The state of racing depicted after Nathan Guy’s term as Minister
by Brian de Lore
Published 11th April 2020
It wasn’t a Dick Turpin* ‘stand and deliver’ robbery, condoned by an opportunist Government that reigned for nine long years until the last election, that has stripped the racing industry of its wealth.
It was more reminiscent of the stealth of an undercover petrol-siphoning operation that trickled the fuel out slowly but surely over many years until the gauge was displaying the red light and illuminating ‘reserve tank’ by October 2017.
And at that time in history when National was usurped by a Labour Party Coalition and Winston was entrusted with steering the ship, racing was hopeful the siphoning operation would be suspended in the interests of the future health of the racing industry, and the pre-election promises would slowly bring about a refilling of the tank.
Alas, the siphoning has continued. Mismanagement and self-interest is endemic in the administration. Everyone knows the problem but no one talks about it, at least publicly. The people in charge don’t want change – they’re looking after their own interests – we have a business model that defrauds the people it was set up to benefit, and the culprits carry on as though nothing is wrong.
The question is, to what are we transitioning?
The Government appointed RITA stands for Racing Industry Transition Authority. The question is, to what are we transitioning? Whatever it is, it does not resemble recovery. Neither does it resemble the outcome visualised in MACs Terms of Reference or later outlined in the Racing Minister’s Letter of Expectation to RITA.
Since the appointment of MAC 15 months ago, which became RITA on July 1st last year, the industry debt has gone from $25 million to $45 million. The realisable tangible assets are few, and the daily running costs continue unabated with only token efforts at reducing costs from either RITA or NZTR (New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing).
Last Tuesday, Tabcorp announced that due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic it was taking the action of the “temporary standing down of over 700 Tabcorp employees to 30 June 2020 in businesses of the Group where there is no work as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns.”
By comparison, RITA and NZTR have only tweaked staff costs with no apparent downscaling of numbers, and have been slow even to tweak. We have no racing in New Zealand but have basically maintained staff levels, yet Australia continues to race but is appropriately downsizing – go figure that one out!
Is it because the Wages Subsidy is paying salaries to keep those people fully employed? The answer is unclear. The last round of annual reports showed that the administration costs of running racing are as follows: $200,000 a week each for Greyhounds and Harness, $400,000 a week for thoroughbreds, and $4.1 million a week for RITA – quite a lot for an industry not operating and one likely to return as a ‘cottage industry.’
Does anyone dispute the potential for substantial cost savings?
Does anyone dispute the potential for substantial cost savings?
Australian racing is all that’s keeping our TAB afloat. Since I mentioned the weekly cost of ~$ 5 million last week, we are another ~$5 million worse off.
My information says punters have been leaving Tabcorp in droves in favour of the corporate bookmakers because all Tabcorp’s retail outlets at clubs, pubs and franchised TABs are closed due to Covid-19. Tabcorp is reputably down as much as 40 percent in GBR (Gross Betting Revenue). The NZ TAB with a markedly reduced GBR is also struggling to compete (with no local racing) with the Australian corporates offering more attractive fixed betting odds due to their luxury of scale in a diminished marketplace.
RITA is now awaiting the outcome of an application for a cash bail-out of the industry from the Government. Whether or not its granted is problematic either way. To get the bail-out will put money in the hands of an administration that has been recidivist mismanagers and shown no inclination to restructure and outsource the TAB. It would be BAU, which projects a prolonged but inevitable outcome.
To be rejected exacerbates an already dire predicament. RITA is currently not paying its bills with debt maxed out at $45 million and, therefore, must be close to going into administration. Not knowing who would be in charge of our industry’s future decision-making, particularly in relation to outsourcing the TAB, would be of major concern given the astonishingly poor record of government appointments to racing over the past 15 years.
It was Nathan Guy who became the ultimate ‘Dick Turpin’
It was Nathan Guy who became the ultimate ‘Dick Turpin’ for the National Party when appointed Minister of Racing in 2011, a position he held for six years until David Bennett replaced him in 2017. Nathan Guy showed zero interest in racing despite his position and did the industry two massive disservices when he sat on the ‘racefields’ legislation throughout his entire tenure and did nothing with it despite a visit from Australia’s Peter V’landys to convince him otherwise.
But then in 2015, Guy committed the ultimate offense when appointing National Party Director Glenda Hughes as Chair of the NZRB. Hughes did not qualify under the Racing Act of 2003 terms of appointment (‘no racing experience’) but nevertheless the appointment wasn’t challenged by any of the codes.
That was the most blatant ‘jobs for the boys’ appointment of them all. But it was soon followed in turn by the double sideways nepotistic shift of John Allen, who arrived as a present for racing from Hughes and the then PM John Key. He came via the Department of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand Post – the former euphoric to see the back of him after a 42 Diplomatic signed petition to get rid of him.
…not one with an ounce of racing knowledge or previous experience in racing…
The John Allen ruse was consummated by the infiltration of his civil servant workmates who like all good troopers trundled along after him in the spirit of the Pied Piper to join the circus. And like Allen himself, not one with an ounce of racing knowledge or previous experience in racing on their cv.
Nathan Guy was also the MP who stood up in parliament less than a year ago and declared the unconditional ownership of the TAB to be the Government, amongst his other deprecatory and uninformed remarks that further unendeared him to the stakeholders of racing – as if he hadn’t put the boot in enough during his six years as racing’s ‘mute’ minister.
This bunch of National Party freeloaders and failed civil servants became known as the NZRB gravy-trainers who have since thundered down the railway tracks of New Zealand, slowing only to throw scraps from their champagne luncheons to the grass-roots participants of racing as they passed each of the 58 thoroughbred racecourses throughout the country.
Incredulity is to the fore when considering the Racing Act of 2003 opened the door for this siphoning of racing’s blood. It was a heinously poor document but even worse was the one offered to racing as its replacement in the first week of December last year. It was nothing but an invitation to hand gratis control of the TAB to Sport NZ.
…blatantly insulting the racing fraternity with a document so appallingly anti-racing…
No apology or explanation has been offered as an excuse for blatantly insulting the racing fraternity with a document so appallingly anti-racing – but not knowing the origins of its purpose or the original authors, one can only be suspicious to the extreme.
Regurgitating all this government bashing of racing, which you will all be so familiar with, leads us to raise two important questions. How will New Zealand racing get through this current Covid-19 lockdown predicament and come out the other side – in what sort of shape?
Secondly, what and who will put a new administrative model in place and reverse the graph’s steep line of descent which is the one and only thing in racing that’s been constant?
History tells us racing can’t trust anything orchestrated by a government. The second albeit delayed reading of the Racing Reform Bill will be eyebrow-raising. Will it be a reflection of the 960 written and 90-odd oral submissions that were painstakingly processed in February, or will the rewriting for its second reading have again been infilrated by that same anti-racing, pro-sport lobbyists that authored the original?
NZTR is promoting a return to racing by July 1st which could only happen if the lockdown is relaxed on Wednesday week. That seems unlikely given the PMs inclination for erring on the side of caution and the conservative nature of Kiwis as a nation.
Even if racing did return on that date, does anyone know what we’ll be using for prizemoney? Sacks of potatoes are out due to the off-season unless leftovers remain from last season.
A cash hand-out from the Government would represent compensation for past misdemeanours but offer only an interim solution. It would be out of character, however, and show a benevolence towards racing against all manner of recent and past history.
* Dick Turpin (21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft.
I don’t know that out sourcing our TAB to an international agency is the way to go
There is a limited number of gambling dollars in this country and I don’t think that any international gambling agency is interested in putting their money into New Zealand racing rather they will be wanting to make a profit out of it..
I believe that breaking the TAB monopoly is vital and it is time to allow bookmaking in New Zealand.
I think it is amazing that jockeys are paid as highly as they are. I have a 10% share in a horse that ran 4th and the jockey got more money out of it than I did, without having to pay training fees or float bills
Covid 19 could well be the final nail in the coffin. They are talking about drastically reducing stakemoney. Once again the Racehorse owner is being asked to pay for everyone else!! How deep do these people think the average horse owners pockets
John Allen should fall on his sword now and take 100 or so of the over paid hangers on with him.The worst part is that now he can blame the bloody virus for the demise of racing when the reality is that the covid 19 has arrived on our shores 3 years too late.
But, there is still an undergoing huge interest in horse racing.
A mate set up all email based picking system, no advertising, no nothing, and he quickly got 25 participants, all interested in New South Wales racing. With internet banking all 25 participants quickly paid up their initial contribution. Some of the players are people whom I would defer offering credit to. They ALL PAID!!!
There is still a huge interest in horse racing and it is RITA’s job to exploit that huge interest. Don’t leave it to amateurs like my mate.
Now, give me a decent priced runner at Randwick on Saturday. Once upon a time the worst race on the programme was referred to as the Highweight. I note that the “highweight” , being the only race on the ten race programme without, not only black type status, but group status, runs for a stake of $420,000.
Brian de Lore ( The Optimist )
I can’t fathom why this would happen , but it looks like the TAB is doing its best to prove why outsourcing should have gone ahead long ago when we would have been on the front foot in negotiations , instead of pigheadedly going alone to reinvent the betting platform wheel and creating a $50m hole that consumed potential racing stakes that all participants have been begging for.
Below is an abstract from a genuine TAB e-mail received today ( 3rd April ; not an April Fool’s Day joke ) by a friend of mine .
He is retired and has been betting ( mostly each way , doubles quinellas, place 6 etc ) for the last 55 years ; his betting is mostly in the $10-$20 range. As well as horse racing , he likes to bet on rugby , rugby league , cricket & tennis and in retirement has plenty of time on his hands to pore over everything on offer.
Since the cricket world cup six’s promotion , he , like many others , got enthralled by the promotions on offer and since then has been following closely everything that comes up on “Punters Lounge” and , remembering well the TAB slogan “You know the odds, now beat them” ( no doubt dreamed up by some dude earning more than a Sydney Saturday race stake ) , over the last few months he’s been punting virtually every day ( horses , dogs , trotters , sports ) with a focus on the first couple of races that they put up as “ Bonus Back” races ( sometimes at 3 or 4 meetings ). The J Mac races are another favourite.
He puts in the study and at the moment , has probably better than average success.
In the last few months , he has made occasional withdrawals in amounts of about $200-$300 and , over the recent period he would be “ beating the odds”( by backing a few winners or quite often getting Bonus Bets when the chosen runner finishes 2nd ; 3rd or 4th ). I know that a lot of people wouldn’t normally even bother betting on the first two races at some meetings( before bonus-back came along )
I find it unfathomable that the TAB , at a time when they should be fighting for every customer that they can hang onto , would send such a ridiculous letter to any punter , let alone one who might have just got his nose in front over the last few months.
Regards
Stu Shirriffs
The TAB must be called to account for this!!
As I said , this is the guts of a genuine e-mail I have seen tonight ; it was addressed personally to the punter ( his name is not shown here , mainly for “ wife might find out reasons” ).
You will note that , while addressing the punter personally , the writer didn’t even have the balls to put their own name to the e-mail , obviously realising how pathetic and stupid it was.
Hi ———— ,
The TAB offers a wide range of promotional offers and options all year round on your favourite racing and sports events. These are designed for occasional and safe use so that our loyal customers can have a bit more fun alongside their normal betting. It is our way of ensuring that your wagering is enjoyable and thanking you for choosing to bet with the TAB.
It’s great to see that you are enjoying these promotional offers, however a recent review of your betting history indicates that the majority of your betting is skewed towards these promotional options. While we are happy to continue to offer you these promotional options at this point in time, we do ask that you maintain a more balanced diet of your betting habits in the future. If your current activity continues then, regrettably, we may have to consider removing your eligibility for promotional offers and options.
Your account remains unchanged at this point. We hope you understand and can continue to enjoy our full range of betting options in a more balanced way.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our TAB Customer Services team, helpdesk@tab.co.nz
Thanks,
The TAB Team
Unbelievable by the tab! If you beat the odds you’re out!
What an unbelievable letter to be sent by the TAB. If I was the recipient I would be offended and likely to close my TAB account. The racing industry needs new management. The present management needs to be removed and replaced with capable industry participants. The initial appointees will need to take substantially reduced salaries which can be increased when funds permit. It seems to me that payment of stake money when racing restarts is seriously at risk. Non payment of stake money will bring matters to a head.
brian before the last election .you would write in the countries only racing publication W Peters would save us .3 years on it doesnt look like it does it
Will Mr Peters be the Minister of Racing after the General election?
Hopefully Mr Peters wont even be in parliament
Boys and Girls .
You can converse until you a BLUE in the face ,time will tick by and the people with power will continue playing with your emotions.
As a stake holder, I plan to take back CONTROL of my racing interests by spelling my horses .
As a businessman, why would I support a company in a nose with a kamikaze crew.
To fellow Stakeholders, why is my hard earnt so different to yours?
Do you want to support a change in direction ?
How?
Let THEM have it.
Do you think you will have lost something?
Yes!, $40 mill+ in debt and climbing.
Why is it so difficult for you stakeholders to realise we could start another race enterprise.
1st rule. ALL ADMINISTRATION MUST HAVE RACEHORSES.
Hi
No one has questioned the liquidity of the TAB
Tom, for you to say that, you must be asleep at the wheel. The TAB has no tangible assets of any consequence and owes the bank $45 million. How liquid is that?
i suppose in this time you can look to the future .What would the combined fixed assets total of land eg clubs be worth around nz maybe a billion dollars . A lot of it prime because of the historical location of many bits of property .iN real terms RACING has plenty of Assets .Their are templates of amalgamation where racing clubs have got together .Racing only needs to die if racing kills itself .My family have been in racing since 1850 in this country . i believe the next generations deserve the opportunity to have the benefits of it .THEY ARE CALLING FOR CHANGE .
Brian Your comments are not news to me
My concern is as a racehorse owner of multiple thoroughbreds what will the TAB use to fund forthcoming races? The Rita chairman quoted at the top of this blog that betting on the TAB is currently running at a loss
All I want to know is what will the TAB use for money?
Simple question!
Tom, I think owners are the first to be sold down the drain. NZTR has put out a release talking about a July 1st return to racing which I thought was mischievous to say the least. They are giving the trainers a smidgeon of hope who will influence the owners who are likely to be disappointed. I don’t think July 1st is realistic and the parliamentarians I have spoken to agree with me. The owners always pay and that email will only serve for owners to waste more money and have horses ready to race too early. If I was making a decision for all owners I would say to NZTR we are not commencing racing until we are satisfied with the terms and conditions under which we return because we are not going to recommence for paltry stakes just to satisfy your image and the TAB who are shafting owners just to stay in business and continue to pay these ridiculous salaries. It’s time the owners association said, “we are on strike and not coming back until we are satisfied we are getting a decent deal.” Tom – has anyone got the balls to do that?
How can the owners do exactly this? It is the ultimate and most sensible thing to do. Particularly as the current Government understand the power of strikes and unions. A union of racing owners, now there is a thought to get running with
Brian you have hit the nail right on the head with pretty much all your thoughts. We have been going down the gurgle for quite some time with the bull…. we have been feed by the tab. Now we are that far in the hole it will take a miracle to get out. In the corporate world we would be easy picking for a takeover. John Allen and his team and don’t forget the racing board they have to sign off on their ideas and are just as much to blame. If you go back 2 years John Allen on his new Zealand road show said he would pay the codes 150 million 12million of it borrowed last season.this season 165mill and next season a massive 190mill.what a joke. And of course you know all the excuses why it didn’t happen. But people should be aware they have these animated races on their radar but need a change in the act to get them going apparently so that has probably been added to the racing act going through government now. And don’t think it won’t happen you just need to look at the grand national in England that has just been run. They have been out of control for some time and don’t care about the people in the industry and it was great you found the original papers of who set the tab up. We all new it but couldn’t prove it, but do we really want it now that we are 45 million in the hole. The racing board were supposed to be our guardians of code’s with thoroughbreds harness being the principal shareholder’s. Well now everybody is trying to get their toe in the door and get paid and that will only get worse after covid is gone. So much for being our guardian. I only hope that the codes will have the say who is at the top of the tab instead of the government because they are crappy at it. Another disappointment was when the tab halved there budget on the media publication’s a few years back taking one and half million out of it so the media response was no more editorials just pretty much feilds no stories. What a great loss of promotion. And the telephone operator’s and closing tabs around the country and pulling unmanned tote machines out of pubs. All of these might cost a little but they promoted our great sport. The transition to phones and computers was way too sharp. We have been paying the price for it ever since with turnover sinking.
Brian …..having been a racing tragic for most of my 69 years on this planet I firmly believe that you are 100% correct when you pinpoint ‘management’ as the sole catalyst for disasterous state of the TAB.
Having been retired (and becoming restless) for the last four years I would gladly donate the next decade of my life, if indeed I last that long, to resurecting the TAB to its former glory without recieving a red cent.
The joint needs to be run (as a previous poster pointed out) by industry participants. Owners , punters, etc all rowing in the same direction would go a long way towards resurection before we sink as an industry.
The codes could nominate any current players willing to donate the time, and I for one would be first cab off the rank as racing and sport have always been in my blood.
We would need to install confidence back into the owner and punter.
It could be done by the right people as the salaries are killing it as you are well aware.
All the best …..
Graham Bruton Petone.
Further to my comments above Brian ……there was a gentleman called Michael Dore who spent a good two or three decades at the TAB.
He was a very intelligent man who thought like a punter and always had the punter top of mind. Unfortunately he saw the writing on the wall like so many others and departed the TAB a year ago after the new FOB platform (or dog’s breakfast platform) was thrown at us which was the final nail in the coffin for Michael.
It was a crying shame as he was a beacon of light that I would bring back on board and plant him right at the top of the tree to run the outfit as he knew every angle and was continually pushed to one side instead of being promoted. Sadly he was a great loss to the TAB as I reiterate …..he ‘thought’ like a punter and realised without the punter you don’t have a TAB.
He could quite possibly…..with our help refloat the listing ship before it sinks completely.
Graham B. Petone.
I am an owner trainer breeder With stakes going down most other cost status quo for now is it time to try using a Rachet clause,,( similar to leasing and rental agreement) and apply it to jockeys and drivers fees and % you could branch mark this against the % that stakes are reduced by another option take 30% ,out of all group racing and redistribute to the bottom and middle of all 3 codes just a thought
Can’t believe they have had PETER Valandys and John Messara to help rectify things and they have taken very little notice of them. They are both recognised as two of the best administrators in Aust.Look what they did to Sydney racing.Rugby league has now got Vlandys in to try and help it out of a financial hole created by the top exactly the same as nz Tab.I feel for the racing fraternity in nz as the have had this great sport taken out of their grasp by a mob of shiny arses☹️
Yep ….you nailed in Wayne, and its been said many times but putting NON racing people who don’t understand the game in as CEO’s was dead set mind boggling.
It would be like appointing Frankie Dettori as head coach of the All Blacks…..and the TAB appointments over the last 20 years have been DUMB DUMB DUMB …..hence the slide into the amount of debt that would sink the Queen Mary.
Wayne, Graham you guys are on the mark. The last four CEO s i have spoken to all don’t know anything about gambling. I have asked everyone of them the same question have you ever put a bet all would you spend an afternoon in a tab. No was the answer, just so disappointing that they don’t want to learn about punters. I wonder who will be the next CEO and will the codes have any say or will it be rita.