Victorian industry “in crisis”; kindred bodies launch petition

Victorian harness racing representative bodies say the sector is in crisis and are urging participants and stakeholders to throw their weight behind a petition calling for intervention from the Racing Minister Anthony Carbines.

The petition, headed “Harness Racing in Victoria is in crisis” was circulated last night (Jan 31) by the Victorian Harness Racing Club (VHRC), and co-signed by the Trots Clubs Victoria (TCV), Victorian Harness Racing Trainers and Drivers Association (VHRTDA) and the Victorian Square Trotters Association.

In their covering letter to participants the kindred bodies say they have been working together for the past seven months amid rising concern about the industry’s future.

The key issues among the bodies’ worries, and outlined in the petition are:

• Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) recorded a loss of $6.7 million in 2023…after a loss of $4.1 million in 2022.
• HRV received $28.1 million in State Government grant revenue in those two years.
• In 2023, HRV had 103 full time employees costing $15.7 million…compared to HRNSW with 50 staff costing $7.1 million.
• Employment costs at HRV have increased nearly 30 percent in the past two years.
• Stakemoney in Victoria was cut by $3.9 million effective October 1, 2023…at the same time, WA, Qld, SA and NZ have all announced increases.
• In 2022-23 the number of foals born in Victoria was down 13.3 percent on the previous year, and the number of mares served down 21.7 percent…in NSW foal numbers were up 1.2 percent and services up 1.3 percent.

The petition asserts the board of HRV “desperately needs refreshing” with skilled people who have topical experience and understanding of harness racing.

“Our Industry is increasingly falling behind other States in performance delivery which threatens the viability of stakeholders,” the letter said.

The kindred bodies said the announcement of $3.9M in prizemoney cuts in August had prompted a delegation to Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) and subsequently to Mr Carbines. They confirmed they intended on meeting with the Minister again in coming weeks.

“At this meeting, we want to be able to demonstrate to the Minister that there is widespread concern amongst Harness Racing Stakeholders and large-scale support for our request to refresh the Board of HRV and appoint skilled people with experience and an understanding of Harness Racing to drive a desperately needed Industry recovery in this State,” they said.

“Over coming weeks there will be an opportunity for stakeholders and participants in support of our call to sign the petition at race meetings, trials fixtures, yearling sales, industry events and via email.”

by Harnesslink Media