The Corner with Garry Chittick
The two of you will be aware of my ongoing concern as to the future of our sport. You could argue I have a vested interest; well, I did have, but my interest now is to give the future generations the opportunity my generation had. Now I can tell you, hand on heart, there were many financial thin times. 1975 was my fledgling start with five mares on 130 acres that occasionally flooded with the well-bred, non-race-winning Super Gray.
What was different, or perhaps it was the exuberance of being young, was we were optimistic. Our industry had mana; fellow mare owners supported. A full book was 60 mares, which my horse attracted and so my belief I had a chance encouraged my self-belief.
Around the road, the late Ollie Goodwin likewise had just put his toe in the water, no, his foot – as he had purchased from the South Island the famous Baghdad Note family to kick-start his new horse Wharf. What did we have in common – he had resources; I didn’t. Our common denominator was we both knew nothing. However, we got away with it, like many others who were attracted to the prospect of an exciting career. Is that the feeling permeating at present, regretfully no.
Now the world owes no one a living, but if eking a living out of the land is your ambition, then the option of dairying, kiwifruit, sheep and beef, etc., is more likely to attract you than a paddock full of broodmares. Step one of the Thoroughbred industry is to breed a horse. Well, really, I need to go back a step; stage one is the intestinal fortitude to invest in a sire prospect. If you take the time to look at the number of new sires introduced over the last five years, it won’t take you long. As I said, a full book was 60 mares, but there was an annual choice of 15 to choose from. The intake of four this season is just a reflection of the last five years.
This malaise will be hard to turn around. Is there a cause, not specifically. The numbers worldwide reflect similar trends. So are the efforts of some to draw attention to where we are and, more importantly, where we are going worthwhile. I am unashamedly one who is trying. I do wonder why, at my age, but as I have pointed out in previous Corners, I have not yet forgotten my time in administration, nor have I lost my passion. Our approach has been to seek a review of our Board structure. Clearly, the current Board are not a collection of incompetents; there is a desire to have a broader selection of racing knowledge. Go to any racecourse and you will be subjected to “what’s happening, where are we going”; is that different from the past – yes, it is.
The current administration are saddled with multiple infrastructure aspirations: some catch-up, some new, and many repairs. The Manawatu Mess, the Hawke’s Bay Bends, Greenfields will inevitably be red ink fields. Now we are not broke – Ellerslie is flush, TAB/ Racing Board is guarding $150 million, then there are the unrealised returns from prospective sales. Trentham and Avondale will do for a start.
So why the discontent. Probably because, whilst administrative costs escalate at such an alarming rate, we will balance the books with stakes reduced.
Now what about the Greyhounds: $36 million in year one to rehouse, $21,000 per dog. Fair dinkum. I was told those new dog owners, after all rehousing expenses, will receive $35 per day per dog. Now I have an acquaintance who has taken on two dogs, $500 a week. Now, the dog roll I buy for my dog is $12, two per week; two dogs leave her netting $450 a week. Now, good luck to her, but why can’t we find someone smart enough to pay us for our retired horses. (We may even refrain from racing them). So we have gone to the dogs, we no longer can spread part of our fixed costs on them. Even a small portion of the RIB, I’ll bet you no dogs will not result in RIB reduction in cost. There is a rumour that a Greyhound trainer is retaining his team, having established he had never won a similar result.
Back to our game. I waited with bated breath for the Guerin Report our Chief Executive pitted against the “intimidating” Guerin, show one showed us a leader with common sense, only he belonged to Harness, our man was very personable, then to night two and Project Stamina, well there are to many permeations to address in a Corner but I was far from convinced the reputed cost produced anything new. The current board may have been brought up to speed, simply confirmation of the lack of what too many racing people have been aware of for some time.
I have, along with another very experienced administrator, been promoting a change in our appointment process. Will that immediately solve many of our issues, probably not. Will the confidence barometer sneak up – wouldn’t be hard. Those who watched Guerin will have picked up the Harness Code Chairman emphasise the need to breed. Simply, if we fail to sustain our numbers, we won’t need more than a couple of tracks (Ruakaka and Ascot Park) and nothing in between. Our difficulty is not the number of clubs to call the necessary Special Meeting – they are queuing up – we need 60% of counted race days for the constitutional change. Hard to get – big clubs may believe there is another way, you know, like the immediate past. When the massive investment in upgraded tracks can’t find enough horses, it may be too late.
Cheers,
G
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