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More cuts announced yesterday
https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...ustainability/
This includes
February’s A. G. Hunter Cup will be reduced from $500,000 to $350,000, while the 2025 Victoria Cup and Great Southern Star will be reduced from $300,000 to $250,000. These are part of $1 million in savings across 46 features. The updated key race calendar for the 2024-25 financial year can be viewed here.
HRV will cease breeders’ bonuses, responding to feedback that money was better allocated to base prizemoney.
A single-tier Vicbred first win bonus will be introduced, with a flat $5000 bonus for two and three-year-olds and $3000 for four-year-olds. These changes collectively save the industry $1.7 million.
Regular prizemoney allocations will be adjusted to align more closely with wagering revenue, including the lowest race band starting at $4000 (previously $4500). Those allocations will be continually reviewed against revenue, with sustained positive wagering results to be returned to prizemoney.
Not much detail on race stakes.
I have always thought that $4,500 races were hard done by as they would seem to me to attract as much turnover as $7,000+ races so cutting them to $4,000 seems harsh but maybe I am wrong (plus the -$500 is not that noticeable as the stake still starts with a 4)
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Notice how they are reducing the first win bonus from 12k to 5k saying that participants have told them this money would be better spent on general prize money. But they have also reduced general prize money !
This cut will devastate the breeding industry. And they announce it just at the start of the breeding season. Surely any decrease in the first win bonus should be introduced over time, foals born this year should be the ones reduced to the 5k bonus. People have bred foals and paid up to a promise of 12k for pure Vicbred foals thus this should be honored by the board.
I wonder how the ACCC would view this as we are not getting what was promised when we paid up ?
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Very good point Rick. All cuts and no mention of how they propose to improve turnover, I cannot see how Victoria is not gawn!
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I have posted the following on the HRV fb page under a Vic Cup competition story as they are not going to report yesterdays real news
More cuts announced yesterday. The CEO is saying that we lose $45k a race - seriously?! How is it that the Board of HRV has not resigned?! $4,500 races are being reduced (no doubt along with some other tiers) but we can still have two $20k Oaks heats on Saturday night to just reduce the pathetic 16 entrants down to 12. The Derby numbers are not much better and one stable has just about half the entrants. Punters do not look at how much the horses are racing for, there is no way that $4,500 races are the problem (other than already being too hard for owners to make a return on). If Victoria is to survive, HRV need to come up with more than just cuts. Get some ideas people, listen to ALL participants and try and inspire some confidence that it is worth staying in Vic harness racing
We believe Club Menangle to have plenty of money invested thanks to the HP sale but what about WA and QLD - how can we be going so badly if they're supposedly OK
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How are we affording six $10k races at Geelong tonight?
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Paul Campbell has done a half hour interview with the CEO which can be found on his fb page or the HRV fb page
https://www.facebook.com/harnessracingvictoria
It can be summarized in one sentence : We have had to stop living beyond our means
I find it scary that whether we remain relevant or not all comes down to betting turnover
Can the board please resign - they have overseen a disaster and should have the grace to move on and let us see if someone else can do better
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We never hear from the CEO until after cuts are made. Where is the consultation with participants ? He claims they consult but the bodies deny they were consulted. All we want to hear from him is his resignation .
They people that sent us broke are not the ones that will put us back on the right path.
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Hey Rick, don't you think that the Chairman and the Board should be resigning?
I think there egos will let them in case it reads as failure on their resumes.
Some have been around long enough to have categorically failed!
I believe the CEO's predecessors sent us broke and we are so close to dead in the water, it isn't funny. I think he can't really consult because the kindred bodies would not accept what has to be done to give us a slim chance of surviving. I am not saying I like it but I understand it and we DO need to hear some ideas to provide some confidence that HRV have more up their sleeve than just cuts.
I hate going on the HRV fb page seeing 75% of the posts being tips from people that I did not realize were expert tipsters
It gives me the feel of an organization that would be happy for their mother to blow her pension on the punt :(
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No wonder Turnover has declined
The favourites in the 6 Gp1's on Saturday night
$1.65, $1.35, $2.30, $1.20, $1.60, $1.04
Think about it! How laughable it would be to see this at the gallops
https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fi...s/?mc=MX121024
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In The Age today
Butt believes an agreed sale would achieve two crucial goals: It would settle the sport’s debt with the state government, and it would allow HRV to retain 63ha of its Melton land to help future-proof the sport
Interesting however due to the 2019 legislation, I don't see how the proceeds of the 63ha ever go to harness
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/raci...04-p5kfzl.html
The VHRC fb page is also excited about the above (I seem to be the only one concerned about the 2019 legislation) and also posted the following
While the VHRC acknowledges that stakemoney cuts were, unfortunately, inevitable given the financial mess that HRV has got the Industry into, we strongly condemn the lack of meaningful consultation by HRV with the very stakeholders most affected. At no stage did HRV engage with the VHRC, the kindred body that represents owners. Owners are critical to Harness Racing and make the decision to invest in and race Standardbred horses. This lack of consultation and communication continues a troubling trend under the current regime at HRV.
