Another Open Letter...from a NZ Racing stakeholder!

[curious]

11 hours ago, hesi said:

The other thing on this, horses don't magically appear, there is a time lag.  Entain underwriting the industry was announced in June 2023, so we are looking at 3 years plus before any horses bred as a result of any renewed confidence in the industry start appearing.

Latest foal crop numbers might help

But yes, 4-6 horse fields is not sustainable

I haven't seen any sign of  or expectation of any increases in the foal crop as a result of the Entain investment. Seems unlikely to me. Maybe an interim stabilisation of the decline?

https://thestraight.com.au/new-zealand-foal-crop-holding-firm-as-breeders-apply-sharper-commercial-lens/

[hesi]

17 minutes ago, curious said:

I haven't seen any sign of  or expectation of any increases in the foal crop as a result of the Entain investment. Seems unlikely to me. Maybe an interim stabilisation of the decline?

https://thestraight.com.au/new-zealand-foal-crop-holding-firm-as-breeders-apply-sharper-commercial-lens/

Well, we will watch with interest what the 2025 foal crop will be and comment on the interest of breeders for the 25/26 season

[curious]

6 minutes ago, hesi said:

Well, we will watch with interest what the 2025 foal crop will be and comment on the interest of breeders for the 25/26 season

Did you read that article? Looks like stable at best? 2024 broodmare returns confirm that.

The Straight revealed earlier this month that Australia’s 2025 foal crop could be the nation’s smallest since the mid-1970s as smaller breeders either downsize their broodmare bands considerably or exit the industry altogether.

...

Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre believes the foal crop will end up maintaining the status quo when they’re born in 2025, echoing the thoughts of Johnson and Thompson.

“Certainly if you'd said that to me three years ago, I would have said we're very nervous over here. But I think the Entain arrival and the lifeline that they've thrown the industry here, that's sort of stabilised the mare numbers,” Plumptre said.

Edited August 21 by curious

[curious]

12 hours ago, hesi said:

Separate issue also there with the poly track and the anti that seems to have developed against them

Understandably. No sign of NZTR implementing any of the safety and welfare recommendations from the April Massey report. 

[Huey]

6 hours ago, curious said:

Did you read that article? Looks like stable at best? 2024 broodmare returns confirm that.

The Straight revealed earlier this month that Australia’s 2025 foal crop could be the nation’s smallest since the mid-1970s as smaller breeders either downsize their broodmare bands considerably or exit the industry altogether.

...

Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre believes the foal crop will end up maintaining the status quo when they’re born in 2025, echoing the thoughts of Johnson and Thompson.

“Certainly if you'd said that to me three years ago, I would have said we're very nervous over here. But I think the Entain arrival and the lifeline that they've thrown the industry here, that's sort of stabilised the mare numbers,” Plumptre said.

And guess where Aus will supplement theirs from.

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, Huey said:

And guess where Aus will supplement theirs from.

Not your paddocks!  You've given up.

[Huey]

12 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Not your paddocks!  You've given up.

Certainly have .

[curious]

19 minutes ago, Huey said:

Certainly have .

You are certainly not alone. Many joining you every week.

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, curious said:

You are certainly not alone. Many joining you every week.

Quantify that with real data.  I guess a social studies chap doesn't play with real data.

[Huey]

2 hours ago, curious said:

You are certainly not alone. Many joining you every week.

yes unfortunately true

[Chief Stipe]

18 hours ago, Huey said:

yes unfortunately true

Great more for the rest of us.  I guess it won't stop you moaning and sniping from your LazyBoy about the increased stakes and improved tracks.

[Huey]

10 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Great more for the rest of us.  I guess it won't stop you moaning and sniping from your LazyBoy about the increased stakes and improved tracks.

What makes you think I can afford a lazy boy @Chief Stipe?

[Gammalite]

9 hours ago, Huey said:

What makes you think I can afford a lazy boy @Chief Stipe?

wasn't that you at the Salvo's last week ?

A few Lazy boys make there way there going cheap,  when the old boys pass away that have lived in em' for a few years. You just have to check they're still not in it before taking it home. Funerals not as cheap as they used to be. 

[Chief Stipe]

34 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

A few Lazy boys make there way there going cheap,  when the old boys pass away that have lived in em' for a few years. You just have to check they're still not in it before taking it home. Funerals not as cheap as they used to be. 

Make sure you buy the ones with the plastic covers @Huey .

[Huey]

3 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Make sure you buy the ones with the plastic covers @Huey .

I'm too old for that business you get up to on a lazy boy @Chief Stipe

[hesi]

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.

[curious]

27 minutes ago, hesi said:

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

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?

Edited 18 hours ago by curious

[hesi]

2 hours ago, curious said:

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?

Thought you might say that

[Chief Stipe]

10 hours ago, curious said:

But there haven't been any significant stakes increases since the 23/24 season, nor are any projected for the next couple of years

So one season no change equals stagnation?

[curious]

7 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

So one season no change equals stagnation?

One is three with 2 more to come and possibly a reduction from there. So yes, very much so.

Meanwhile owner costs, training fees, freight, farriers, vets, feed etc have all increased 15-20%.

Edited 7 hours ago by curious

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, curious said:

One is three with 2 more to come and possibly a reduction from there. So yes, very much so.

But it hasn't happened yet.  

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, curious said:

Meanwhile owner costs, training fees, freight, farriers, vets, feed etc have all increased 15-20%.

They are all owners costs.  But these things don't worry you anymore as you are on your last wagering funded horse.

[hesi]

23/24 - 90.8 mil (up 20.3 mil from 22/23)

24/25 - 108 mil but for simplicity's sake, take out the 7 mil from the 4 sweepstake races to leave you with 101 mil

Here’s what NZTR itself has published about stakes for 2024/25, with the closest thing to a total and the key levers behind it:

• Total funded stakes (headline): NZTR says total funded stakes increase from “more than $90m” in 2023/24 to “more than $100m” in 2024/25.

Doesn't seem like stagnation to me

Edited 5 hours ago by hesi

[hesi]

I actually went through the 24/25 calendar online at NZTR month by month, and the 108 mil was the total stake money competed for.  As I said, I subtracted off the 7 mil for the 4 sweepstake races to get 101 mil, which is pretty much what NZTR is saying, "more than $100 mil in 24/25"

I make that a 43% increase in stake money over the 2 years.

I will do a breakdown month by month and also a % of how much was competed for in the South Island, when I have time

[hesi]

I actually recorded the monthly figures so anyone can check

Aug 2024 - 5,691 mil

Sept - 6,386

Oct - 8,604

Nov - 11,493

Dec - 9,900

Jan - 15,205 (3.5 included for the 3 KM races)

Feb - 9,829

Mar -18,129 (3.5 mil included for the Kiwi)

April - 6,647

May - 5,806

June - 5,292

July - 5,104

TOT = 108 mil

 

Edited 4 hours ago by hesi