john legend 735 Report post Posted August 14, 2019 Sad to see the 1500 dollar maiden bonus disappear this season. The clubs are now required to organise their own stakes from a bulk funding model based on a share of the cake based on turnover from last season.That is fine but some Clubs may struggle towards the end of this season if their lack of other income dries up eg. sponsorship etc.. It puts a lot more responsibility on all Clubs. (hope they do better than some schools when they all went to Bulk funding ! ) LongOwner 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stables 577 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 Control of fundin for stakes paid should be taken from the clubs and allocated by a central body. Stake levels are appalling at the moment. In most cases stakes paid to race winners are between 3 and 4 thousand dollars. Higher stakes such as in group races are funded by breeders and owners and clubs often conribute very little. Central administration of stakes would eliminate the problem of clubs running most of their races at the minimum level and pouring the rest of their funds into country cups etc. to the detriment of the most of owners. If you win one of these races you're lucky to get enough to cover a months training, shoeing and vets bills john legend 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Counter Punch 256 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 It's a messy situation, that's for sure. Bulk funding, in some ways, removes the demand of attempting to get people on course to bet at your race meetings, something which makes me feel uneasy. So much emphasis at a club level used to be on how much money was turned over on your meeting as it ultimately resulted in how much of a payout you would get from either the on course/off course betting and also the Fixed Odds betting - the percentages weren't excessively high - but a good successful meeting could net a club a very nice payout once the bean counters had done their thing. Now we are faced with a situation where some clubs, particularly those who run multiple, low stake, meetings in a season will focus more on other things rather than driving turn over and be happy with the status quo pay out from the bulk funding model. The more proactive clubs however will see the opportunity to hopefully increase their percentage share by consistently delivering good numbers when it comes to turnover to then enhance their ability to push more money back into stakes. There's no hiding from the fact that are stake levels are atrocious, especially when sitting alongside a handicapping system which doesn't do a lot of favours to the up and coming exciting horse who wins a few races in a row. Every club would love to be running for a minimum maiden stake of $10k - but for some, it's just not realistic. westview, badger, Toblerone and 2 others 3 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 The 1500 came from reserves.very disturbing there are none. Is it time for Th he razor gang to through the employees.duplication etc. Doing nothing mean the iceberg is getting closer.predicted recession make the atc apartment project very iffy.everything going up but stakes.where does the buck stop.? My suggestion is do we need 2 HANDICAPPERS?withh the no discretion policy it don't seem a tough job.if it was 100k that 1k on 100 races. LongOwner 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stables 577 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 I think they would be earning a bit more than a 100k Tim. The trouble is there are too many clubs and far too many staff, and we've still got the racing authority millstone around our neck, not to mention the totally inneficient RIU Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 Yup we need to cut costs across the board.i spose our money went into the fruitless n McGrath charges.some one has to pay. LongOwner 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamour 662 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 At the risk of stating the bleedin obvious the problems come down to a lack of adequate income for the industry. There have been attempts made to increase revenue. In the case of the ATC they had a great idea but lost the opportunity due to poor execution. The Met try hard and do well with many investments but it is not enough to create the game changer we need. To get the industry to where we would all like it to be, it probably needs another 12 - 15mil per year to put into stakes. We need some genius business person to come along and figure out how to generate some serious income. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 Who is That.? I'm very pessimistic for northern harness. Ownership is waining I see stone wall trying hard their ads must be costing a fortune. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamour 662 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 28 minutes ago, tim vince said: Who is That.? I'm very pessimistic for northern harness. Ownership is waining I see stone wall trying hard their ads must be costing a fortune. Don’t know who it is but I would like to see someone who has knowledge of broadcasting rights and how to market our sport internationally. Another thought is Someone like John Key could be useful. Love him or hate him, he does seem to know how to make a buck. Also he is known to enjoy harness racing. I think he briefly worked for Cecil Devine as a young teenager. I don’t know the answers but we need leaders that can put their minds to increasing revenues as well as controlling costs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stables 577 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 John Key don't come cheap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamour 662 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 3 minutes ago, Stables said: John Key don't come cheap If you go for cheap you end up with a result like ATC. It’s about how much value a person brings to the roll. If you pay them $1mil & they increase revenue by 10 mil, well that’s a good investment. I have no idea if he would be interested or if his skills would be applicable to our industry. Just making the point our leaders need to think outside the square on how to create the growth needed so the industry can look forward to a bright future. Taku Umanga and harewood 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john legend 735 Report post Posted August 16, 2019 The only action that saved most USA tracks was to make the facilities a destination in their own right. they built casinos and hotels with entertainment where the guest would have fine dining etc. I know its a pipe dream but if Sky city could put a branch in Epsom, Cambridge and Palmerston north and run 24 hours . The Sports bar concept is good and it has saved many state tracks overseas. surely it would have been better than apartment blocks. Maybe Winston could look at a feasibility study...!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamour 662 Report post Posted August 16, 2019 12 minutes ago, john legend said: The only action that saved most USA tracks was to make the facilities a destination in their own right. they built casinos and hotels with entertainment where the guest would have fine dining etc. I know its a pipe dream but if Sky city could put a branch in Epsom, Cambridge and Palmerston north and run 24 hours . The Sports bar concept is good and it has saved many state tracks overseas. surely it would have been better than apartment blocks. Maybe Winston could look at a feasibility study...!! Your dead right JL, sports bar concept with casino works well in USA but I don’t think any government here is going to allow us to go down that road. Some years ago The Met tried to get a licence for some pokies on course but the CCC wouldn’t allow it. john legend 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 16, 2019 U right look up Saratoga track gallo0s and harness.my old boy nerve of steel goes 1.52 every week.forced out of racing viably here by a handicap system loves looking after young horses but crucified the old timers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 19, 2019 Trainer rang me today Auckland can't run an 11th race.not enough dosh.is it time to use the c word.crisis. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shodsie 208 Report post Posted August 19, 2019 makes you wonder why they cant take a $1000 off the other races and run a 10k 11th race....... the money is obviously there $180k appox for the meeting i guess its just politics how the club pays it out............ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 19, 2019 Hard to argue.would receive majority support I think.crisis time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanthegreat 1,123 Report post Posted August 20, 2019 john legend 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim vince 985 Report post Posted August 21, 2019 Yes yes.te suits are treating the crisis like a male with an illness hoping it will go away without going to the doctor..trouble is it usually gets worse and worse and then u need surgery and the maybe die Rusty 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
We're Doomed 4,824 Report post Posted August 21, 2019 Does nobody find it ironic that people seem to be keen to have maidens race for $1,500 more than horses with numerous wins, but at the same time everyone complains about a handicapping system that doesn't move horses through the grades? Perhaps one idea might be to introduce a stakes structure that sees races for higher classes of horses run for higher stakes to incentivise them. hsvman 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john legend 735 Report post Posted August 21, 2019 thanks Ivan good to see monbet down on woodend beach again with Greg and Nina Hope. (although Greg a little disappointed with beach workout. ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...