Plenty of optimism in New Zealand racing industry
There’s plenty of optimism in the Kiwi racing industry, buoyed by this week’s injection of new money, via the NZ$4.5 million The NZB Kiwi (1500m) and a reshaped summer-autumn carnival, but New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bruce Sharrock isn’t resting on his laurels.
Among the 2018-tabled Messara Report’s recommendations was the outsourcing of the TAB’s commercial activities to an international operator. That contract was awarded to Entain and the fruits of that move are now being seen through a raft of initiatives and increased prize-money.
Another key recommendation by respected Australian racing administrator John Messara, the chairman of Arrowfield Stud, was the construction of three new all-weather tracks at Cambridge, Awapuni and Riccarton.
Those tracks have also been constructed, while another major recommendation of the report was to reduce the number of thoroughbred racetracks in New Zealand from 48 to 28 and that is something Sharrock is working on, with or without the affected clubs’ support.
“I’ve gone out [and sought] a final bit of feedback from the industry. By the end of February that will come in and then I’ll be coming out with what our venue plan will be,” Sharrock told this column.
“I am in discussions with various clubs around the country on what their future looks like. I’d rather they see the big picture and come with us and play a part, as opposed to … making things difficult.
“No one benefits from that, so that’s definitely a big cog of what we’re doing at the moment.”
Importantly, Sharrock says the carnival changes and boosted prize-money announced this week are sustainable.
“I’ve done a lot of modelling where we’re at and we’ve got some levers still to be pulled here in New Zealand around that space, so we’re very confident that it is sustainable,” he told us.
“In saying that, we need our industry to step up and start producing a product that truly is globally first-class, so we’ll be making sure they’re aware of their responsibilities in this as well.”
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Bruce Sharrock also revealed this week that turnover with NZ TAB is up four to five per cent year-on-year and managing director Cameron Rodger, who was also at the TAB prior to Entain taking over, also told this column that Kiwi punters can expect some big changes to be rolled out in the coming months.
That includes a new betting app and rebranding under the Entain partnership, which operates Ladbrokes and Neds in Australia.
The new app is set to be launched in late March or early April which Rodger believes the NZ TAB will see “a really good lift in activity” with the wagering expertise Entain is bringing to the table.
“The markets aren’t perfectly aligned but they are close enough that it takes a lot of the workload out, so I have been marvelling at how well the product suite is coming together,” Rodger says.
“The product suite in Australia is fantastic, but there’s a few tweaks here and there to really make it fit with the New Zealand market and that is going to make a huge difference as well.”
While Entain has the global betting experience to lean on, Rodger says the patriotic nature of the Kiwi punters made an impression on NZ TAB’s new partner.
“One of the big things that the team in Aussie picked up early on was just how nationalistic we are and how important Kiwi connections are in any given race or sporting event,” he says.
“I think the Everest campaign with the Waikato [Stud] horse I Wish I Win really proved if we can get a champion Kiwi going around, our customer base goes crazy.
“That was a big win for me as a Kiwi as it means we’re trying to find a champion of our own.”
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There’s always some friendly banter at the sales – and often the odd side bet to make things interesting. At Karaka, which is where ANZ is for the next eight days, we hear of one ongoing bet between Landsdowne Park’s star rugby player-turned-studmaster Dave Duley and Rich Hill’s John Thompson, the man behind Proisir, Satono Aladdin and Ace High.
Duley believes Landsdowne Park can outsell Rich Hill in Book 1 with a yearling by one of Thompson’s own sires. Duley collected in 2023 – and Thompson duly paid for a nice dinner – and he’s apparently confident he can do it again with one of his three Satono Aladdins.
But Thompson has weight of numbers on his side with Rich Hill consigning six Book 1 yearlings by the exciting Japanese shuttler. May the best man win.
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Debate has once again raged about the myth that is Australia’s obsession with two-year-old racing.
A two-year-old race was scrapped in Victoria earlier this month and the lead up races to the Magic Millions in Queensland were light on for entries, prompting Victorian trainer Mick Kent, as he has in the past, to blame the breeders who, he claims, are preparing horses for the sales ring rather than the racetrack.
On the whole I disagree with Kent’s opinion and the market, by and large, is well aware of farms’ racetrack success or otherwise and their respective records have a significant say in yearling prices, particularly at the select sales, so any extra “sales ring focus” by some is well and truly factored in.
It’s a simplistic view, but could the lack of two-year-olds racing early in the season be because trainers and owners don’t need to race them?
There’s ample prize-money available to win as older horses if a little bit of patience is shown, so unless a two-year-old is ticking every box, trainers are tending to side with caution and send them to the paddock.
While there are huge riches and massive returns if you can hit the jackpot with a Group 1-winning two-year-old colt or a Magic Millions or Inglis Millennium-winning filly, those style of horses are targeted by the large colts funds such as the James Harrons, Coolmores and the China Horse Club-Newgate conglomerates at the yearling sales and they have the price tags to go with it.
Sure, those aforementioned colts’ groups and others, over a five-year period, might aim to turn their $40 million investment into $50 million with the likes of Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), a King’s Legacy (Redoute’s Choice) or a Militarize (Dundeel) doing it on the track to put the balance sheet in the black.
They also have numbers on their side to support the model of going hard at two and three, even if there’s a casualty or two along the way and more than a handful on-sold to Hong Kong.
However, for the large majority of racehorse owners whose investment in the thoroughbred is a luxury item and one for entertainment, they don’t need to push the button too early with the risk of “burning” the horse when there is record prize-money levels available to be won at three, four and beyond.
As the late, great Bart Cummings famously said, “patience is the cheapest thing in racing and the least used”. Maybe trainers are starting to take notice of Cummings’ wisdom.
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In the wake of the Macau Jockey Club being stripped of its concession betting licence, which will see racing cease at Taipa on April 1, the inability of the organisation to tap into the resort city’s influx of tourists makes less sense every day.
Just days after the January 15 decision by the government in conjunction with the financially crippled MJC, reports came out that Macau is set to welcome 33 million visitors in 2024, up 17 per cent on last year’s tourist numbers.
MOP100 million (AUD$18,868,389) has been set aside by the government this year to subsidise international plane fares, a move aimed at reinvigorating the sector which pre-Covid saw up to 40 million people visit the gambling mecca.
As for what’s going to happen at the racecourse site at Taipa if racing doesn’t return, gaming expert and consultant Niall Murray told Asia Gaming Brief that it won’t become home to another casino.
“We talked about speculation and what’s going to happen there. Well, definitely it’s not going to be gaming, in my opinion. There’s some potential for non-gaming amenities, including additional hotel rooms,” said Murray, highlighting the lack of availability of hotel rooms in the city.
“There’s also potential for additional residential but I feel that’s unlikely because I think that demand seems to be covered by elsewhere in Taipa, with the new reclaimed land in front of Ocean Gardens, etc, and the reclaimed land also under the Public Housing initiatives near the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge – so I don’t think it will be headed for residential use.
“We still need to have somewhere for the new modern finance and the big health and the high tech and the sports and culture.”