Transformational Change

[CeeMeNow 372]

" As an industry we are in real trouble, living beyond our means and reliant on government financial support. We need urgent transformational change to adapt to the current situation that the industry finds itself in,"  Victorian Harness Racing Treasurer Shane Gloury said.

This is an extract from an article in Harnesslink  (Au) 29th Feb, it should be compulsory reading for HRNZ and all club officials.

If you substitute Entain, for government, you have a statement that represents the NZ situation for Harness Racing, Victoria has 2 more years of government support, we have 4 years of Entain support, then we are screwed, unless there is a huge increase in betting on Harness .

Put simply, the Gross Betting Revenue is less than the Funding Cost, in round figures the NI to date this season, has Revenue of $4million but Funding Costs of $6million.

 

[MisterEd 424]

1 minute ago, CeeMeNow said:

" As an industry we are in real trouble, living beyond our means and reliant on government financial support. We need urgent transformational change to adapt to the current situation that the industry finds itself in,"  Victorian Harness Racing Treasurer Shane Gloury said.

This is an extract from an article in Harnesslink  (Au) 29th Feb, it should be compulsory reading for HRNZ and all club officials.

If you substitute Entain, for government, you have a statement that represents the NZ situation for Harness Racing, Victoria has 2 more years of government support, we have 4 years of Entain support, then we are screwed, unless there is a huge increase in betting on Harness .

Put simply, the Gross Betting Revenue is less than the Funding Cost, in round figures the NI to date this season, has Revenue of $4million but Funding Costs of $6million.

 

Give the Punters a product they want to bet on.

Six horse fields on a leaders bias track is not an attractive betting preposition to most, especially when money is tight in a lot of households.

Most smaller punters  like a bet on bigger fields where there is a chance of making 10x your wager or better and there is no chance of that happening if a $1.40 favourite is in the first three.

Bring back the six pack, or introduce some bet types where there is a decent amount of money up for grabs, then people might take a chance and bet more.

[Idolmite 3,418]

As someone who is not expected to live a whole lot longer, and as a former very regular attendee at Alexandra Park, I survey the fields weekly to find a meeting that is attractive enough to warrant "one last time at The Park" to add to the chain of "one last this" and one last that". But short of shipping in the best of Christchurch and the best of Australia, it ain't gonna happen. The small fields are a massive turn-off, as is the virtual lack of progressive star-power working their way through the grades week after week. And, as mentioned above, the $1.40 shots and six horse fields offer nothing for the smaller and casual fan/punter. The only nights even worth watching on the tele are when a few SI horses come to town, but even then the fields are still pathetically small when compared to years gone by. As said, breeders aren't breeding, and of those that do hit the tracks a huge number get on sold or shipped to Australia where they might make a dollar. The day may come where New Zealand is a galloping only country, with harness and hounds kicked to the kerb. 

[CeeMeNow 372]

I would argue that you shouldn't even bother with a race if you have not got 8 starters as a minimum.

Years ago Melton thought it was a good idea to trial 8 horse fields as their standard field size, works for the dogs, and that gives owners a 50/50 chance of scoring stake money, the trial didn't last long and they reverted to 10 to 12 runners, presumably the punters like the pools to be higher with the extra runners.

That's why I think the 2YO races with 5 runners is doing the Industry more harm than good! 

[JJ Flash 2,628]

18 hours ago, CeeMeNow said:

If you substitute Entain, for government, you have a statement that represents the NZ situation for Harness Racing, Victoria has 2 more years of government support, we have 4 years of Entain support, then we are screwed, unless there is a huge increase in betting on Harness .

Put simply, the Gross Betting Revenue is less than the Funding Cost, in round figures the NI to date this season, has Revenue of $4million but Funding Costs of $6million.

Put about as simple as it is to see NZ harness is on a one way street to Gymkhana racing with lower stakes . I'll give it 15-20 years under current amateur  leadership model. The other thing that might help is some serious work by RIU staff in policing rules and that means for instance, not accepting lame driver excuses, obvious non triers, penalizing those  anticipating starts and that's just for starters.

[2Piper 429]

18 hours ago, MisterEd said:

Give the Punters a product they want to bet on.

Six horse fields on a leaders bias track is not an attractive betting preposition to most, especially when money is tight in a lot of households.

Most smaller punters  like a bet on bigger fields where there is a chance of making 10x your wager or better and there is no chance of that happening if a $1.40 favourite is in the first three.

Bring back the six pack, or introduce some bet types where there is a decent amount of money up for grabs, then people might take a chance and bet more.

Like  the idea of the Six Pack. 

[Ohokaman 6,467]

21 hours ago, CeeMeNow said:

" As an industry we are in real trouble, living beyond our means and reliant on government financial support. We need urgent transformational change to adapt to the current situation that the industry finds itself in,"  Victorian Harness Racing Treasurer Shane Gloury said.

This is an extract from an article in Harnesslink  (Au) 29th Feb, it should be compulsory reading for HRNZ and all club officials.

If you substitute Entain, for government, you have a statement that represents the NZ situation for Harness Racing, Victoria has 2 more years of government support, we have 4 years of Entain support, then we are screwed, unless there is a huge increase in betting on Harness .

Put simply, the Gross Betting Revenue is less than the Funding Cost, in round figures the NI to date this season, has Revenue of $4million but Funding Costs of $6million.

 

That the same Gloury that was at Addington years ago…..?

[CeeMeNow 372]

On 3/5/2024 at 1:40 PM, Ohokaman said:

That the same Gloury that was at Addington years ago…..?

Yes, he was CEO of Addington from 2008 to 2011, previously had been with Harness Racing Victoria for 10 years, and obviously back with them now. 

[Idolmite 3,418]

On 3/4/2024 at 4:18 PM, CeeMeNow said:

I would argue that you shouldn't even bother with a race if you have not got 8 starters as a minimum.

Years ago Melton thought it was a good idea to trial 8 horse fields as their standard field size, works for the dogs, and that gives owners a 50/50 chance of scoring stake money, the trial didn't last long and they reverted to 10 to 12 runners, presumably the punters like the pools to be higher with the extra runners.

That's why I think the 2YO races with 5 runners is doing the Industry more harm than good! 

 

I imagine Alex Park would love 8 horse fields. 6 or 7 is about as big as they're getting right now.

[CeeMeNow 372]

19 hours ago, Idolmite said:

 

I imagine Alex Park would love 8 horse fields. 6 or 7 is about as big as they're getting right now.

Which is why the Turnovers are pathetic, on last months season to date figures,  ATC would need to drop Stakes by 35% just to break even, NI clubs have lost the support of punters with their small fields, and with the latest significant drop in expected foals the situation is not going to change anytime soon.

The relevant numbers suggest to me, that the Park should be closed, and Cambridge race weekly with the higher horse numbers that become available.

 

[mikenz 1,277]

56 minutes ago, CeeMeNow said:

Which is why the Turnovers are pathetic, on last months season to date figures,  ATC would need to drop Stakes by 35% just to break even, NI clubs have lost the support of punters with their small fields, and with the latest significant drop in expected foals the situation is not going to change anytime soon.

The relevant numbers suggest to me, that the Park should be closed, and Cambridge race weekly with the higher horse numbers that become available.

 

One would wonder if HRNZ would want to sell Alexandra Park, might end up costing them by the time all the Financials are   all settled  

[CeeMeNow 372]

On 3/4/2024 at 3:42 PM, CeeMeNow said:

" As an industry we are in real trouble, living beyond our means and reliant on government financial support. We need urgent transformational change to adapt to the current situation that the industry finds itself in,"  Victorian Harness Racing Treasurer Shane Gloury said.

This is an extract from an article in Harnesslink  (Au) 29th Feb, it should be compulsory reading for HRNZ and all club officials.823,000

If you substitute Entain, for government, you have a statement that represents the NZ situation for Harness Racing, Victoria has 2 more years of government support, we have 4 years of Entain support, then we are screwed, unless there is a huge increase in betting on Harness .

Put simply, the Gross Betting Revenue is less than the Funding Cost, in round figures the NI to date this season, has Revenue of $4million but Funding Costs of $6million.

 

Another quote from the article;

" The Kindred bodies were advised that despite $3.9m in stakemoney cuts, and a further $6m in operating savings announced by HRV last August, that HRV is still incurring large financial losses"

Some information from HRNZ July 31 2023 Annual Report;

Funding Revenue TAB & RNZ            2023    $41,823,000           2022      $48,866,000

Club Stakes & Support *                                    $38,332,000                        $37,053,000       * HRNZ used $2.13m of reserves for Stakes 2023

Board Remuneration                                        $212,000                               $180,000

Cash on Hand and at Bank *                            $1,948,000                           $11,424,000       * There is an Investment in a managed Fund of $7.8m, Zero last year 

In the 2023 year, HRNZ made a LOSS of  $1.98 million, previous year was a Profit of $4.7 million

With Entain the 2023/24 funding budget is $59,000,000

It is obvious that the funding available to HRNZ this year has no relevance to the earning ability of the product we are selling, which is being continuously devalued by rubbish like Fridays ATC offering.

 

[CeeMeNow 372]

HRNZ Annual Report

"If we can improve our domestic Gross Betting Revenue, we will directly benefit from this in the funding allocated to us through the code funding model and agreement"

"Improved product means programming races that will attract good quality fields of horses and be exciting for punters to wager on"

Auckland  =  FAIL

"The number and quality of our venues and training facilities is a key part of our product. Consultation has commenced on the criteria for venues, with a Nation Venue Plan to be completed by May 2024. This plan will set the future of venues for training and racing for the next 10 years."

Presumably consultation with clubs has already taken place?

You would have thought that stopping Auckland from selling Franklin before this review would have been a priority.

"The recent brand refresh we undertook to reposition our brand for a younger audience is an example of one of those initiatives"

Must have missed that!    "We consulted with local agency Plato Creative, and their initial research indicated that harness racing is seen in the wider community as dated and for wealthy, rural white men"

 

 

[MisterEd 424]

22 minutes ago, CeeMeNow said:

"The number and quality of our venues and training facilities is a key part of our product. Consultation has commenced on the criteria for venues, with a Nation Venue Plan to be completed by May 2024. This plan will set the future of venues for training and racing for the next 10 years."

Yet they will completely ignore the fact Alexandra Park is losing money, the fields are shit, the return to the industry for Alex Parks losses are being propped up from good grass track racing in the south and label Alex Park as one of the tracks we should be keeping.

The consultation will be a complete sham and a fucking waste of time and money. 

[JJ Flash 2,628]

Given the above , how would you like to be on HRNZ board knowing that the right thing to do is to stop subsidizing ATC to the extent they currently do by less funding. Anyone see any of the current lot sticking their head above the parapet to cease the current nonsense?

[JJ Flash 2,628]

On 3/9/2024 at 9:44 PM, CeeMeNow said:

With Entain the 2023/24 funding budget is $59,000,000

Surely that cant continue CMN. 

[MisterEd 424]

Auckland this week have 1 x 5 horse field, 1 x 6 horse field, three seven horse fields and 2 eight horse fields in their program.

How is that sustainable? And how will it generate enough turnover to make it viable? 

 

[Nelli 556]

Instead of all this negative talk, I'd like to hear of what transformational change could be made to turn northern harness racing around. Only a few days ago I rewatched a race of one of our horses on 31 Dec 2021. What struck me were the crowds and families present, as they had also been at Cambridge on the 24th.  IMO we need to reinstate the family-friendly summer Northern carnival and picnic meetings to attract new people to our sport. Half of NZ's population live Hamilton north. We only need to draw in a small % of them to make a massive difference.

[Ohokaman 6,467]

What’s happened to the plans for Forbury Park after the DCC paid $13m to acquire it… ?

Just full of weeds now, but I did like the earlier proposal…..

 

[CeeMeNow 372]

4 hours ago, JJ Flash said:

Surely that cant continue CMN. 

While the Racing Industry has 5 years guaranteed funding, I presume that the Harness share is based on our % of GBR , I thought that I had seen last year, a HRNZ projection of future expectations but Google can't find it so it probably doesn't exist.

Entain said  "As a result of the deal structure, the first 12-18 months will be an investment period for Entain, to establish the right framework for the remaining 23 years of the partnership"

I take that to mean that they will throw money at the codes this year to try and increase T/O and punter participation, and of course hope that the new government will introduce geo-blocking, which will result in another $100m for the racing codes.

I think that the $59m includes $4-5m of one off payments, that will not necessarily be repeated,

To date, this season, no NI club has generated more GBR than HRNZ Funded Stakes, although Wairarapa with their 6 race meeting got very close,

Wairarapa        Stakes  $76360                GBR  $75915                  99.4%

ATC                                 $3,156,568                    $2,089,253           66.2%

Manawatu                      $616,229                       $199,731              32.4%

You would have thought that HRNZ would have insisted on clubs meeting certain performance criteria to earn the funding?

 

 

[Ohokaman 6,467]

17 minutes ago, Nelli said:

Instead of all this negative talk, I'd like to hear of what transformational change could be made to turn northern harness racing around. Only a few days ago I rewatched a race of one of our horses on 31 Dec 2021. What struck me were the crowds and families present, as they had also been at Cambridge on the 24th.  IMO we need to reinstate the family-friendly summer Northern carnival and picnic meetings to attract new people to our sport. Half of NZ's population live Hamilton north. We only need to draw in a small % of them to make a massive difference.

This article on Picnic meetings in Australia still has relevance today Nelli. The “lack of pretension” and “informality” are key words.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/racing/grassroots-racing-is-a-picnic-20111027-1mled.html

[Nelli 556]

Yes Ohokaman, picnic meetings in the North should have been  regarded a must, not a nice-to-have. Pirongia on Boxing Day and Tauranga on Anniversary weekend used to be major crowd pullers year after year. Both canned for different reasons. Having lost all the associated sponsors and community memory they would be hard but not impossible to reboot if there was a group of enthusiasts at Cambridge willing to do so.

[MisterEd 424]

1 hour ago, Nelli said:

Instead of all this negative talk, I'd like to hear of what transformational change could be made to turn northern harness racing around. Only a few days ago I rewatched a race of one of our horses on 31 Dec 2021. What struck me were the crowds and families present, as they had also been at Cambridge on the 24th.  IMO we need to reinstate the family-friendly summer Northern carnival and picnic meetings to attract new people to our sport. Half of NZ's population live Hamilton north. We only need to draw in a small % of them to make a massive difference.

For the owners more stakes, for the trainers better handicapping and programming would help, for the punters bigger fields and bigger dividends.

Some forward thinking leadership is required for sure. Getting the people at the top to sign on to any new or good ideas would be a challenge.

[lamour 724]

2 hours ago, MisterEd said:

Auckland this week have 1 x 5 horse field, 1 x 6 horse field, three seven horse fields and 2 eight horse fields in their program.

In the short term they either need to attract significant numbers of horses from the South Island or limit meetings to one per week in the Auckland Cambridge area.   

[Idolmite 3,418]

Bring back the likes Delightful Lady, Armalight and Bonnies Chance, Lord Module, Hands Down and Locarno, Chokin, Christopher Vance and Master Musician, Lyell Creek, La Coocaracha and Scotch Tar, Gammalite, Popular Alm and Themightquinn,, Christian Cullen, Luxury Liner and Royden Glen. Then throw in Leap to Fame, Hi Manameisjeff and Frankie Ferocious. Horses that'll attract people to the track, but even if they can't make it they will still tune in and spend a dollar. Better chuck in Adore Me, Mainland Banner and Monkey King too. And Franco Ice, Iraklis and Idolmite. 

TV coverage is the first thing that drove people from the track, but they could still watch and have a bet, made even easier since the advent of the internet. But now, in Auckland at least, people don't go to the track, watch OR bet. The reason? The product is rubbish. Both the quality AND quantity of the fields is sadly lacking. It's as simple as that. I don't profess to have the answers, but it begins with breeders wanting to breed, more foals being born and larger and more competitive fields, and a handicapping system and prize money that encourages owners to keep their horses and race them at home. And visitors to visit from across the Tasman. If the answers were found tomorrow it'll still take years for us to notice any great difference to the dross we're served up weekly currently.  S a