$7.5 million Golden Eagle to keep flying high in attracting top-level four-year-olds
Racing NSW recommits to rich 1500-metre Rosehill race until at least 2026
Racing NSW’s second-year “pop up” race the Golden Eagle (1500m) is here to stay, with the sport’s governing body committing to the $7.5 million event for four-year-olds until at least 2026 despite the bet type trumpeted to fund the lucrative Sydney drawcard failing to live up to expectations.
Graeme Hinton, Racing NSW’s chief operating officer, revealed to ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday that the organisation has extended its initial four-year commitment to the Golden Eagle by a further four years.
The administrator believes the long-term agreement will also provide certainty for the race’s commercial partners.
“The agreement behind the Golden Eagle was for an initial four years and we are extending that by an extra four. It is safe until its eighth edition (at least).” Hinton said.
“(Beverage company Lion’s) Iron Jack had a two-year sponsorship deal for years one and two, but they are a commercial partner for us year-round.
“They are on board for the Kosciuszko and I am confident that they will hang around, especially when we are about to sign (the Golden Eagle) for another four years, they will have a good product to market around.”
When the Golden Eagle was announced in July last year alongside Tabcorp’s Odds and Evens bet type, it was reported that the “new” parimutuel wagering option offered to punters would fund the $7.5 million race in its entirety as well as $1 million greyhound and harness racing events in NSW.
At the time, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys claimed revenue from the new bet type would exceed the cost of the three lucrative races: “I think (Odds and Evens) will generate more. It’s an entry point for people who don’t understand racing and it’s a simple bet.
“We’re aiming for a new, younger audience. But the rusted on punters will still use it because there’s a very low take-out rate for this bet so they can certainly play it to their advantage.”
But Hinton yesterday backed away from V’landys’ seemingly black and white July 2019 assertion.
“Odds and Evens was announced at the same time as the Golden Eagle, but it is certainly not the sole source of funding. There are several agreements that help us get to that figure, including sponsorship,” he said.
“There’s an element of commercial-in-confidence when you are announcing these things. You are happy to have a flashing light that everyone can see and report to (like Odds and Evens) but there is a lot of detail in behind it that gets us to that ($7,5 million) figure.”
To fund the Golden Eagle alone – excluding the Million Dollar Chase and Harness Racing NSW’s Million Dollar Pace – Odds and Evens, which attracts a take-out rate of seven per cent, would need to generate wagering turnover of more than $107 million a year but even by the little data available on the popularity of the wagering medium it is clear that it has not gone close to achieving that.
Hinton admitted that the bet type had not resonated with gamblers as much as Tabcorp or racing executives had expected but indicated overall wagering turnover had gone up significantly in the past 12 months.
“We would have always liked to have seen any bet type grow more than what (Odds and Evens) has,” he said.
“I think it probably needs a shot in the arm and we’d like to see some more growth to it, but it does take time for these things to bed down. It was always intended to be an entry level product and that’s where we probably need to work with Tabcorp more to get it back in front of those entry level customers, not just as another option in a crowded place for existing customers.”
The closure of pubs, clubs and TABs around the country this year for varying periods of time due to Covid-19 had also not helped the take-up of the bet in which a punter needs to select the numbers of the first two runners across the line, be they even, odd or split.
“It is designed to attract Keno players and casino gamblers, not the existing customers, so when pubs and clubs shut they didn’t have that (natural retail) option to bring them in,” he said.
The overall growth in wagering turnover has boosted Racing NSW’s coffers and Hinton also threw his support behind the likes of last week’s $1 million Bondi (1600m), the Golden Gift (1100m), The Gong (1600m) and The Hunter (1300m).
“There’s no concern here about being able to fund those races,” he said.
“If you talk to any corporate bookmaker and they will be happy to tell you wagering is up. If you look at the figures coming out of Melbourne where they do report their numbers on a race meeting by race meeting basis, wagering is strong.”
Meanwhile, the second running of the Golden Eagle attracted a capacity field of 18 plus four emergencies, which includes Group 1 winners Funstar (Adelaide), Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) and Flit (Medaglia d’Oro), when acceptances for Saturday’s Rosehill race were taken yesterday.
The Chris Waller-trained Group 1 winner Kolding (Ocean Park) won the inaugural Golden Eagle last year.
“It is a good field. You always look at what you could have added to it, like a Bivouac for example, and it is a strong field,” Hinton said.
“I look back at last year’s race, which was a sensational field, but even a horse like Behemoth who, when he ran in the Golden Eagle, wasn’t really a known quantity; I Am Superman ran down the track but he has come out and performed since, so I think if we look back in 12 months’ time we may well be looking at a similar class with this year’s field.”