‘I really fear for the future of the pattern in this country’
Australia will soon have a plethora of black type upgrades, all decided on race ratings alone and in the absence of a traditional pattern committee – a body said to be anti-competitive under legal advice understood to have been put to Racing Australia from New South Wales.
As a potential clash with international authorities looms, the news comes in the wake of Wednesday’s announcement that NSW and Victoria had facilitated Group 1 status for The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) and the All Star Mile (Gr 1, 1600m), and revelations the same day that Sydney would have 12 black type upgrades.
All states are due to announce upgrades in the coming days, as a result of discussions by the RA board. Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott told ANZ his state had 18 races set to be upgraded, though none to Group 1 level. With all other states set to announce similar moves, there could be as many as 50 upgrades triggered in coming days.
Downgrades may be discussed at a later date, but when that will be remains unclear, since ANZ understands there is a push at RA, including from NSW, for a moratorium on downgrades for the present.
In the absence of a pattern committee, breeders have expressed growing concern the pattern system has been “hijacked” by Principal Racing Authorities (PRA), and that ill-based upgrades will dent international confidence in buying Australian horses, threatening the livelihoods of those the pattern was invented to protect: breeders.
However, all proposed upgrades – including those in Sydney already adjusted on the Racing Australia calendar – may yet be rejected by international authorities.
Group 1 status has been approved by the Asian Pattern Committee for The Everest and All Star Mile. However, a well-placed source told ANZ Bloodstock News another powerful international panel would conduct further analysis on the Sydney 12 and mooted upgrades for other states.
“A very influential international body has told me they are yet to rubber stamp these upgrades, and it’s far from a fait accompli,” the source told ANZ.
“If they don’t, and Australia says we’re doing it anyway, I really fear for the future of the pattern in this country. If it goes on, there’d be a chance of Australia itself being downgraded, and moved to part two of the international cataloguing standards book. Internationally, we would have no Group races, only Listed.”
Scott told ANZ that Australia’s array of coming black type upgrades had been decided on ratings over the past three runnings alone, without discretionary considerations, with 115 decided as the threshold for Group 1 categorisation. The Everest has rated 120.5, 120.8 and 120.5 in its past three editions, the All-Star Mile 117.5, 117.3 and 118.3.
“Most of the state executives were at the Horse of the Year awards in Adelaide on Tuesday, and we all committed that we would try to announce our upgrades by the middle of next week,” Scott told ANZ.
“Queensland’s got 18 upgrades. None are upgrades to Group 1s. They’re from Group 3 to Group 2, or Listed to Group 3.
“Downgrades, we’re starting to work on. First, we’ll do the upgrades, and then the downgrades.”
However, ANZ understands there is opposition to the latter from some quarters at RA, with pressure from quarters including NSW for a moratorium on downgrades.
Traditionally, an independent pattern committee has made decisions on grading shifts, based not only on ratings but with discretion applied, such as respect for historical races and Classics, and for each state to have an adequate number of stakes races.
Australia’s committee traditionally comprised representatives of the breeding industry, of the two major auction houses, and a handicapper – rather than a CEO – from each state.
However, the committee has not existed for at least five years, since the outbreak of political wars between NSW and Victoria, who both have the power of veto at the RA board.
Following Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys ascension to the Racing Australia board – as its only representative who’s not a state Principal Racing Authority (PRA) chairman – and Aaron Morrison’s replacement of Andrew Jones as Racing Victoria CEO, there appears to have been a rapprochement between the two states. This has no doubt led to Group 1 status for The Everest and All-Star Mile.
But it would appear unlikely at this stage that the pattern committee will be revived since, ANZ understands, NSW tabled legal advice saying the committee was anti-competitive – a move which could itself ultimately trigger a counter-action from breeders.
“The PRAs and Racing Australia have had legal advice to that effect – that challenges the legality of the pattern and the pattern being anti-competitive,” one source told ANZ.
ANZ understands V’landys told a Racing Industry Consultative Group (RICG) meeting last month that he was in charge of the pattern committee.
Aushorse chairman and Widden Stud owner Antony Thompson said it was “disturbing” the raft of upgrades had been approved at RA “without the proper channels”.
“It’s been a source of frustration there’s been a lack of action on the pattern for five years but this news has by no means alleviated that frustration. In fact it’s more alarming,” he told ANZ.
“The integrity and the reputation of our industry relies heavily on a pattern that is in tune with international standards, and anything that compromises that would be hugely alarming for the whole industry, particularly the breeders.
“As breeders, we work very hard to attract international investment, to promote our industry and to give international buyers confidence to invest here, on the basis that we abide by the international standards of racing and breeding.
“So it’s important we maintain that and we give the industry, here and internationally, confidence that we respect it.”
Breeding giant John Messara also expressed concern.
“I’m surprised by the number of upgrades, and the apparent change in methodology of the pattern rules, and I fear that it will affect the Australian sport’s reputation internationally,” the Arrowfield owner told ANZ.
“It’s the breeders and the sales companies who established the pattern system as a cataloguing standard. There seems to be something of a hijack here.
“If you look in a catalogue and see Group 1 races in England and France, they’re highly vaunted things, because they maintain a very high standard in those countries. If the market begins to degrade our group system, it’ll be a different story here.”
The upgrades to The Everest, All Star Mile and the Sydney dozen add 13 new black type races to the Australian calendar (the Reginald Allen Quality has gone from Listed to Group 3) and that brings the number of stakes races in Australia to 618. That’s up from 549 in 2000.
Australia will now have 76 Group 1s, which could rise to 80 given reports Sydney will soon also have four more, with upgrades for The Shorts (Gr 2, 1100m), the Premiere Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and the Russell Balding Stakes (1300m), and with elevation for the Golden Eagle (1500m) to black type as a Group 1. That compares to just 64 G1s in 2000.
ANZ understands, however, that while the Asian Pattern Committee approved Group 1 status for The Everest and All-Star Mile, these latest four will face sterner opposition from that body.
Much dissent has been tabled against Australia’s Group 1 picture based on the premise ‘grand finals’ ought to have top billing, not lead-up races such as the Winx Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in August, whose ratings are falsely inflated by well-performed stayers resuming for their spring campaigns.
But overall, breeders have expressed exasperation that control of the black type system has fallen into the wrong hands.
“The pattern is not for PRAs. It’s for breeders, and was introduced by breeders and agents for sales catalogue definitions,” said Willow Park Stud’s Glenn Burrows, a former 20-year member of the pattern committee representing both auction houses and breeders.
“The PRAs have stolen the pattern. In the US, the pattern committee has five or six breeders on it. It’s not run by people who do tit-for-tat deals, which is exactly what looks like has happened with this latest round of upgrades here.”
Like many breeders and their organisations including Thoroughbred Breeders NSW and AusHorse, Burrows fears for the futures of Australian breeders if international buyers lose confidence in the Australian product due to a heavily distorted black type pyramid.
“The breeders and agents have fought so hard to get international investment and international credibility. It’s phenomenal now at yearling sales, the percentage of yearlings that are bought by people offshore,” he said.
“So we, as breeders and agents, have got a vested financial interest in the pattern. PRAs are just on a wage and they couldn’t care less about the international investment in yearling sales. They’ve just hijacked the pattern to advertise their own races and say, ‘Look at us’.”
Breeding industry figures, including TBNSW president Hamish Esplin, have complained of a lack of transparency and explanation of the process which has led to the new band of upgrades.
One prominent breeder, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told ANZ: “It makes you wonder why invest in this industry and continue on? Other industries, sports and businesses operate with such better codes of practice.”
Scott conceded the process of announcing the upgrades should have been handled better. News of NSW’s 12 came after they spotted on RA’s calendar, and publicised by a twitter user.
“I’m not sure communication between RA and the breeders has been up to standard,” Scott said.
“Breeders should’ve been brought on this journey, with RA explaining how it’s happening, without the races that are being upgraded just appearing on Racing Australia’s calendar. I don’t think it’s been well handled.
“And I think, very soon, we need to look at whether the ratings band we’re using for each Group is appropriate. That’s my personal opinion.”
Leading trainer Gai Waterhouse said the latest raft of upgrades was short-sighted.
“I think it’s been not really thought out, and maybe done with one thing in mind, for New South Wales to get more,” she told ANZ Bloodstock News. “If you have too many black type races, it’s not a good thing.
“It’s important to make sure you’re upgrading the right races. Upgrading the Everest was an obvious one, but you’ve got to look at it seriously. There’s also certain races that have lost an amount of importance, so it’s important to downgrade races, too.”
Scott dismissed the notion V’landys had seized too much power at RA, described by some as a bloodless coup.
“I think that’s quite unfair to the Victorians,” he said. “With [RV Chairman] Tim Eddy and Aaron Morrison coming in and waving that olive branch, so that NSW and Victoria are regularly speaking and are on the same page, is the opposite of a bloodless coup.
“NSW and Victoria still have their right of veto if they don’t believe something’s working. But now they’re talking and making decisions democratically with each other and then they’re coming to RA, compared to the acrimony and some of the problems we’ve seen over the last five years.”
V’landys, Morrison and RA chief executive Paul Eriksson were approached for comment on this story.