You would think the panel - with all their experience - would have been able to think a little bit more laterally as to where they source their funds from.
To come out and slug a certain percentage of owners whom are doing their part for the sport bringing in racing animals that will help derive betting turnover and interest is a serious flaw. In fact some suggest it is so flawed that the reason it was suggested was to protect vested interests, and if you look at the panel, there is certainly vested interest there.
Spend a bit of time over the next few weeks looking at the owners whom purchase ex Kiwis and see how many go and re-invest. Quite a few. There are many groups or syndicates whom purchase more than one horse from abroad.
Have a look at this article posted last Thursday by Lenny Baker. There is plenty of upside to being able to go and purchase going horses from a ready made market. Domestically this market is very immature and barely exists.
http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=91020
We need to be encuoraging more of this, not setting up barriers that will actively discourage it or certainly put downward pressure on the numbers being purchased.
I just do not understand why you would want to make horse ownership more difficult.