Harness Racing; Daunting challenge!

In flight now back to the States, I have the opportunity to share additional observations and thoughts about the Down Under racing scene stemming from my month long Harness Racing related travels throughout New Zealand and Australia.

While this has probably been about my fifteenth Down Under trip in the last eighteen years, the pace of Industry change is staggering and the challenges confronting the Down Under racing scene daunting. Both the general malaise felt by most North American industry participants, and the general negativity of crucial North American Industry trends, are evident Down Under. While the symptoms may differ, the underlying problem of relevancy in a new competitive environment seems to be afflicting the Industry worldwide.

Lack of parimutuel handle, long a North American Harness Racing problem outside of the Meadowlands and Woodbine/Mohawk, is increasingly a problem.

Down Under Corporate bookmaking companies like Betfair have taken huge amounts out of parimutuel pools, and fixed odds betting is now the pre-eminent vehicle for most significant wagers. This impacts both the Industry's bottom line and the ability of tracks to offer viable on site wagering.

The Down Under structure of racing is totally different from ours, with Governmental, regulatory, and track management following a completely different model, but the siphoning off of betting dollars to these Corporates is threatening Down Under racing as off shore and on line betting is diverting North American wagering dollars from Industry and Governmental coffers.

In this regard, New Zealand's new Minister in charge of racing has recently announced the hiring of a prominent Aussie Thoroughbred breeder and administrator to assess New Zealand's business model with an eye toward aligning all functional aspects to better regulate, coordinate, and optimize New Zealand's three breed racing industry.

This is a much needed outreach, and all reports indicate that the individual chosen has a proven track record on point, but I think that an opportunity to really reassess NZ's industry structure looking at all global alternatives is being missed.

The Aussie structure is very similar to that of NZ, and optimization might well require a fresh look at all alternatives. I am also concerned by the lack of a Harness Racing advocate in the mix, as Thoroughbred interests have a long history of structuring everything to suit their interests, often to the detriment of Harness Racing  interests.

Just look at the fact that SKY/TAB still block international simulcasting of Down Under Harness Racing into the North American market while blithely saturating North America with Thoroughbred product!

Hopefully, the speed with which one person can propose necessary changes will outweigh the dangers of Thoroughbred parochialism and lack of a comprehensive, globally focused analysis.

Both in Australia and New Zealand, the Harness Racing industry is suffering from the effects caused by their lack of control of their own product. That is potentially a fatal flaw that, thankfully, we have not yet let happen in North America!

The tracks have had all their simulcast/streaming rights assigned by contract to Sky/Tab.

To be fair, the complicated Down Under racing income model has some compensating pluses – such as participation in income streams generated by other breeds and from sports betting – but they have become a supplier of racing product to a behometh that values only quantity of product supplied for wagering. As a result, race quality, programming quality, and international marketing opportunities suffer significantly.

I spent a few evenings watching races on SKY and I could not believe how boring, annoying, and frightening the experience was! There was basically no race commentary, no interesting interviews or discussions, no soul at all..just wall to wall racing with dog, harness, and thoroughbred races immediately back to back.

There is no concern to promoting racing, only to creating gambling addicts, which should be alarming to all!

In the old days, many of the Down Under tracks, like many of ours' in North America still do, had really interesting programming of their races. That is totally gone now!

A very interesting development is in play in NZ, where it appears the sale of PGG auction operations to NZ Bloodstock is in the works. There is a perceptive article on this subject on Harnesslink, suggesting that the harness industry, itself, should take over direct ownership and control of industry auctions as a means of keeping within the industry the approximately NZ$800,000 to a million dollars of net profit that these sales would generate to a lean, well run operator.

The article suggests, and I agree, that these monies could provide a significant cash infusion to an industry in dire need of just that. In the short term, with good management and creativity, there is no reason that Alexandra Park and Addington could not take over operation of these sales to be held on site at their tracks.

In North America, Hanover shoe farm's' brilliant strategic move in running the world famous Harrisburg yearling sale has been a major economic boon accelerating their ability for growth and investment. Both in Australia and New Zealand the industry would probably be wise to go in house with auctions!

A few thoughts on various points….the best Down Under horses are now AT LEAST as good as North America's best! Absolutely no question about that! And they achieve this without the kind of veterinary support that we have….creating a truly international pacing championship race would make real sense now!

It would need a huge purse ($)1 million, travel and quarantine solutions, big publicity, and be at the right time of the year (probably October/November). And it would probably be best raced every two years, alternating between hemispheres. Not easy, but this is the type of event that could be thoroughbred-like in its' popularity and global marketability.

North American tracks should take a page from their Down Under cousins by having a special "birdcage" or room, where the track hosts (and toasts) winning owners after each race. They also supply a flash drive of the race, champagne, great conversation, and small, but nice, gifts!

A gesture to owners worth it's weight in gold!

Victorian racing is hamstrung by its' economic pressures resulting from years of poor management. They carry $28 million in debt and lost about $1.5 million last year. As a result, they hired a turn around specialist from outside the industry, and David Martin is delivering!

Racing Victoria is slightly profitable this year. Amazing, as without corrective action, losses this year would've been in excess of $3 million!

Sadly, because of racing's strange business model in Australia, this turn around was accomplished thru creation of more races at the expense of smaller fields and less interesting racing. Good for the short term bottom line, bad for racing long term, a fact realized by Mr. Martin.

But to get to tomorrow, today has to be survived, and Mr. Martin has travelled throughout Victoria trying to explain the current state of affairs and the reasons behind Victorian racing strategy. This effort is admirable, and I sense that he is building a lot of good will even from those who don't like the remedy he is pushing.

We need far more of our Industry leaders Down Under and in North America to follow suit. Racetrack owners and top management need to get out of the Board Room and communicate/interact with all elements of the Industry. There is no other way for our industry's administrators to understand the emotions and problems at play, and to hear the breadth of opinions they need to encounter to chart the right course.

Too many of our leaders hide in ivory towers, oblivious to the thoughts, perceptions, and concerns – as well as opportunities – that are apparent to just about everyone else in the industry!

What our industry needs everywhere is PASSION!

It transforms, it motivates, and it is contagious! And racing's doldrums have eviscerated passion.

Our leaders would sometimes be better served to make passionate mistakes than impassionate, reasoned decisions. Ours' must be an industry of passion, it is the only model enabling survival!

On this front, I was extremely impressed with the Directors of Alexandra Park, Menangle, and Penrith. They are present most, if not all, nights when the tracks race. They are well dressed, pay attention to detail, are welcoming and observant. They are lifetime lovers of the game and they care! It was their real passion for the sport and their job that impressed me, their hospitality was a mere by product of that.

Throughout this trip I met an incredible array of trainers, owners, drivers, grooms, agents, administrators,and racing officials….it was one of my most pleasant and enlightening trips! I could continue with quite a few additional observations, but perhaps on reflection I will at a later date.

And, oh yes, I spent a lot of time with the almost twenty pacers and trotters that I have Down Under (with my cousin, Marc), and with our three trainers Down Under…and loved (almost) every minute of it!

Gordon Banks