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At Last! Good On You Wheels

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John Wheeler says spending is out of control

BARRY LICHTER

 

 

The New Zealand Racing Board has become a despot, says leading trainer John Wheeler, spending money willy nilly that the industry cannot afford.

Wheeler is incensed about revelations the board has had to revise the over ambitious forecasts of its recently departed chief executive Chris Bayliss, leaving the codes facing more lean years.

"They spend money hand over foot and we get the left-overs," Wheeler said of NZRB.

"I've been saying for 10 years that the funding model is wrong. How much longer do we have to tolerate it?

"We shouldn't be getting the crumbs. The codes should be getting what they need to make racing flourish and the board should be cutting its cloth to suit."

While Bayliss was talking a 50% rise in returns to owners within five years, Wheeler said he gave up believing anything the board said years ago after a succession of ineffectual highly-paid CEOs had come and gone.

"The board has been dysfunctional for a decade and it's time the Racing Minister did something.

"Costs have doubled in the last decade, they've hired more and more staff, it's out of control."

Wheeler said the industry was now paying for the grand spending spree that its just departed CEO Chris Bayliss went on, millions spent on moving to flash new offices in Parnell, a $10 million state-of-the-art Trackside studio and a failed Triple Trio campaign.

Wheeler said he understood the cost of the failed Typhoon betting system was also a lot higher than the $11.1 million the board wrote off in 2012.

"Thoroughbred Racing needs only another $3 million or $4 million to make a go of it."

 

 

 

This has been an on going concern for a number of us that have posted exactly on this issue here over a number of years. 

 

Great to see Wheels publicly take up the issue and lets hope other industry participants get invovled and speak out as well.

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I've lost count of the number of times I have asked the question, "How can you justify a 50% + increase in expenditure at HO when there's so little improvement in the stakes and funding to grass roots?".

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John Wheeler says spending is out of control

 

BARRY LICHTER

 

 

The New Zealand Racing Board has become a despot, says leading trainer John Wheeler, spending money willy nilly that the industry cannot afford.

Wheeler is incensed about revelations the board has had to revise the over ambitious forecasts of its recently departed chief executive Chris Bayliss, leaving the codes facing more lean years.

"They spend money hand over foot and we get the left-overs," Wheeler said of NZRB.

"I've been saying for 10 years that the funding model is wrong. How much longer do we have to tolerate it?

"We shouldn't be getting the crumbs. The codes should be getting what they need to make racing flourish and the board should be cutting its cloth to suit."

While Bayliss was talking a 50% rise in returns to owners within five years, Wheeler said he gave up believing anything the board said years ago after a succession of ineffectual highly-paid CEOs had come and gone.

"The board has been dysfunctional for a decade and it's time the Racing Minister did something.

"Costs have doubled in the last decade, they've hired more and more staff, it's out of control."

Wheeler said the industry was now paying for the grand spending spree that its just departed CEO Chris Bayliss went on, millions spent on moving to flash new offices in Parnell, a $10 million state-of-the-art Trackside studio and a failed Triple Trio campaign.

Wheeler said he understood the cost of the failed Typhoon betting system was also a lot higher than the $11.1 million the board wrote off in 2012.

"Thoroughbred Racing needs only another $3 million or $4 million to make a go of it."

 

 

 

This has been an on going concern for a number of us that have posted exactly on this issue here over a number of years. 

 

Great to see Wheels publicly take up the issue and lets hope other industry participants get invovled and speak out as well.

 

Team, it will take more from the likes of John W and Chris W….plus other heavyweights. They are in denial in Petone, it's a crying shame, they are unaccountable, and that in itself is frightening.

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I've lost count of the number of times I have asked the question, "How can you justify a 50% + increase in expenditure at HO when there's so little improvement in the stakes and funding to grass roots?".

 

Precisely Trump.  I mean helloooo??!  Rocket science it aint ..... 

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Guest 2Admin2

Not only the NZRB but the NZTR as well - allegedly they have money to waste on legal fees!

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..as the first person to've identified the empire building and then posting vehement alarms of protest about this, it is not before time [about 5yrs too late] that someone of 'standing' and prominence..has finally taken podius proclaimation of it. [i began my mantra about eight years ago by now!]

 

halve the 'city of suits'..and there you have the money for track and infrastructure resurrection...as well as revitalising the stakes recovery pyramid.

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Just like government departments and councils and many other organisations  within this country they are corrupt and unaccountable. You only ever need one bad captain of a ship to sink all the hard work that is done over the years of many good captains, so easy to spend money that isn't yours and to be paid  large sums to do it regardless of the results of your decisions.

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John Wheeler is one of the few in racing that can unite everyone behind him.

 

And speaking of "at last" Stormin Normin was John's first jumping winner this winter and believe it or not only the second since he won the Grand National more than a year ago.

Lets hope the wheel has been fixed.

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One word. Leadership. If you have right people at the top it can completely change the sport. Unfortunately we have had a run of woeful and ineffective bosses employed from outside the industry who couldn't give two tosses about the long term health of the sport. Cherry picking money figures to suit themselves and ignoring the wider issues. And until more people like John speak out nothing will change. 

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Goodonya Wheels.  

 

Well said.

Seems there 'are none so blind as those that will not see' and they all come from NZTR.

 

When are they to be held accountable??

Or will that happen when there is nothing in the trough into which they poke their snouts??

What will happen to NZ racing then.  No money left for stakes, no money left for anything.

 

Who will employ them??   Not, I assume, that any of us care.

As Trump said 'how can 50%+ expenditure at HO be justified'  They do bugger all to deserve it.

 

 

What about the Racing Minister?  Has he ever been to a race meeting?  Strapped a horse?  Owned a horse?  

 

The powers that be (or think they be) might charge Wheels with some obscure rule invented to cover their collective bums & dignity. Why would they do that?  Because they can.  

 

What we need is a decent revolution!!!!

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The Board have to be brought to account. The Operational Management from the CEO down are only doing what the Board sit by and allow them to do. There's nothing corrupt in that as some misguided individuals on here suggest. It reminds me a bit of Qantas. Bleeding cash profusely yet the Board express confidence! It's like having the best maintained car yard in town with beaut buildings, gardens, fountains, banners, neon signs etc - but having no stock on the yard! The bath tub is slowly emptying....

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Words fail me.  

 

If what you say is correct Von S. - and I have no reason to doubt you -  Wheel's comment is wasted if he is one of the members of the NZTR council.  Surely his position on the council should give him a better 'voice' than others???

 

l give up.  The industry is doomed to failure. .

 

How can you soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by ducks.?

 

Let's hope last one out turns off the lights - least some of the power bill will be saved.

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Didn't CER when it was conceived, was to bring economic value to both NZ and Australia?

Why in racing is it so one sided?

Australia are getting some of our best training and jockey talent.

NZ are getting all their failed adminstrators and look where our industry is going compared to Australia.

Time we looked at re exporting these imposters.

Sorry to the sausage roll manufacturing industry.

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With all due respect what the hell would Glenda Hughes know about racing?

 

That is the issue with both NZRB and NZTR - the governance(and management) lacks any empathy with the industry.  In the case of NZTR in days gone by with the district committee system at least you had to earn your place around the board table by progressing through the ranks.  Some may have been incompetent but at least the had the interests of the industry at heart(and they knew the interests because they had invariably been there and done that)

 

From the perspective of the NZRB it is clear that the Clubs and the participants are just a major irritation.  They would much prefer that they go away and die(in the case of the clubs) or give up on the game(the participants) so that thay(the NZRB and TAB) can run their empire answering to nobody and using imported product and incur costs to their hearts content.

 

What we need is a decent racing minister(with a feeling for the game not just out to grab votes and industry adoration) and a system whereby the governance answers to the participants.

 

As an aside can anyone name me an imported CEO who has actually done a great job in this Country in any industry?  This Fonterra bloke might be all right(though the farmers aren't too happy with escalating costs there either) but the Scotsman they brought in to run Telecom didn't cover himself in glory and the ones they import to run racing are, from where I sit, a total disaster.

 

With technology advancing the way it is (and gettting cheaper!)the wage increases ought to be being offset by that and in any case they tell me the presenters are paid a pittance and do the job for love.  I appreciate there are a lot more staff than that but like a typical government department we have to have an explosion of bums on seats behind seats to grow our little(Yeah right!) empire.

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Ex cop isn't she?

 

Advisor to National Ministers

 

Shot putter or discus thrower(whichever one she was an NZ Champion and Commonwealth games representative)

 

Former Insurance agent for AMP

 

One thing missing is (to my knowledge) any involvement in Racing.

 

Not that I am personally attacking her - this was going on long before Glenda Hughes got the role and if she walked away it would not stop.

 

Is there anyone with a genuine affection for the racing industry in those organisations?  A person who has owned a few(maybe not 90 but a few), spent some time at the local TAB and on the committee of a club, actually likes horses and likes the type of people in the racing game

 

This situation is getting desperate...

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Ex cop isn't she?

 

Advisor to National Ministers

 

Shot putter or discus thrower(whichever one she was an NZ Champion and Commonwealth games representative)

 

Former Insurance agent for AMP

 

One thing missing is (to my knowledge) any involvement in Racing.

 

Not that I am personally attacking her - this was going on long before Glenda Hughes got the role and if she walked away it would not stop.

 

Is there anyone with a genuine affection for the racing industry in those organisations?  A person who has owned a few(maybe not 90 but a few), spent some time at the local TAB and on the committee of a club, actually likes horses and likes the type of people in the racing game

 

This situation is getting desperate...

 

Its more than obvious the whole structure of racing must change. I query the TAB is even necessary for modern day racing.

Racing just needs a betting app. After that everything can be opened up to private endeavour. 

 

You are right putting in someone like Glenda Hughes into racing is an insult to participants. But then again just being familiar with the industry is not enough. 

When a Betfair executive was interviewed he said. " Betfair is not a betting organisation... its a software company."

 

The TAB can be sidelined by racing and instead a new organisation formed that links all the endeavours around racing such exports, ownership, entertainment together. Like anything in information technology old betting infrasture is rapidly becoming out of date even the self serve outlets. Betting should be free of operators, quick simple and linked with banking technology. 

 

When Derek Handley was 21 and launched Feverpitch the racing hierarchy didn't want to know him. Nothing has changed. The racing hierarchy still can't see past their next free trip or cocktail party.

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Its more than obvious the whole structure of racing must change. I query the TAB is even necessary for modern day racing.

Racing just needs a betting app. After that everything can be opened up to private endeavour. 

 

You are right putting in someone like Glenda Hughes into racing is an insult to participants. But then again just being familiar with the industry is not enough. 

When a Betfair executive was interviewed he said. " Betfair is not a betting organisation... its a software company."

 

The TAB can be sidelined by racing and instead a new organisation formed that links all the endeavours around racing such exports, ownership, entertainment together. Like anything in information technology old betting infrasture is rapidly becoming out of date even the self serve outlets. Betting should be free of operators, quick simple and linked with banking technology. 

 

When Derek Handley was 21 and launched Feverpitch the racing hierarchy didn't want to know him. Nothing has changed. The racing hierarchy still can't see past their next free trip or cocktail party.

 

Interesting slam dunk!...contact Kim Dot Com...you and him may be able to conjure something up!

 

You are right though, the hangers on at tab,s in town these days, playin pokies etc...not a good look.

 

Still enjoy club and pub tabs though (my opinion only) 

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NZ is living in the past with its non-competitive TAB. It's time that NZRB opened up the betting to all-comers and charged accordingly. Then there's the huge/massive diabolical cost blowout over the last 5 or more years......how the NZRB can sit by allowing this to happen is mystifying to say the least. I would be ashamed to be part of that legacy.

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