Chief Stipe

Irish would be your first language wouldn't it Reefton?

Yes and that wouldn't have involved Kumara in the future for any number of reasons. But Messara and NZTR deemed it to be "special" for what reasons many of us can't fathom.

LOL I suggest you don't go down the path of comparing on-course turnovers nor horse numbers. You might be stunned if you widened your analysis.

You missed my point which was in response to Freda's question on how does she kill her crayfish. It appears that a cray in a restaurant has more important feelings because it is commercial. The law only applies to the commercial killing of crays. Presumably amongst the 3,000 MPI employees each earning $115,000 a year we now have commercial cray killing inspectors. No doubt they regularly check the electric stun guns they recommend to use. The reference to the commercial fishing boat was asking how is a crayfish anymore of a sentinel being than a schnapper?

The population of Reefton is a damn sight more than Kumara which is 309.

Yep and the % of community involvement in supporting the club and attending the race meetings would far outweigh Ellerslie.

I dont know - start the tractor up and use some jumper leads? Only applies to commercial businesses. Seems that the crayfish you catch have less feelings than the ones in the upmarket city restaurant. The mind boggles. They actually funded an expensive study to work out what a crayfish feels during different kill methods. Meanwhile the fish caught on a commercial fishing boat just suffocate. It's all woke nonsense.

Yes and history tells us that that focus has brought down large civilisations.

Well he has to finance his new computer system and expanded marketing department somehow. I dont see it coming from punter revenue.

Anyone got any ideas on how they will make up the shortfall this year? Note the $41m needed WASN'T due to Covid-19. Arguably the shortfall was more than $41m because it doesn't include the Covid19 wage subsidy. In that regard if Turnover was only down 5% how did they qualify?

To be honest Freda I'm more worried where the industry is going to find the $41 million they were short last year this year. NZTR seems to be by stealth implementing a new computer system. Already spent $1 million on it. We all know the history of computer system cosy blow-outs. You'll see staff numbers and costs go up at NZTR because of the devolving of functions from the NZRB. You'll also see staff numbers and costs go up at Riccarton from next week onwards. Saundry will be working like crazy on the asset grab!

Why would they move from a low cost environment to a high cost one? Will we see Pitman doth protest loudly when Riccarton track fees rapidly climb to pay for the new training track?

So building AWT's to "avoid lost revenue from abandoned meetings" is pointless? Because there aren't enough horses anyway?

Then why the bloody hell build a new AWT there?

So where in the hell is the revenue coming from to sustain Riccartons AWT and fix it's turf track? What did the business case say about revenue generation or is that commercially sensitive?

They need to get it from somewhere because I sure as hell can't see how places like Awapuni and Riccarton are going to generate all the extra revenue they need to maintain their new toy's let alone fix their turf tracks. FFS even Ellerslie are betting the house on developing Countries and Avondale for housing!

Also the current NZTR management direction has been going on for years. The new Act only gives it momentum and the ability to manipulate the acquisition of assets. The latter they won't find as easy as they think aka Hokitika. Now given the approach isn't changing, just gaining momentum, has anyone stopped to ask the elephant in the room why this direction doesn't seem to be working? Could the direction itself be the reason for the decline of the industry? Awapuni is a classic case in point.

So how many is optimal? Which ones should stay? The irony is the track that is the title of this thread, Kumara, should have been the first to go on the West Coast for a long list of reasons. Now if you think closing down clubs and tracks that provide a low cost model of delivering the product and replacing them with a high cost model is going to work then you are delusional.

You wouldn't have seen the business case for the All Weather Tracks by any chance?

I see the Government bailout was $41m. I think they are being a bit creative saying it was Covid-19 relief! Especially when turnover was only down 5%! The fact is their creditors called and there were no reserves left.

Racing Industry Transition Agency Releases Annual Results 27 November 2020 The Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) today reported a Net Profit before distributions of $162.5 million (which included a government relief grant of $41 million) for the year ending 31 July 2020 in its final report prior to its transition to TAB New Zealand on 1 August. TAB New Zealand (formerly RITA) Executive Chair, Dean McKenzie said the result reflected an extraordinary year for the business. “The year is best described as a game of two halves, with the first six months showing an improvement on the same period the year. However the industry then faced one of the toughest financial times in its history, with racing and global sport almost coming to a complete standstill with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. “Despite the impact of COVID-19, RITA still was able to distribute $152.3 million to Racing and Sport, including $137.6 million to the racing codes, clubs, and racing integrity bodies. More than $14.7 million was returned to the sporting community over the course of the year. “The impact of very limited racing and sport during the peak of the crisis can’t be understated and RITA was faced with some difficult decisions to keep the business sustainable, including the removal of 230 roles, which was around 30 percent of staff. A number of other changes were also made, including not resuming Trackside Radio or Phonebet, and changes to Trackside production and presentation with a reduced number of cameras on course and presenters continuing to mainly operate from the studio,” said McKenzie. Total Turnover (Betting & Gaming) for the year of $2.6 billion was $141 million (-5 percent) below last year and $566 million below budget (-18 percent), while Gaming turnover was also impacted by COVID-19 with a decline of -10 percent to $461 million (-$52 million). Total Revenue, excluding the Government relief grant of $329 million was $19 million (-6 percent) below last year. Operating expenses declined year on year (saving $5 million or 4 percent against budget) which included a reduction of $7 million in staff expenses. “Away from the operational performance of the TAB, the year was historic with new legislation to reform the industry passed into law securing complete support across Parliament. Having such a broad consensus on legislation is rare, and will almost certainly mean the underlying framework of the industry is sustainable and enduring. “As we look towards the future, TAB NZ is positive the foundations are now firmly in place for the industry to build on. We look forward to working with the new Minister to complete the reform programme, new regulations, the appointment of a new Board, new Chief Executive and the establishment of the Racing Integrity Board.” RITA was established by the Racing Reform Act 2019 to support the reform of the New Zealand racing industry before transitioning to TAB New Zealand on 1 August 2020 following the passing of the Racing Industry Act 2020. tab21780 AR 2020 f web (1) (1).pdf

Bullshit or are they as we suspect asleep in the sulky?

???? They've already spent $1m on this. Just like the AWT's no published business case. Why do we have to upgrade and integrate into Racing Australia? Will it stop the handicapping stuffups? Also it looks like they are implementing this: https://technologyonecorp.co.nz/

Not shy.

Yes exactly and they are low cost delivery models as opposed the the BIG clubs.