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Harness Racing Victoria has made a belated and unconvincing response to the alarm bells sounding from its industry’s kindred bodies over the state of the sport in Victoria.
In the absence of any ongoing reporting from Harness Racing Victoria to the industry’s dire circumstances, the kindred bodies representing breeders, trainers, drivers and owners, issued a joint statement on Friday (Aug 15).
The group outlined what it called “devastating developments that it said threatened the very existence of our beloved industry”, including:
- HRV has incurred a catastrophic $24 million loss for the 2024 financial year, following heavy losses in 2022 and 2023.
- There will be additional cuts to stakemoney of between $10 million (22%) and $18 million (40%) over the next three years that will devastate participants and the sport.
- HRV’s financial mismanagement has rendered it virtually insolvent and unable to meet its debt obligations.
- Its loan borrowings from government using our vacant land asset at Melton as collateral has all but forfeited a vital industry asset valued at $100M.
- HRV’s contract with SKY Channel is nearing its end, with a very real risk of Victorian harness racing being relegated to SKY2.
The group said they had “no confidence” in the Board of Harness Racing Victoria and called for urgent intervention by the Minister, Anthony Carbines.
Read the full statement here: https://harnesslink.com/australia/sad-day-for-hrv-shockingly-66m-in-debt/
HRV CEO Matt Isaacs late Friday made his first public statement on the industry’s financial situation since May, in response to the industry’s alert to participants.
Isaacs said the position statement from the kindred bodies “only creates fear and uncertainty among the stakeholders” the bodies are meant to represent.
The industry bodies’ efforts to inform participants, in the face of a lack of information from HRV, Isaacs said would only distract “from the collective efforts to resolve the financial complexity that we all face”.
“In the council meeting details were shared to address harness racing’s market competitiveness and potential, immediate and future risks that may impact its financial performance in Victoria,” Isaacs said.
“Transparency was provided in faith to better industry understanding of the realised and potential challenges and ensure everyone works together to build solutions,” he said.
“It is reckless of these parties to issue a statement representing inaccuracies and undermining industry confidence.”
Isaacs said HRV had made it clear in many previous media releases and industry conversations that the changing wagering environment has created numerous financial challenges, which are being felt by all racing authorities.
Watch Matt Isaacs’ public media statements on the state of the industry here:
Isaacs’ most recent media release on the changes to Victoria harness racing is here: https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/racing-calendar-model-boosts-welfare-revenue-and-cuts-costs/
Isaacs said HRV, with the support of the Victorian Government, is committed to resolving the challenges with and on behalf of the industry for the future viability of harness racing in Victoria.
The social media response has been typically swift with numerous individuals citing a lack of leadership, transparency & ownership to the problems at hand.
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