Stallion TAX casualty

Trotting stallion Volstead is the first victim of the proposed ‘Stallion TAX’ Harness Racing Australia announced on April 16.

Haras des Trotteurs Principal Pat Driscoll felt coerced to not shuttle the American-bred European-winning stallion back Down Under after having close to 90 services this last breeding season.

The Stallion TAX will see a 15 per cent charge on the advertised service fee of shuttle and internationally domiciled stallions (transported and frozen semen) and is anticipated to generate in excess of $2million annually.

“It just does not make any sense to bring Volstead back down here with this crazy tax/levy/financial impost, call it what you like,” said Driscoll about the only trotting stallion shuttled to Australia in the 2020/21 breeding season.

“I had to make the call by the end of April and I have had to say no.

“It is a shame. We worked hard to find a nice stallion and we bred him to our good mares to give him a great start and through all the expenses of bringing him down, we didn’t cover costs in year one, no money was returned to the US (United States) and it will probably be that way in year two when we finish working the numbers.

“Through Volstead we sponsored the Redwood Classic for the past two years and now that won’t be happening.

“These are some of the flow on affects of this new tax/levy/financial imposter that have not been thought about.”

Following such positive results from the recent Nutrien Standardbred Yearling Sale in Victoria plus the latest news that breeding numbers were up 10.3 per cent nationally for the first time in more than a decade, Driscoll believes this Stallion TAX is a backwards step.

“It is easily the worst decision I’ve seen in the years since I’ve been involved,” stated Driscoll. “There is no other place in the world that there is a tax/levy/financial imposter that subsides racing.

“You have the sires’ stakes-type races but that money generally goes back into the same pool . . . this doesn’t.

“There isn’t a river of gold at studs as some may perceive.

“I can only speak of Haras des Trotteurs but I’ve been operating at a loss since I started.

“There are transport costs, advertising, futurity payments, stallion collection and quarantine costs, administration fees and so on.

“It’s not this golden goose that people think it is, it is a labour of love for many including Haras des Trotteurs.

“We’ve just come off a successful sale where for the first time in history the trotters average was higher than the pacers.

“Then, we received some great news that breeding numbers are on the way back up.

“We are on an upward trajectory and then they do this.

“I didn’t think too many things would derail the growth of trotting in Victoria but this will.

“This will severely impact the breeding of trotters in Victoria as the cost of breeding will increase, people will breed less and it could also severely compromise the quality of trotters bred.

“We sent out a survey to our stakeholders, a big cross-section of the industry from those that spend who spend $1925 for Used To Me to a service fee of $11,000 for Love You, and 85 per cent are not in favour of this new levy and 80 per cent said they would breed less mares.”

The HRA Executive, a ‘membership limited to the State Controlling Body in each of the six states of Australia as well as the six Principal Clubs’ has proposed the immediate introduction of this Stallion TAX to raise funds for the harness racing industry in Australia.

The way in which these funds will be distributed has not been decided yet.

The HRA Executive has anticipated this TAX will generate in excess of $2million annually and will be responsible for the invoicing, collection and distribution of the TAX.

This has Driscoll and others perplexed.

As documented on the HRA website the AHRC (Australian Harness Racing Council and changed to HRA in 2008) was initially created to administer the Australian Trotting Stud Book, to maintain a Central Register of Name, to keep records and to control and enforce the Rules relating thereto.

It is the forum and co-ordination point between the State Controlling Bodies for uniformity of rules and reciprocity of horsemen’s licences, registration of horses and suspensions and disqualifications.

In addition, HRA acts as the national body in international harness racing affairs and is a member of the International Trotting Association. As a joint member of the Event Committee set up in 2008 with Harness Racing New Zealand, HRA is involved in supervising the Australasian Inter Dominion series (formerly under the auspices of the Inter Dominion Harness Racing Council Inc).

“How did we get this far?” asked Driscoll.

“If you read HRA’s legislations they are keepers of the studbooks, rules and regulations and each state runs their own racing.

“It’s gone from that to wanting to put a tax/levy/financial impost, call it what you may, on stallions.

“I feel as though Victoria has been sold, as most of this money will be raised here.

“I’m staggered that Harness Racing Victoria have let this happen to their own state.

“Add to the fact that roughly 90 per cent of trotting mares bred are bred/reside in Victoria and assuming a very large number of pacing mares are bred and also located in Victoria, it’s not difficult to see that most of the tax/levy/financial impost, call it what you like, raised, would be in Victoria and go where and to what?”

Going by this past breeding season’s numbers, if all the same shuttle/frozen semen stallions were to remain, this levy will affect 52 stallions (28 trotting and 24 pacing) in Australia and New Zealand.

A breakdown of those numbers show that 28 of those stallions are with Victoria, nine in Queensland, eight stallions in NZ, five in New South Wales and two in Western Australia.

“I just can’t come up with a logical answer.

“I’m all for improving the sport, I’ve invested a lot of my own money trying to do so with sponsorship and breeding.

“If people want to have a $1million race, ask those seeking to have the race sponsor it!”

To read HRA’s entire media release regarding the ‘Stallion Levy’ and propositions for these funds, click here.

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink