its time to be proactive 

[ngakonui grass]

Headline in the NBR this morning

Tax Payers Money;The gift that keeps giving.

The Racing Industry should not rely on its easy access to Govt support.......Rest behind a paywall.

Written by Tim Hunter who is pretty switched on.

Anybody able to view the NBR.

thanks

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by ngakonui grass

[Maximus]

58 minutes ago, barryb said:

First CD Meeting in July if shes ready, travelling well so far.

name of filly, please ...The Mustelid is looking for anything uplifting to brighten the imminent deep dark winter of our discontent

[Maximus]

10 minutes ago, barryb said:

After the race I will tell you. 

Remember picking are fucking lean for owners.

don't be like that, old son ... you can pm me and I promise not to breathe a word ..I know how lean pickings are for owners.

MM

[LookingForValue]

7 hours ago, curious said:

Why is that in the past LFV?

 

type 2 diabetes

[curious]

2 hours ago, LookingForValue said:

type 2 diabetes

Thanks. Sorry to hear that.

 

[LookingForValue]

2 hours ago, curious said:

Thanks. Sorry to hear that.

 

diagnosed just before Xmas, low range and have got the level down further. Losing weight and watching what I eat. I look at it as a positive. If it hadn't happened, I might have had serious trouble down the track. Cheers

[Hesi]

They’ve taken our dates but they’re not getting our land - Avondale buckles in for a fight

By Barry Lichter • 15 May 2020

The Avondale Jockey Club might have been frozen out of the racing calendar for the new season but it won’t be handing over its land to anyone.

“They’re not getting it,” vice president Jan Skinner said when asked what the club planned to do in the wake of the Racing Industry Transition Agency’s snub.

“We’d rather donate the land to the local Plunket Society than see it sold.”

Under the recommendations of the Messara report, Avondale was one of the main tracks earmarked for sale given its value before COVID-19 struck was between $250 million and $300 million.

It and a number of other racecourses formed a major part of the Messara plan to sell targeted assets and use the proceeds to revitalise the ailing industry.

Jan Skinner … Avondale is a community asset.RITA finally wielded the axe today, industry insiders believing the action was very likely a condition of the industry’s $72.5 million bail-out by the Government on Tuesday.

RITA had previously gone on record as saying while there was a need for fewer racing venues, any change should to be progressed through the already established joint-industry Future Venue Plan.

Legally centralising ownership of club assets - the contentious “land grab” - was a step too far and clubs needed to be properly consulted.

Also denied galloping dates next season are Te Teko, Te Awamutu, Gisborne, Wairoa, Waipukurau, Waterlea, Motukarara, Waikouaiti and Omakau.

The Racing Reform Bill, designed to arm RITA with the power to unilaterally cash in assets, has yet to be passed and Skinner said the club had been asked if it was prepared to keep the track maintained for trials and in case it was needed if the Counties track became too heavy to race on.

“But we’re not going to be the off-course substitute if a meeting is abandoned and we’ve said no to running trials again. Why would we keep the track prepared with no guarantee of getting a race meeting.”

The flier which the Avondale Jockey Club handed out to raise awareness of the ‘land grab’.The Avondale track has traditionally offered one of the best racing surfaces in the north, thanks to some of the pioneering track drainage work the club has undertaken over the years. It has regularly staged massive trial days of 30 heats with horses tripping up from the Waikato.

And that’s one of the reasons why Skinner and the Jockey Club committee are so disappointed to be left out when before the coronavirus struck it had been promised seven race meetings.

“Avondale hasn’t cost the industry one cent and when we have a raceday all the work is done by volunteers.”

Vision for the future

For the last five years Avondale has been working with an internationally renowned racecourse consultancy firm to develop a blueprint for the future development of its facilities, which included a new synthetic racing surface inside the existing turf track.

The club had put forward its self-funding vision for the future to New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing , and was about ready to start its implementation with the demolition of the old public grandstand when the Messara report and NZTR’s venue plan consultation document was released.

Skinner said Avondale was determined to continue to offer a range of sporting, cultural and recreational activities to support the Avondale and West Auckland communities.

The Avondale Sunday market has been operating for 40 years.“We own the land but Avondale has always been a community asset. The infield is used as a sports field by the locals and even during the COVID-19 lockdown we kept the gates open so people could exercise there.”

The Avondale Sunday market was also an integral part of the community and had been operating on the grounds for nearly 40 years. New Zealand’s largest one-day market, with a strong Asian and Polynesian influence, it attracts up to 20,000 visitors in a day, according to the club’s website.

Skinner, whose father Harry trained on the course in 1949, has been an administrator at the club for 31 years and says she’d rather see it turned into a grass harness racing track than lost in a land grab by people looking for some quick money to replace millions squandered over years of mismanagement.

 

[Hesi]

Not sure what to make of this

Must be some very deep divisions between Avondale and not only Ellerslie, but the rest of the industry, do they even communicate

If the 3 Auckland Clubs worked together, they could probably come up with three quarters of a billion dollars through sale of land and assets and build a world class mega racing complex, that along with some sort of venture in the Waikato, would secure the future of racing.

The alternative, a $300 mil giveaway to Plunket

Insanity!

These clubs need to forget their past grievances, and get around a table, for the sake of racing in NZ

[Hesi]

$72.5 million is a bailout for RITA but not racing

By Brian de Lore
Published 15 May 2020

Tuesday’s announcement by Racing Minister Winston Peters contained some very interesting messages, but none more so than his delivery of $72.5 million which is a feat only Winston Peters could do for an industry about to go bankrupt.

Peters has to be given credit for his ability to pull a rabbit from the hat at the eleventh hour but will the participants of racing receive any tangible benefits from this windfall, or is it too late?

COVID-19 took the blame for racing’s state of affairs,but anyone following this racing industry closely for the past few years will know about this lengthy spiral of decline, which has continued unabated.  

In his speech on Tuesday, he said, “Our response is driven by an attitude that with the right investment it can be a fast recovery. Today’s Pre-Budget announcement is the initial response – not only critical to racing but critical to our national interests.”

The problem I have with that statement is that this is not an investment; it’s a bailout. And it’s not a bailout of the racing industry; it’s a bailout for RITA, which has failed to produce any decisive decision-making since it came into being on July 1^st, last year.

Winston Peters: RITA’s lenders advised they could no longer extend credit. It means RITA has faced the risk of defaulting on supplier commitments by this Friday.”

RITA’s Executive Chair Dean McKenzie’s recent denial that RITA was insolvent was shattered by the Minister’s admission, “RITA’s lenders advised they could no longer extend credit. It means RITA has faced the risk of defaulting on supplier commitments by this Friday.”

No one should be surprised the ASB was refusing to extend credit on the debt now reputed to be $47 million, or that RITA hasn’t been able to settle supplier commitments which have mounted up to a staggering $26 million.

McKenzie’s blaming of COVID-19 and the Minister backing that up by saying, “RITA, was partway through a reform programme and then COVID-19 arrived and created the perfect storm,” isn’t going to wash with a racing industry that’s been listening to excuses and hearing unfulfilled promises of better times ahead for the past decade.

It’s common knowledge that RITA inherited a hospital pass from NZRB when they took control last July, but RITA has delivered no tangible benefits since that time and McKenzie’s leadership has been indecisive and far less communicative to the industry than was promised when they began as MAC 17 months ago.

promise of ‘clarity and certainty to the racing industry,’ – RITA

The Minister appointed RITA and will defend the Agency until the end. But taking the helicopter assessment of RITA reveals increased debt, poorly conceived budgeting, failing to deliver on their Interim Report promise of ‘clarity and certainty to the racing industry,’ non-inclusiveness with the codes and diverting from the original brief to operationalise the Messara Report.

The writing was on the wall when RITA failed to clean-out the executive team of NZRB. Here was the team which advised CEO John Allen and Chair Glenda Hughes to make decisions that were not only poor but have ultimately cost the industry above $200 million – wasted. Yet, RITA, in its wisdom, kept this same team on to advise McKenzie.

A former industry leader and well-retired octogenarian with a lifetime of experience in bloodstock recently told The Optimist that in his long experience, the best leader he ever encountered during his career was Sir Woolf Fisher of Fisher and Paykel fame. Fisher started the company with partner Maurice Paykel and managed a vast team of staff, and also founded Ra Ora Stud and stood Champion Sire Sovereign Edition.

In a book named ‘Defying Gravity, ’ which gives a detailed account of the complete history of Fisher and Paykel, an excerpt relevant to the leadership skills of Sir Woolf Fisher is worth repeating here.     

‘Where there are problems, the last person you get rid of is the little guy; you start at the top.’ – Sir Woolf Fisher  

In the book it states: “Woolf Fisher may have ruled with an iron rod, but recognised the contribution from the bottom up, insisting: ‘Where there are problems, the last person you get rid of is the little guy; you start at the top.’”

RITA has done the opposite by getting rid of the little guys and keeping that seemingly bulletproof team of high rollers at the top. The strange thing is the redundancies include people who are the conduit between the TAB and the punters – the voices that directly encourage betting.

Tuesday’s announcement by the Minister was for $72.5 million which included a $2.5 million allocation for DIA to work on drafting some new betting options to come into play which allegedly will increase TAB turnover. Apparently, RITA had hoped to bring these options in by February and allowed for increased profit margins when budgeting this season for $165.8 million profit, but which now could realistically result in a figure as low as $100 million. That equates to a new season total stakes money decline of about 40 percent.

This pie-in-the-sky, crystal ball gazing belief that new ways of betting will increase the TAB betting revenue and provide higher profits flies in the face of the conservative and more believable industry view that Kiwi punters don’t bet as much as Aussies, and have only so much discretionary cash with which to place their bets after payday has arrived.

The contention that exotic betting options at the TAB would increase revenue to the extent they could budget for increased profits is very John Allenesque.

The contention that exotic betting options at the TAB would increase revenue to the extent they could budget for increased profits is very John Allenesque. It’s also unproven and likely born out of a complicated non-gambling brain that possesses a brilliant and never previously used algorithm.

The $20 million allocated for the two synthetic tracks at Awapuni and Riccarton Park poses new problems for both Race Incorporated and the Canterbury Jockey Club. Like all race clubs throughout New Zealand, the cupboards are bare, but each will have to front up with approximately $6 million to complete these projects and get the tracks in place.

In a phone call to CJC CEO Tim Mills to inquire as to the possible whereabouts of this potential deal-clinching windfall, Tim Mills admitted the Club did not have the money available, but the committee would soon be meeting to discuss all available fund-raising options.

In referencing the allocation for the synthetic tracks during his speech, the Minister stated: “The Messara review into our racing industry urged greater use of synthetic tracks.”

…of a suite of 17 recommendations and all had to be adopted to make it work… – The Messara Review

He indeed did. But it’s also true the Review said it only worked as one of a suite of 17 recommendations and all had to be adopted to make it work to see a revival of the industry. Messara was doubtless not recommending the building of synthetic tracks without all the revenue-driving streams in place such as outsourcing, racefields, and the point of consumption tax.

The Messara Review is a book of 82 pages, and the probability is that very few people have bothered to read every word of it and digest it properly. In the frontispiece letter to the Minister in the Review dated 31^st July, 2018, it says at the start of the second last paragraph on page 10, “I emphasise the integrated nature of the recommendations.”

Many times I have heard John Messara himself say, if New Zealand does not adopt recommendation seven, then you may as well bin the other 16 because seven is pivotal. Number seven says, “Begin negotiations for the outsourcing of the TAB’s commercial activities to be an international wagering operator to gain the significant advantages of scale.”

In the Terms of Reference given to MAC (Ministerial Advisory Committee), the committee was asked specifically to operationalise the Messara Review. Seventeen months hence, they have never looked like taking that instruction seriously, and that lack of action should have embarrassed the Minister, albeit he doesn’t appear to embarrass easily.

It should also be remembered that Cabinet approved and signed off on the Messara Report. Their approval did not occur without due consideration so RITA’s ambivalence towards it is more than mysterious.

The point is this; John Messara did his Review in record time on a pro bono basis. To commission such a review on a professional basis from someone of his track record and standing, would have cost our industry in excess of $500,000. The fact that he did for free, and has continued to offer free advice, says something about the string-pullers currently ignoring Cabinet and the codes and claiming they are following the Messara Review, but only cherry-picking it to the tune of 25 percent.

The $50 million allocated to RITA is nothing more than a RITA bailout and nothing for participants to get excited about. Racing people, owners, at the coalface of the industry who are back working with horses won’t benefit by a cent. The fact that RITA owes $26 million to square up with suppliers adds credence to the claim I made in the middle of last year that RITA would be insolvent by Christmas. They were and had been accruing debt ever since.

The $26 million to square up will leave only $24 million.

The $26 million to square up will leave only $24 million. But what do you do with that when you owe $47 million to the bank and have no more credit, leaving the industry only in a less sharp corner than it was previously.

Turnover related expenses in last year’s annual report amounted to $69 million. Add those to the total operating costs of $142 million, and total expenses amount to $211 million. Redundancies just done will save $10 million in year one, but in the current financial year it will cost $3.5 million to pay out those redundancies.

The bailout will keep RITA going who otherwise would have gone in administration today. But will that bailout be followed by the Minister declaring an extended life for RITA, which on its current performance is no more than delaying the inevitable?

One puzzling comment from the Minister was, “…more New Zealanders are turning to online gambling through offshore platforms.

“It is our intention to regulate the offshore online gambling sector and reset the on-shore online gambling sector.” – Minister Peters

“For that reason, the Government is fast-tracking a programme of work to identify how we can mitigate these concerns. It is our intention to regulate the offshore online gambling sector and reset the on-shore online gambling sector.”

Does the Minister mean the Government will block New Zealanders from betting with overseas-based betting operators as Australia did about three years ago, and allow Kiwis only the monopoly of the NZ TAB, thereby ruling out any question of outsourcing?

He added: “If there is going to be gambling by New Zealanders, then it is our country that will benefit, not another.”

On RITA, the question is this: We have the same executive team running racing. We have the same business model. The five-year shift in equity has gone from plus $75 million to minus $23 million, even with the $72.5 million bailout. Where are we heading with outsourcing and a major change in structure and cost-cutting?

The old idiom of ‘throwing good money after bad,’ which simply means spending money on something problematic in the futile hope of fixing it, seems relevant to racing’s current dilemma.  

The loss of venues announced today and the legislation getting ready for its second reading, are all irrelevant if the quicksand is already up to neck level.

[Hesi]

As de Lore says, RITA has inherited a hospital pass, but based on what he describes above, they have been negligent in the execution of their role, and only a matter of time before they are put into administration.  They have dilly dallied on outsourcing, yet given the land grab part, the most divisive, the most priority.  Crazy strategic decision making and in line with the fixed odds strategy fiasco

de Lore also makes a very good point about getting rid of the guys at the bottom like Trackside radio, and keeping the guys at the top

[Hesi]

Revealed: Where the TAB staff cuts are being made - are senior leaders getting off light?

By Barry Lichter • 17 May 2020

Only half the number of senior leaders at the TAB will lose their jobs compared with the rank and file.

Figures obtained on how the Racing Industry Transition Agency plans to save $10 million by cutting its staff show senior leadership roles are set to decrease by 16% compared with an average of 33.3% through all other areas of its business.

RITA directly employed 666 full-time, part-time and casual staff last season when total staff expenses came to $61.5 million.

But documents outlining details of exactly where the proposed cuts will be made show 698 roles set to be reduced to 467.

Permanent, fixed term, casual and contracted staff will all be affected - the cuts ranging from 31% in head office to 36% in betting with a ‘back to basics’ total restructuring of roles.

• The Betting sector takes the biggest hit, 77 planned to be cut to 49, a 36% drop. This involves people in areas like raceday control, analysts, odds-setters, traders and developers.
• Staff involved in the production and operation of Trackside, the Media and International department, are expected to take a 34% cut, from 209 to 138.
• The largest number of people, 95, will go from the Customer functions - those involved in the retail network, phone bet, on course, marketing and content. It is proposed the current 293 will be reduced to 198, a 32.4% cut.
• Only 37 are likely to go from head office. The 119 doing roles involving technology, finance, human resources, payroll, business intelligence, legal and regulatory and public affairs will be trimmed by 31% to 82.

The RITA advisory states that while the senior leadership will drop by only 16%, that area has already seen a more than 30% reduction in the last 18 months.

A separate review is underway on the executive leadership team whose top six members took home $2.5 million between them last season.

RITA board members earned $263,667 for the 14 meetings they attended last season.

RITA is expecting its revenue to drop by 30% in the next six to nine months with the economic uncertainty meaning punters will bet less. It says the hospitality sector will be impacted with up to 20% of pubs likely not to reopen.

While RITA will keep its six regional buildings, there will be a reduction of up to 15% in retail board venues.

Non profitable ones will be closed - four immediately. Further venues could also become unprofitable and fail in the next three to six months, it says.

‘Transitioning’ in TABs

In a parallel move to its intention of not having any over-the-counter ticket sales when people return to the racetracks, RITA will start transitioning people in retail shops into using self service terminals and their own devices to bet.

RITA could also be expecting clubs to fund the procurement of self service terminals (SSTs) with its statement that punters would need to bring their own devices to tracks or use “SSTs owned by clubs.”

The TAB’s elite punters - the 1% who bet 30% of its turnover - won’t be spared in the cost-cutting either. RITA plans to remove certain of their benefits and reduce or eliminate hosting special events for them.

But it proposes to freeze the qualifying criteria temporarily to hopefully retain as many elite punters as possible.

Large media campaigns, social media paid activity and product launches will be reduced as they will be unaffordable.

The contact centre, which helps answer punters’ queries, will have fewer staff.

Consultation on RITA’s proposals closed yesterday with final decisions made on Monday week, May 25.

• RITA’s operating expenses last season amounted to $142.2 million, 40.8% of its total income. Its report for the first half of the present season is six weeks overdue.

[Freda]

Sad.   Sad for those loyal personnel,  and sad for our industry.

But the signal that is given, is that while ( finally )  there is recognition that costs must be reigned in ( presumably someone has ordered this, because there was no sign the penny had dropped earlier )  the retention of many of the top echelon of snouts tells us there will be no change in direction or strategy.

Saddest of all.

Like his report or otherwise, Messara must be wondering why he bothered to even try to help such a bunch of fuckwits. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Freda

[mardigras]

On 5/14/2020 at 8:25 PM, mardigras said:

My opinion is we don't need synthetic tracks at this point. Or probably not even a Strathayr either. Things like a Strathayr would be great for NZ racing - long term. More work needs to be done both on Strathayr in the NZ climate and any options around full synthetics. Not a knee jerk reaction without proper analysis and investigation. 

However, I don't think they should be part of the current plan. Part of the long term plan, yes, but not yet.

I think it is worth mentioning that even though many state there is no betting on these tracks in Australia. That is clearly not the case. Some people won't bet on them, and equally, some will bet more on them than on turf. The betting shows that. And in UK/Ire, plenty of betting is done on them also.

That doesn't make them more required now. That just means they may be a viable option for an industry that is already strong. They aren't going to resurrect an ailing one imo. Some will just take the view that because they don't bet on them or know many that do, that there isn't any betting. But it isn't the case.

[Hesi]

3 hours ago, Freda said:

Sad.   Sad for those loyal personnel,  and sad for our industry.

But the signal that is given, is that while ( finally )  there is recognition that costs must be reigned in ( presumably someone has ordered this, because there was no sign the penny had dropped earlier )  the retention of many of the top echelon of snouts tells us there will be no change in direction or strategy.

Saddest of all.

Like his report or otherwise, Messara must be wondering why he bothered to even try to help such a bunch of fuckwits. 

And he did it for free, and in 3 months!

[Porky]

12 hours ago, Hesi said:

 

Only half the number of senior leaders at the TAB will lose their jobs compared with the rank and file.

RITA directly employed 666 full-time, part-time and casual staff last season.

 

Nice to see Avondale digging their toes in Hesi, the other clubs for closure should also...(where it is possible )

666 the number of the Beast ...those at the top , reminds me of the Chase !

leave fancy surface changes until NZ racing back on its feet... some horses like it Heavy for fucks sake 

[curious]

54 minutes ago, Hesi said:

And he did it for free, and in 3 months!

I agree. Not that I agree with everything recommended in the report but some of that is the detail such as choice of some of the main venues, the choice of outsourcing model, the PoC tax, the need for and viability of the AWTs etc. I'm sure these things could have been thrashed out.

On the latter, he indicated that betting is likely to be lower initially which makes sense while punters figure out which horses are going to handle them. That also made me wonder if it is going to be hard to attract horses to run on the AWTs when they haven't had the opportunity to train and trial on them. I also haven't seen any costing work up for maintenance/replacement etc. Has anyone seen that? Messara says they need refurbishment @ 300,000 about every 3 years and I think they generally have about a 7-8 year lifespan before requiring complete replacement?