As the weeks and months pass since the release of the Messara Report the more I feel as though we, as an industry, are living our own version of Waiting for Godot.

Samuel Beckett’s best-known work, described by Irish wits as a play where nothing happens twice, is essentially about hope.  However, unlike Vladimir and Estragon, the racing industry has already been delivered hope – in the form of the report, which has been dangled in front of us.

Unfortunately, that tantalising vision appears to have been swept away again and locked away to await the results of deliberations around submissions.  Various permutations of legislation also appear to be on the cards, relating to the creation of RITA, racefields and changes to the Racing Act.  Although, given the fact that parliament sits for a further six days this year, it would seem we will have a long wait over the summer.

A scan of the happenings in parliament this week offered just one glimpse of anything with a racing connection and that was the reappearance of a petition which was presented to the Primary Production select committee calling for greyhound racing to be banned.  No doubt the Racing Board and its highly paid government liaison squad will be all over that.

Back to our code though and the desperate hopelessness which swamps us as we, like Vladimir and Estragon, find ways to fill the time while we wait.

The past week saw the release of the NZTR annual report in ample time to give interested parties plenty of time to read and digest prior to the AGM on Monday, 10 December.  Note to NZRB, perhaps you might look at a similar approach in the future? At this stage, with their AGM scheduled for improbably named “The Zone” in Petone’s Head Office next Friday, there is no sign of the NZRB Annual Report online.

So, to the NZTR document and, as one would expect Chairman Alan Jackson spends a considerable amount of his report focusing on the Messara report and the potential positive outcomes for the industry.

On the topic of changes to legislation, Jackson states that NZTR would hope these could be finalised “sooner rather than later but we are also cognisant of the need to get it right. It is important that the legislation is fit for purpose, as the proposals have the potential to unlock returns that are simply not feasible under the current structure.”

I’ve read a lot of these Annual Reports over the years and developed a healthy cynicism, however I found myself silently applauding the introduction to this year’s NZTR report.

Under the heading: who we are, it states:

“New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is tasked with administering the domestic thoroughbred racing code but that illustrates what we do, rather than who we are. Technically we are racing administrators but in reality, we are racing enthusiasts.”

That enthusiasm for the industry and its health is demonstrated when the chairman talks about the distribution received from NZRB ($79.7m, an increase of 6.7% “mainly attributable to the advance funding of $24m to the three codes, announced in 2016-17. In 2017-18, NZTR received $6.5m of the advance funding, which was redistributed to the industry in prize money”).

Now read the following and ask what state the industry might be in had the NZ Racing Board exercised similar discipline and restricted their operating costs.

“Of the total revenue received by NZTR, 91 per cent was returned to the industry, with nine per cent being the cost of running NZTR, inclusive of licensing, stud book, handicapping, racing bureau and registrations. A restructure of the senior management team helped reduce staff costs and the overall operating expenditure, before infrastructure spend, was down 2.3 per cent on last year. This was a good result, bearing in mind that the expenditure included a one-off website refresh.”

If you want to consider the rough figures around that related back to the NZRB, when one takes the total revenue (as per the 2017 Annual report, given the 2018 Annual report has yet to see the light of day) of $348m and the total operating costs of $204m the picture is dire.  How is it that the Board, or anyone associated with that bloated organisation, considers it right that around 60 per cent of our revenue is eaten up by operating costs?

As a wise fisherman was reaffirming to me at Karaka during the Ready to Run sales, a reduction of costs in that area would see a totally different picture being painted.

Anyway, I didn’t want to get into yet another diatribe about the excesses of the NZRB – can you blame me though? They as good as load the gun before stepping in front of the sights!

Back to the NZTR Annual report and chairman Alan Jackson’s thoughts on the future of galloping venues.  His considered take on this should soothe some of those who have become over-excited after reading (only that section of) the Messara report, but then some are beyond seeing reason.

The report states:

“Venue reviews will play a big role in determining the future shape of the New Zealand industry and NZTR needs to have the authority to determine that some tracks should be closed. The principle that the wider racing industry should benefit from venue sales is a sound one but vesting all race club property and assets to the code regulatory bodies will meet some justified resistance. NZTR takes the view that in general clubs are the appropriate stewards of their land while racing continues at that venue and that universal land transfer is a blunt instrument, which does not recognise that some venues are important community assets.”

“However, NZTR believes that we need to be able to ensure that when use of venues ceases, any proceeds from a sale of that venue may be applied in the wider interests of thoroughbred racing, following consultation with affected parties, including community groups. We also agree that the current structures relating to asset allocation in the thoroughbred sector do not recognise the historical investment that the industry, as a whole, has made in individual venues.”

Of course, there are also some dire figures included in the report which reflect our dwindling horse numbers, an impact of a foal crop which has been on a downward spiral.  Overall, though this is a relentlessly positive document which gives hope that there might be a future.

In the meantime, we wait.