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You said he had been doing it for years. I asked where did that happen. You haven't answered that. -
That's my first post. What the hell is unclear about that? I since answered the question myself from other enquiries and posted that here.
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But there haven't been any significant stakes increases since the 23/24 season, nor are any projected for the next couple of years. That's pretty stagnant in my book. Have you been asleep under a tree?
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Here is supposedly the finalised 'open letter from Antony Knowler, which will, figuratively speaking go straight in the bin. For a start stakes have not stagnated, has he been asleep under a tree Also when you state your position, The reforms demanded are immediate, decisive, and non-negotiable, no one is going to take you seriously. Means well, but amateurish attempt Open Letter to the New Zealand Racing Establishment Several weeks ago, I formally addressed the authorities responsible for New Zealand racing with a detailed account of systemic governance failures, fiscal mismanagement, and structural inefficiencies. To date, I have received no response. This silence is not merely disappointing; it is a stark demonstration of either indifference or contempt for the very industry you are charged with overseeing. Let it be stated plainly: the current leadership has failed. Owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys, and punters sustain this sport with their passion, skill, and resources. Yet they are forced to underwrite a system designed to protect the positions, privileges, and salaries of administrators. Boards, committees, and executives continue to operate with minimal accountability, prioritizing self-interest over the survival of New Zealand racing. The evidence is undeniable: • $13 million annually spent on Racing Integrity. • $14 million annually spent on New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. • Combined, $27 million every year — $11,000 per race — is extracted from participants and dissipated into bureaucratic inefficiency. • With 4,300 starters last season, each horse effectively bears $6,279 in administrative overheads before prize money is considered. A nine-race program consumes approximately $100,000 in governance costs before the first horse enters the birdcage. This is not oversight — it is institutionalized waste. Funds that could sustain prize money, maintain tracks, and develop grassroots participants are instead diverted into inflated salaries, excessive consultancy fees, and redundant administrative structures. The consequences are severe and direct: • Stakes have stagnated while costs rise. • Smaller owners struggle to remain viable. • Breeders face diminishing returns, discouraging future investment. • The next generation of trainers, jockeys, and industry professionals encounters a system rigged to benefit administrators rather than the participants who make racing possible. It is impossible to overstate the culpability of the current boards and executives. Integrity is treated as a marketing slogan, not a principle. Transparency is ignored. Accountability is avoided. NZTR, RIU, and TAB exist to protect themselves, not the industry. This is governance that actively harms the sport it purports to serve. The reforms demanded are immediate, decisive, and non-negotiable: • Board restructuring: NZTR’s board must be capped at five members, with term limits and openly contested seats to prevent the entrenchment of insiders. • Consolidation of integrity functions: Overlapping units must be merged into a single, independent, efficient body. • Mandatory transparency: All salaries, fees, and bonuses of directors, executives, and consultants must be published. • Cap administrative costs: Combined overheads of NZTR, RIU, and TAB must not exceed 5% of turnover. • Redirect resources: Every dollar saved from administrative efficiency must be returned to prize money, infrastructure, and grassroots development. • Performance-based leadership: Contracts must be conditional on results, with immediate termination for failure. No extensions, no golden handshakes. • Independent international review every three years: Insiders marking their own work is unacceptable; external expert assessment is required. These measures are not radical; they are the minimum standards of responsible governance and fiscal accountability. The continued failure to implement them is an active act of negligence, not passive oversight. To those currently in power: understand this clearly — your inaction is destructive. The industry will not survive endless delays, inefficiency, or self-serving administration. You will not be remembered as leaders; you will be remembered as the custodians who allowed New Zealand racing to wither and die under your watch. -
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