Magic Man Messara?

[hesi]

Probably the most important report ever to be done on NZ Racing

I note that, he is the only author, he is not being paid for it, and he is getting administrative support from DIA

Specific terms of reference are not detailed but appear wide reaching, including assisting the Government in deciding if the Racing Act 2003 and Racing Amendment Bill are fit for purpose.

So what are Racing people hoping he will recommend to Peters?

[curious]

22 minutes ago, hesi said:

he is not being paid for it,

Really? Where did you hear that?

I think you might be out by about a quarter of a mil.

[hesi]

Racing: Aussie big gun to sort out NZ racing

13 Apr, 2018 7:02pm

 4 minutes to read

John Messara. Photo / Bloomberg

NZ Herald

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The man charged with shaping the future of New Zealand racing says he is going into the role with an open mind.

And John Messara says the industry's smaller codes — harness and greyhound racing — have nothing to fear as their interests will be fairly heard.

Messara has been asked by Minister of Racing Winston Peters to write what could prove to be the most important strategic report in the history of New Zealand racing.

Peters says Messara has agreed to conduct a strategic report to provide advice to the Government.

 

But the most important clue to just how serious the report is to the future of the industry is what Peters said next.

"His review will also assist the Government in determining if the current Racing Act 2003 and the proposed Racing Amendment Bill are fit for purpose," said Peters.

That suggests Messara will be given licence to make recommendations on matters as important as whether the actual structure of New Zealand racing at its very highest levels works as well as how each code is funded.

That could mean changes to the Racing Act, which would be pivotal to any future sale or outsourcing of the TAB and importantly Section 16 of the Act, which deals with the distribution of TAB profits, which thoroughbred bosses believe their code don't get a fair percentage of.

While many in the racing industry are unhappy with its direction and financial health, most particularly around stakes and infrastructure, Peters' announcement that Messara will be asked to look directly at the Racing Act and its fit for purpose is the biggest suggestion yet of potential major change.

But Messara says he is going into the unpaid role with a very open mind about the challenges facing the industry and any possible solutions.

"I don't want to say too much because I have been asked to write a report and I want to do that without any agenda," said Messara.

"So while I will be talking to a lot of people in New Zealand, and I intend spending several weeks on the ground over there, I don't think it would be appropriate to make comment along the way."

Messara is not only the principal of hugely successful NSW-based thoroughbred stud Arrowfield but was the chairman of Racing New South Wales during its incredible resurgence in the last decade.

He has also acted as chairman of Racing Australia and his qualifications are impossible to argue.

But he also knows he will be seen by some in the New Zealand industry as understandably biased toward the thoroughbred code even though he has been tasked with writing a report that will affect all three codes.

"That won't be a factor," he assures.

"I will get around a lot of people and take a wide range of opinions on board. So I can allay those fears, if they exist, right now."

He says he can see some obvious similarities between challenges NSW and Australian racing faced a decade ago and those New Zealand racing is up against now but realises the trans- tasman racing industry doesn't have a one-size-fits-all blueprint.

Messara says he will be the sole author of the report, which he hopes to have finished by the start of the new racing season in August, although he will have research assistance from the Department of Internal Affairs.

His report could be one reason for delays around the Racing Amendment Bill, which will allow the industry to collect earnings from overseas betting operators making money out of New Zealand racing.

It has wide-ranging support in Parliament and its delay in becoming law could be costing New Zealand racing as much as $1 million a month.

If major changes are in the offing for the industry and indeed other sections of the Racing Act, that delay would make more sense as Parliament could be asked to vote on any other key changes suggested by Messara as part of the Racing Amendment Bill.

"But I might make it clear, I am writing the report but any decisions on the future of New Zealand racing will be for the minister to decide on," says Messara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[curious]

lol.....did Dillo write that?

[Flagship uberalles]

No matter what, it definitely needs someone neutral and that's not on the gravy train to have a good look at it.

[Freda]

Best news for years.

Whether you like / trust Peters,  or Messara for that matter,  the other option - doing more of what we have been doing for the past twenty odd years - is just not on.

In a few more years, there won't be an industry to report on.

 

[hesi]

MESSARA APPOINTMENT THE PRECURSOR TO A PARADIGM-SHIFT IN OUR RACING CULTURE

19 April 2018

John Messara is determined to turn the New Zealand racing industry around.

 

(By Brian de Lore, The Informant)

Close your eyes and make a wish for racing!

If a year ago you had been accorded that luxury and thought “I want Winston Peters back as Minister for Racing and I want him to appoint John Messara to review New Zealand racing”, the TAB odds on that double would have been 10,000 to one.

Yet, it’s happened. No-one in their wildest dreams could have predicted such a long-shot double. For a decade or more, we in New Zealand racing and breeding have experienced a steady decline that has become serious to point of a crisis.

Not everyone in racing recognises we have reached crisis point, and not everyone is happy about either the Peters return as Minister or the Messara appointment. But then again, not everyone in racing has an IQ over 70, either.

This is a double that this writer had both hoped for and actively sought but never believed might become an actual reality. But now, I can pinch myself along with everyone else who has been constantly separating facts from NZRB fiction and say that the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a gravy-train heading straight at us but instead rays of sunlight from the rising dawn of a new racing era.

We are not over the line by any stretch, but to quote an oft-used line ‘the wheels are in motion’ is enough to say we have commenced a journey that will take us down a path never previously taken by racing and towards a destination of greener fields and richer pickings.

Using the train-station analogy – after years of sitting idle on rusty tracks we have now set off with the Minister driving the train at his speed and Messara firing up the furnace to produce a head of steam that will easily propel us to a new destination called Racebetter.

Messara has already commenced his review as you read this and will be working at full pace to produce an analysis of the structure and strategies of New Zealand racing to be delivered in a report to the Minister with his recommended changes at the earliest possible time.

Speaking to Messara soon after the announcement last Thursday, he said: “We are going to turn it around; I’ve agreed to it and I’m happy to help – New Zealand is part of the family and we are going to get moving on it.

“I will be doing a lot of research before I come up with my recommendations and I’ll be visiting once every two weeks for a couple of days. I have been retained by the government so I can’t say anything more than that.

“Any questions will have to be answered by Winston Peters and not by me. I can’t say anything about the project – my report has to be to him and nobody else.”

The blank sheet of paper is on the desk but still blank and understandably, little more will be heard until Minister Peters has devoured the completed Messara Report and is ready to make an announcement about changes. Rest assured, the Minister will not be saying anything until he is good and ready.

Reaction to the Messara appointment has mostly been very positive and both the Messara office in Sydney and NZ First having been inundated with emails of support and enthusiasm for the review.

And while ‘mum’s the word’ on the progress Messara will make while delving into racing’s administrative abyss, his record as a trouble-shooter for Racing NSW suggests his recommendations in the end will be substantial and game changing.

Having known Messara since the late1970s as a somewhat younger journalist working for the monthly Racetrack magazine in Sydney; having knowledge of his entree committee role in racing which happened to be the NSW Racehorse Owners’ Association, Messara is a familiar character to this writer.

Add to that his commissioning from me a feasibility study into founding a new racing publication in the early 1980s for which there were numerous visits to his then Sydney stockbrokers office, also his two years as a director of Ra Ora Stud during my term as general manager, and having attended his lavish 40th birthday party at Arrowfield Stud way back in the day, it’s fair to say those experiences have provided an insight to how the man thinks and acts.

Then take a look at his achievements in more recent times. He was the founder and is principal of Australia’s most successful stud and the business acumen he displayed during his five years as Chairman of Racing NSW (2011-2016), and as Chairman of Racing Australia for just on three years during the same timeframe, is unprecedented.

He and Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys turned around racing in their state, where the industry was declining alarmingly and falling behind Victoria until the pair constantly lobbied the NSW Government and took drastic remedial action.

Messara is an uncompromising character who likes to get his way and isn’t fazed by treading over a few slowcoaches or dissenters to achieve a result for the greater good. His appointment by Peters is a stroke of genius and there’s no doubt the Minister will trust the Messara recommendations and get straight into action with the appropriate legislation.

My experience with Messara tells me he will be savage on expenses – he will cut costs to the bone as he did at Ra Ora and later Racing NSW. Instead of the NZRB costing $205 million to run and returning $143 million to the codes, those figures might be reversed. He will set out to maximise the returns to the codes which will on-flow to the owners, trainers and all other participants in thoroughbreds, harness and greyhounds.

In my chat with Messara at this year’s Karaka Yearling Sales from which the ‘blank sheet of paper’ article published in the February 1 edition of The Informant was hatched, one of the points he stressed was cost saving.

“I can’t understand why you don’t immediately cut your costs and stop variegating about it,” Messara said. “It’s one thing you could do straight away.”

Messara’s list of achievements at Racing NSW under the sub-heading of ‘Costs’ is highlighted by ‘Cost effective industry management’ which states that ‘Racing NSW operates at 38 per cent of the cost of Victoria despite running approximately 20 per cent more race meetings.’

All this points to the costs at NZRB having the guts ripped out of them. But costs at NZRB will not be scrutinised alone, because the code bodies are certain to get the same treatment as are the Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) and the Judicial Control Authority (JCA).

This cumbersome set-up is not only expensive but poorly conceived and possibly destined for the dustbin. Messara overhauled ‘Integrity’ in NSW and setup a Racing NSW Investigation and Surveillance Unit amongst many other associated reforms that streamlined the integrity side of racing. This could well be the template for an alternative New Zealand model.

Other reforms that Messara addressed and vastly improved during his tenure for Racing NSW included industry modernisation sustainability, animal welfare and jockey welfare. He was also the overseer of NSW thoroughbred prize-money increasing from $118 million to $203 million per annum and he was instrumental in the creation of The Championships.

It all points to Messara being the perfect man for the job. But despite the impressive CV and his impartiality, immediate criticism was levelled by National Party Spokesperson for Racing Ian McKelvie who released a statement a day after the Peters announcement entitled ‘Shine coming off Peters’ racing crusade’.

But the only shine detected in McKelvie’s press release was that radiating from the adjacent photo of his own bald head. He contended the Messara appointment was contrived only to ‘deliver the answers Mr Peters was wanting on behalf of his supporters’ and the delay to the racefields legislation was costing the industry unnecessarily.

McKelvie’s words barely justify a response, except to say that with the shallow knowledge displayed in his rant it doesn’t look good for racing if National eventually regained power and this ill-advised pretender was to become the Minister for Racing.

When former Prime Minister and legal expert Geoffrey Palmer was used as an adviser to the racing industry back in 2002, he told the authors of the Racing Act 2003 that they should get the wording of that legislation absolutely correct because the train stops at the station only once every 15 to 20 years. Here we are 15 years later with the race-fields legislation on hold for very good reason.

The new legislation will not be rolled out until after the Messara Report has been lodged and then considered by the Minister and to which the race-fields legislation will be added and rolled into one package. The racing industry will get only one chance at this and that’s why Peters confided a month ago, “It’s very complicated and very slow to write but it has to be right before we roll it out.”

In the meantime, Messara will be seen here talking to what he described last week as the ‘key players of the industry’.

Knowing Messara, he will be avoiding those who look as though they know the answers, or those who would have him believe they know the answers. Instead, he is more likely to seek the company of those who are trying to understand the question.

To read this and other important industry stories in The Informant each week email ADMIN@RACINGMEDIA.CO.NZ. Mention W@W and get 20% off an online subscription.

[mardigras]

On 22/04/2018 at 9:45 AM, mardigras said:

I look forward to the outcomes of Mr Messara's recommendation to the Minister.

My expectations are that the focus will be on cost cutting/re-organisation.

But what I'd like to see is what strategy he recommends to take the NZ industry to a self sustainable level. He comes from a jurisdiction where that is possible. Cost cutting and re-organisation alone does not get us anywhere near that level.

So I am interested in seeing how he plans to achieve that. Yet, I believe that is certainly possible.

 

On 23/04/2018 at 5:20 PM, mardigras said:

I would have thought improving stakes was a long term goal. I think they need to attempt to bring punters back to betting on NZ racing. Self sustainability and all that. I'd be looking at ways to differentiate NZ racing from overseas racing and go down that path. 

As said on other thread, I hope there is going to be more than just a focus on cost cutting. There has to be something on how the NZ Racing industry itself is going to generate more income. Exclusive of Pokies, Sports, Offshore Racing. Self sustainable income.

If he doesn't provide anything there, then at best, it will be a stop gap.

 

[hesi]

14 hours ago, curious said:

lol.....did Dillo write that?

Definitely a pro bono

Might shut up a few of the critics

[curious]

1 hour ago, hesi said:

Definitely a pro bono

Might shut up a few of the critics

I prefer to believe de Lore over the Herald because he actually talks to Messara before he writes stuff. And he quotes Messara in the article you posted above: "I have been retained by the government". There is no cost to the racing industry though.

[Poisoned Dwarf]

Firstly, and impossibly, they have to get the public interested in horse racing.

[Chief Stipe]

Where did Dillon come up with the nonsense about the delay in the legislation costing us $1m a month?  In my opinion the delay is a saviour and hopefully gives them some time to do some decent analysis.  What do you think Curious?

[mardigras]

33 minutes ago, Poisoned Dwarf said:

Firstly, and impossibly, they have to get the public interested in horse racing.

I doubt it is impossible - but is getting harder each year which is all self inflicted. They are where they are now because of their own flawed approach to generating revenue (and interest).

Edited April 28, 2018 by mardigras

[curious]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Where did Dillon come up with the nonsense about the delay in the legislation costing us $1m a month?  In my opinion the delay is a saviour and hopefully gives them some time to do some decent analysis.  What do you think Curious?

I've said many times that I've no idea where they get those figures  from and they won't make the detail of the analysis available. The DIA don't agree either. My best guess is they are out by an order of magnitude of about 1, i.e., 10x the best estimate. I don't think Dillo can count, let alone multiply. Just reports what he hears without any investigation.

[hesi]

1 hour ago, mardigras said:

I doubt it is impossible - but is getting harder each year which is all self inflicted. They are where they are now because of their own flawed approach to generating revenue (and interest).

I recall some market research was done about 3-5 years ago, NZTR maybe

The only positive thing that came out of it, was that a day at the races was still well perceived

[Turny]

I think the million a month came directly from John Allen at one of his recent talks 

Not 100% sure but sort of remember it as it surprised me when only he controls the outcome

[curious]

2 hours ago, Turny said:

I think the million a month came directly from John Allen at one of his recent talks 

Not 100% sure but sort of remember it as it surprised me when only he controls the outcome

Yep, quite likely. He has been spruiking those figures for a while Turny. When I questioned him a couple of years ago at a road show, he would not or could not elaborate on their basis, so I gave up going to those. Subsequently, the DIA have questioned them and reading between the lines from Peters' recent comments, so does he. They are miles out of line with the published peer reviewed data from AUT on the matter. Simply not believable.

Edited April 28, 2018 by curious

[Turny]

I reason that item 1 on page 1 will be reduction of costs which I am sure will be significantly reduced - then item 2 likely to be governance which I am sure will be addressed - then I think item 3 likely to be do we have the right people to drive the industry 

Delighted with the appointment and like most of us looking forward to a far reaching report

Somehow this could be the last toss of the dice - our industry is in terrible shape, but we all know that

Great appointment Winnie

Tom

[hesi]

From a Denis Ryan article back in 2014, forecasts by the 2 previous CEO's Bayliss and Brown

That same SOI also forecast continuing revenue increases up to $180 million by 2018, along with increases in stakes and returns to owners of 50 per cent, new market revenue growth of 30 per cent and a reduction in the cost to income ratio to below 30 per cent.

Discrepancies between optimistic forecasts and actual delivery by the NZRB are nothing new. How many of us recall the bold prediction by previous CEO Andrew Brown in his Racing Ahead fantasy of a return to the codes of $185 million by 2015?

[hesi]

MESSARA REPORT WILL BE THE JOB ONLY HALF DONE

27 April 2018

Story by Brian de Lore / The Informant

Benjamin Franklin once said nothing is certain in this life except death and taxes, but in view of events in New Zealand racing over the past couple of weeks a major overhaul of our industry also looms large as an over-the-line certainty.

Arrowfield Stud boss and former chairman of Racing NSW and Racing Australia John Messara is more than a week into compiling his report ahead of forming recommendations that will be delivered to and then adopted by Minister for Racing Winston Peters.

After conducting his due diligence on Messara and then making the appointment, it is unlikely to be followed by debate over the recommendations. Peters knows that Messara has the track record, the experience and know-how to do the job, and it would be naïve to believe the Minister would do anything outside the Messara recommendations.

But once the report has been handed to Peters, the involvement of Messara realistically cannot end at that point in time. The fix will have to be put into practice and who better to do it than Messara himself, which is what happened at Racing NSW in collaboration with CEO Peter V’landys. Completion of the report is a job only half done; implementation is the second phase.

Messara said recently: “In the end, it’s all about personnel. You can have all the right structures for governance, but you need the right personnel in key places or it won’t work.”

And for that reason Peters should appoint Messara as the new Chairman of the NZRB, at least for an interim period as the new board is installed and the industry is reshaped.

Let’s be realistic, the current board members will be gone by the back half of July so the Messara blank sheet of paper strategy, which obviously appealed to Peters and had something to do with the Messara appointment, can be carried through to a satisfactory conclusion. The Minister has that power and it would be delusional to believe otherwise – the way forward has to begin with a completely new board at the NZRB.

Peters wants to leave a legacy for racing and as previously stated; what he is putting in place now will be there to survive succeeding governments and be functional in 10 years’ time and beyond. Messara is unfamiliar with failure and between the two it’s very hard to believe either will consider the job complete until the agenda is not only finalised but set in concrete.

Already NZRB board member Alistair Ryan of Sky City Entertainment has resigned. Greg McCarthy has stated he will not be seeking re-election after serving five years and it will be nothing but a major surprise if chair Glenda Hughes doesn’t tender her resignation before July.

The Messara report and its findings will be wasted if the wrong people are seconded onto the board and a new management team is not up to an unprecedented standard for better governance – a state of industry position we have been sadly lacking. We have a history that chronicles numerous failures and this might be our last chance to get it right.

Messara’s impartiality offers the perfect opportunity to eliminate some of the cronyism in racing that has been prevalent here for years. He is coming in from the outside and therefore will not have preconceived notions or bias about finding the right person/s, and we need a CEO that possesses racing savvy and an uncompromising approach to the task – in the mould of Messara and V’landys themselves.

What we don’t want to hear anymore is that narrow-minded parochialism about Australians; we just want the best person for the job and if that means the best candidate comes from Timbuktu then so be it. Imported CEOs have a poor record but that’s more a symptom of the selection process rather than the origin of the incumbent.

Some years ago when outsourcing of the TAB was first mooted, then Racing Minister Nathan Guy said it would never happen under his watch – for what reason other than a reluctance to be part of an Australian institution is unknown.

Outsourcing the FOB platform to Tabcorp might be achieved for the $6 million to $7 million per annum that RWWA’s is said to be paying instead of the $30 million plus $17 million a year commitment we are tied to under the current NZRB strategy. Outsourcing is simply about sharing the Tabcorp technology already in place and taking full advantage of the $120 million/year that organisation spends on IT development rather than doing it ourselves.

The NZRB this month relented and with NZTR has now formed a steering committee to investigate outsourcing – too little too late. It should have happened years ago. The horse has bolted with the stable door wide open.

The business model that the NZRB has been pursuing has been out of date ever since globalisation took hold in the betting world a decade or more ago. We ultra-conservative Kiwis have been too slow to recognise and embrace the global picture just as we were in the early 1990s when some leaders in our breeding industry decried the then new practice of shuttling stallions. We were soon left behind and our speed out of the barrier is still in catch-up mode.

And today, thinking that we could afford to build our own FOB betting platform at massive cost and then compete with the big, powerful global players just to secure the domestic market alone borders on lunacy. That thinking could only be the product of the insular minds of people with no understanding of the meaning of the word scale.

But while it’s not hard to find evidence in the smorgasbord of NZRB faults and excesses that Messara will be currently examining, don’t forget that the erosion of our industry over the past dozen years or so has also taken place under the watch of thoroughbred code governing body NZTR.

Under the NZTR Statutory Role, Section 23 of the Racing Act 2003, clause four which is headed ‘Participate in the Racing Board’s Governance and Decision Making,’ (b) (1) says ‘consult with the Racing Board about the Board’s business plan’ while (b) (iii) says ‘consult with the Racing Board on the terms of reference for performance and efficiency audits of the Racing Board.’

NZTR has simply not been strong enough. Over the said period of time they have watched passively rather than objected loudly, and allowed themselves to be bullied by the NZRB which has taken full advantage of the wording of the Act. Instead of marshalling the Trainers’ Association, the Breeders’ Association and what’s now left of the Owners’ Association into some type of action, they adopted the ‘look-on’ approach and now we’ve had to hire a trouble-shooter.

Henceforth, how exactly the Messara rejig of this business will be shaped is something no-one really knows at this time. While his head is no doubt buried in annual reports, submissions, etc., he won’t be making statements and will remain silent until his completed report is delivered to the Minister.

But we do know from previous discussions that he believes we are overburdened with one level of administration too many, we are far too expensive to run, management of the finances should revert back to the codes and that in the end it comes back to the quality of the personnel. That was an overview from Karaka Sales time but whether or not all these beliefs will still hold true through to the completion of the report is the burning question.

Personnel has been a sticky issue in the past but New Zealanders who could be part of the future of our racing include lawyer Mark Freeman who is chairman of the NZTR Pattern Committee and the son of one of our most successful administrators in Bill Freeman, and Dean McKenzie, who has an impressive record of success where ever he’s been.

McKenzie is now something of a wasted talent to racing employed in the food industry, but previously he was CEO of the Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington for six years, that despite his background from an early age in thoroughbreds in Southland, where he qualified as an accountant.

He became racing manager of the Southland Racing Club at an early age, moved to Avondale a week before the club went into receivership but nevertheless made a sound contribution, and then did four years as CEO of the Wellington Racing Club, another four years as CEO of Christchurch’s Jade Stadium, and another four years as Executive Director of Esportif International.

McKenzie is the most recent appointee to the Board of NZTR, but he is someone racing needs to get back full-time. Likewise, Freeman understands racing and should at least be utilised at Board level.

These are just two suggestions to enhance the future of New Zealand racing. My knowledge of them is limited but it demonstrates that New Zealand does have the expertise to make a significant contribution to the industry’s future and get our best people into governance. Others are certain to be on the periphery, and Messara must be made aware of them all.

To read this and other important industry stories in The Informant each week

[Rowley Mile]

Whoever signed off on the FOB platform should be held accountable, it is the anchor around the boots, tied to a concrete Ballard and heaved overboard to sink into the depths of AKL harbour........A Royal Commission would have brought to light the glaring mistakes from both NZRB and NZTR......the costs involved with the outsourcing should have been audited, before and after, now there should be a uniform call for a forensic investigation to determine what led the board to take these decisions.....

[mardigras]

The last thing we need is a V'Landys. The only useful thing I have seen from him is to enforce minimum bet limits rules.

And the post about the job half done seems far too fixated on costs. I'd rather they were focused on industry size relative to achievable income and how to grow that income. The NZ racing industry doesn't have sufficient revenue for the current size of the industry even if there were no costs to pay especially given that the codes already receive around 100% of the gross revenue they generate

[Freda]

 

22 minutes ago, mardigras said:

The last thing we need is a V'Landys. The only useful thing I have seen from him is to enforce minimum bet limits rules.

And the post about the job half done seems far too fixated on costs. I'd rather they were focused on industry size relative to achievable income and how to grow that income. The NZ racing industry doesn't have sufficient revenue for the current size of the industry even if there were no costs to pay especially given that the codes already receive around 100% of the gross revenue they generate

Maybe that will be the case.

This bloke is not stupid.

[mardigras]

3 minutes ago, Freda said:

 

Maybe that will be the case.

This bloke is not stupid.

I'm looking forward to what he provides to the Minister. And I'm not saying he won't delve into areas of revenue growth. But when reading many of the discussions (such as those in the Informant), they are pushing costs as being a major focus. While the costs are excessive, they are currently being met by revenue generated outside of NZ racing.

[curious]

31 minutes ago, mardigras said:

While the costs are excessive, they are currently being met by revenue generated outside of NZ racing.

Costs might be being generated to a fair extent by trying to garner that revenue too.