Lincoln Farms boss slams RITA

[Redoute's Choice 16]

This report from John Messara, did the working of this investigation include a comprehensive financial audit of the racing industry including TAB or was it more of a philosophical musing? Is this available for reading?

I'm still completely blown away by the amount of money the RIU takes to operate. I didn't think racing in NZ was necessarily losing millions to underworld activity, money laundering or large scale doping programmes before they came into existence? There's a few conflicts of interests on the business side but hardly anything which requires a FBI for racing. 

[uneasy 497]

If the RIU were doing there job properly the first thing they should be investigating should be there own parent body RITA and who is spending such ridiculous amounts of money. 

[shaneMcAlister 1,425]

1 hour ago, Redoute's Choice said:

This report from John Messara, did the working of this investigation include a comprehensive financial audit of the racing industry including TAB or was it more of a philosophical musing? Is this available for reading?

I'm still completely blown away by the amount of money the RIU takes to operate. I didn't think racing in NZ was necessarily losing millions to underworld activity, money laundering or large scale doping programmes before they came into existence? There's a few conflicts of interests on the business side but hardly anything which requires a FBI for racing. 

Hi Redoute's Choice

Please find a link to Messara report.

https://www.dia.govt.nz/vwluResources/Racing-Report-August-2018/$file/Review-of-the-NZ-Racing-Industry-Report.pdf

The best way to reduce corruption in racing is good prize money.  There is not much skulduggery in NZ racing from my experience.  Rumours and folklore really.

To stop a horse all that is needed is to run it in a race over an unsuitable distance or track conditions, and that information is available for a punter in terms of form.

[Red Rum 1,833]

37 minutes ago, uneasy said:

If the RIU were doing there job properly the first thing they should be investigating should be there own parent body RITA and who is spending such ridiculous amounts of money. 

When the head of a failing organisation earns more than head of armed forces let alone the PM , very very serious questions need asking .

[arjay 451]

Remember when George, Tom, or Fred had a TAB outlet, made a living, and paid the rent on the property?  Yellow ticket days, and early computer sales. I can recall slipping an envelope with my bets under his door if busy in the day,  they were great days in a lot of ways.

[Berri 2,131]

1 hour ago, Redoute's Choice said:

This report from John Messara, did the working of this investigation include a comprehensive financial audit of the racing industry including TAB or was it more of a philosophical musing? Is this available for reading?

I'm still completely blown away by the amount of money the RIU takes to operate. I didn't think racing in NZ was necessarily losing millions to underworld activity, money laundering or large scale doping programmes before they came into existence? There's a few conflicts of interests on the business side but hardly anything which requires a FBI for racing. 

Unfortunately the scope of the Messarra report didn't extend into an audit of RITA. Nor did it review the RIU. This has been a fat gravy train developed by incumbent bureaucrats who haven't understood was was/ is required. There are many more efficient methodologies of managing integrity issues. Most of them require good technology which unfortunately the powers that be seem to ignore. This is probably due to them not knowing the topic, not understanding the topic or not understanding what needs to be developed due to the lack of the former.

It's not difficult to do if you know how to do it. Some of us in the industry are aghast at the lack of accuracy on these matters.

[Redoute's Choice 16]

Thanks Berri,

That defies belief really! A selective review without an accurate look at 2 of the main components of racing falls way short of comprehensive and is a failure on the part of both agencies to allow full disclosure and transparency, something which both organisations should promote.

[We're Doomed 4,865]

17 hours ago, Red Rum said:

My understanding is he had no experience at all in the gambling industry , had he ever thrown a buck in a fruit machine or one arm Bandit maybe ,   700k who on earth recruited someone with no experience in the gambling industry to run a gambling industry  on 700k .  Surely that person is also ex employee too. 

 

For probably 20 years it has been considered the clever thing to do to appoint people with no knowledge of, or interest in, Racing to important positions. I think the theory goes that they have great business skills from other fields that will be of benefit to Racing, and they will be impartial in their dealings with industry participants. The assumption is that Racing people are too thick to run their own industry so it is best that they are just humoured and kept in the dark as much as possible.

I am sure there must be one total outsider that has had a degree of success, but they don't immediately spring to mind, someone may be able to name one such person, but overall the theory has not been very successful.

[von Smallhaussen 3,226]

27 minutes ago, We're Doomed said:

For probably 20 years it has been considered the clever thing to do to appoint people with no knowledge of, or interest in, Racing to important positions. I think the theory goes that they have great business skills from other fields that will be of benefit to Racing, and they will be impartial in their dealings with industry participants. The assumption is that Racing people are too thick to run their own industry so it is best that they are just humoured and kept in the dark as much as possible.

I am sure there must be one total outsider that has had a degree of success, but they don't immediately spring to mind, someone may be able to name one such person, but overall the theory has not been very successful.

think of it another way W D ... they have been successful alright ( in their own way ) - they think the racing participants are thick so will come in and take as much of their $$$ as they can get and then get out! 

 

[Leggy 4,084]

1 hour ago, Berri said:

Unfortunately the scope of the Messarra report didn't extend into an audit of RITA. Nor did it review the RIU.

What? You must have a different version of the Messara report than I do. Mine says:

4.Request that a Performance and Efficiency Audit of the NZRB be initiated under section 14 of the Racing Act 2003, with particularemphasis on the operating costs of the NZRB.

6.Initiate a special review of the structure and efficacy of the RIU and allied integrity bodies, to be conducted by an independent qualified person.

These were both  delivered last year.

https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Racing-Industry-Bill/$file/Special-Review-of-Structure-and-Efficacy-of-RIU-and-Integrity-Bodies.pdf

https://www.rita.org.nz/sites/default/files/documents/NZRB_Performance and Efficiency Report_Final.pdf

[nomates 3,604]

1 hour ago, Redoute's Choice said:

Thanks Berri,

That defies belief really! A selective review without an accurate look at 2 of the main components of racing falls way short of comprehensive and is a failure on the part of both agencies to allow full disclosure and transparency, something which both organisations should promote.

The problem was that Messara reported what the suits wanted him to , he just followed the arrows they had put in place so they would get the required result that suited their own ends . When you can just drive through a race course without stopping to interact and peruse the facilities , then recommend closure then you are following a pre ordained script . The suits certainly didn't place any arrows that pointed in their direction , hence no review of their management . 

[nomates 3,604]

I know my above post looks at it simplistically , but when you can recommend closing a track without even stepping out of the car but make no major recommendations regarding your review of RIU and NZRB something is out of kilter . If he did make recommendations of said orgs then they have ignored them .

[Patiti 274]

36 minutes ago, Leggy said:

These were both  delivered last year.

https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Racing-Industry-Bill/$file/Special-Review-of-Structure-and-Efficacy-of-RIU-and-Integrity-Bodies.pdf

https://www.rita.org.nz/sites/default/files/documents/NZRB_Performance and Efficiency Report_Final.pdf

WOW

Thanks for that. Never realised they had been completed and delivered.

[tasman man 11 979]

7 hours ago, barryb said:

Your first statement says you agree with me & then the 2nd half of your post sinks the boot in.

If the TAB cannot offer competitive products, then it cannot rely on $5 punters blindly loyal like you to sustain it forever, the solution is to sell it to Australia and watch them turn it around.

Yes I want NZ Racing to continue, I have 3 horses in work myself,  but not if they need repeated Govt handouts & then need handouts from the likes of you with the TAB via a poor performing product. There comes a time TM when eventually businesses listen to there customers or just quietly die, nows that time.

 

Don't be offended big Barry......another recent catch phrase along with Buy Local is Go Hard and Go Early !

So I kinda tried to answer your dilemma in one longish post rather than a volley of one liners....no sinking the boot in intended...sorry champ!

Their intent was to have a 'world class' betting platform and to increase the number of options available........so the big spend was signed off and agreed by the Board , they worked hard to clip the ticket and to get the Government to reduce their levies etcThe Budget looked feasible.

But the changeover was a disaster .....they badly lost their way trying to limit/discourage winning punters.

Sadly it turned to custard .

I experienced the frustrations of missing a few bets one Melbourne Cup Day cos of overload ,I was at the races when their system crashed a few times ,once by well over an hour at Blenheim trots one day etc.

But I understand how a lot of pools were whittled away cos too many options available etc and I realise Aussie pools so much bigger and better.

I still think the NZ TAB and Trackside has made huge progress over the years and as I repeat the NZ TAB a profitable Business , consistently making around $140 mill per year.

Few businesses have been able to cope with Co-vid 19.

The other thing I find interesting is how many on here are suddenly highlighting the obscene expenses, salaries etc on here when these expenses have been this level or higher for many ,many years.

NZ racing has been in decline ditto the betting on them year on year ....Aussie Racing and Sports increasing so those who invest heavily in NZ Racing like Lincoln Farms......what were they thinking ?

[Peter R S 412]

4.Request that a Performance and Efficiency Audit of the NZRB be initiated under section 14 of the Racing Act 2003, with particularemphasis on the operating costs of the NZRB.

 

One graph says this business has to change dramatically to survive - then along came Covid-19!

 

One stuffed business.pdf

[LightsOut 486]

As P T Barnum once said:

Quote

The possession of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in order to insure success.

How true a quote.

One thing P T Barnum and the last two CEO's of the TAB had in common was they were all showmen.  

[Leggy 4,084]

25 minutes ago, Peter R S said:

4.Request that a Performance and Efficiency Audit of the NZRB be initiated under section 14 of the Racing Act 2003, with particularemphasis on the operating costs of the NZRB.

 

One graph says this business has to change dramatically to survive - then along came Covid-19!

 

One stuffed business.pdf

It's not a pretty picture is it Peter and I wonder what it looks like 6 months on and when they'll release that half year report so we can see. If as McKenzie said operating expenses have exceeded revenue in the last 6 or 7 weeks with turnover around $27m a week, it will have only got worse since then but there seems no sign of them doing anything about it so I'd say if it was stuffed last July, it is doubly stuffed now.

[Leggy 4,084]

5 minutes ago, LightsOut said:

As P T Barnum once said:

How true a quote.

One thing P T Barnum and the last two CEO's of the TAB had in common was they were all showmen.  

They also all ran circuses.

[tasman man 11 979]

2 hours ago, Berri said:

Unfortunately the scope of the Messarra report didn't extend into an audit of RITA. Nor did it review the RIU. This has been a fat gravy train developed by incumbent bureaucrats who haven't understood was was/ is required. There are many more efficient methodologies of managing integrity issues. Most of them require good technology which unfortunately the powers that be seem to ignore. This is probably due to them not knowing the topic, not understanding the topic or not understanding what needs to be developed due to the lack of the former.

It's not difficult to do if you know how to do it. Some of us in the industry are aghast at the lack of accuracy on these matters.

Berri ...as one of the senior more experienced writers on Racecafe and probably the only Melbourne Cup winner ,I'd expect you to gather your facts when joining in the feeding frenzy on the NZRB/Rita.

The Messara report did cover off the RIU....from memory it on the RIU website.

Again from memory the report compared NZ Racing with that of Western Australia Racing as similar size and maybe similar geographical challenges.

Overall  NZ came up very comparable in coverage and costs....a cost of $1 mill per annum for Vets doing swabs etc was charged back to clubs instead of being borne by RIU as in NZ.

Also please read the 2010 NZRB Annual Report which must have been the period when the RIU was launched in its current form and maybe given more focus.

It followed research done in NZ on the 6 main sports looking at 13 attributes.

Maybe predictably racing did not research well...finishing last in 11 of them,including the 6 integrity questions.

- 41 % of Kiwis thought NZ Racing had a problem with Corruption

- 40% of Kiwis thought NZ Racing had a problem with Drugs.

- 26% thought it NOT honest and ethical

WORST ,only 16% of Kiwis looked positively upon Racing and Wagering.

The Board really had to react to that !

Some may say the sample was small ,and Racing can't be compared to League and Soccer etc and thats not my neighbours mother-in-law says but it surely was a wakeup call.

 

[Berri 2,131]

1 hour ago, Leggy said:

What? You must have a different version of the Messara report than I do. Mine says:

4.Request that a Performance and Efficiency Audit of the NZRB be initiated under section 14 of the Racing Act 2003, with particularemphasis on the operating costs of the NZRB.

6.Initiate a special review of the structure and efficacy of the RIU and allied integrity bodies, to be conducted by an independent qualified person.

These were both  delivered last year.

https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Racing-Industry-Bill/$file/Special-Review-of-Structure-and-Efficacy-of-RIU-and-Integrity-Bodies.pdf

https://www.rita.org.nz/sites/default/files/documents/NZRB_Performance and Efficiency Report_Final.pdf

I think the confusion may be between Messara requesting and audit be done versus him actually having completed an audit. My understanding was that Messara said do it and it has not yet been done

[Leggy 4,084]

2 minutes ago, Berri said:

I think the confusion may be between Messara requesting and audit be done versus him actually having completed an audit. My understanding was that Messara said do it and it has not yet been done

What?  They've been done and the links to the reports are above. Can't see anything confusing about that.

[Berri 2,131]

Tasman Man....

I think there is a slight difference between Redoute's Choice's post and was is currently being said and the terms of reference that Messara was using to complete the report. Unfortunately there were some pretty narrow bands which couldn't be addressed. Yes comments were made about the RIU, as was structure, but there wasn't a complete review of it done. It would have been nice but Messara had a delivery time that needed to fit into the proposed Bill preparation and time table. Just unfortunate that the Green twats stuffed everything up for us all. 

In addition, I did not necessarily agree with everything that John advised but that could be put down to interpretation and alternative thoughts relating to the modernisation of the potential of the industry.  Lots to discuss but I'll keep saying it, the potential of block chain initiatives will strip the industry to its birthday suit.

[Berri 2,131]

9 minutes ago, Leggy said:

What?  They've been done and the links to the reports are above. Can't see anything confusing about that.

So was that report done by Messara or the DIA?

[Leggy 4,084]

9 minutes ago, Berri said:

So was that report done by Messara or the DIA?

Read the bloody things. The P&E audit was done by Grant Thornton as required by the Act and Messara's recommendation, an independent auditor - assisted by Paul Bittar.

The RIU review was done by Malcolm Burgess. They were both released 6 months ago.

[Leggy 4,084]

13 minutes ago, Berri said:

Tasman Man....

I think there is a slight difference between Redoute's Choice's post and was is currently being said and the terms of reference that Messara was using to complete the report. Unfortunately there were some pretty narrow bands which couldn't be addressed. Yes comments were made about the RIU, as was structure, but there wasn't a complete review of it done. It would have been nice but Messara had a delivery time that needed to fit into the proposed Bill preparation and time table. Just unfortunate that the Green twats stuffed everything up for us all. 

In addition, I did not necessarily agree with everything that John advised but that could be put down to interpretation and alternative thoughts relating to the modernisation of the potential of the industry.  Lots to discuss but I'll keep saying it, the potential of block chain initiatives will strip the industry to its birthday suit.

You are completely wrong. Messara recommended a review of the RIU. It was done and is at the link above. Not that I think much has been done with it.