Cut in Friday nights death knell for Auckland and disillusioned Street to cut back on buying

Bean counters at the TAB have sounded the death knell for harness racing in the North Island by drafting only 19 Friday night meetings at Auckland next season.

And unless TAB NZ can be convinced to change its strategy when final submissions are taken on February 25, leading players are warning it will lead to a drop in stakes, fewer racegoers, sponsors pulling out, fewer people buying horses, more difficulty in syndicating them and eventually the complete collapse of the industry in the north.

The Auckland Trotting Club received overwhelming support in rallying against the proposed new dates when it called a meeting last month of key stakeholders who agreed the reduction in Friday night meetings will impact directly on their livelihoods.

In the draft set of dates, the Auckland Trotting Club, which once ran 44 Friday night meetings, will be cut back to 19 Fridays with a further 11 on Thursdays, one on a Saturday (New Year’s Eve) and one on a Sunday night.

Under the Racing Act 2020, the TAB is responsible for maximising the wagering return and that includes setting the calendar - a task previously controlled by Harness Racing New Zealand - though it must first consult the codes.

And the new dates reflect the TAB’s blinkered approach in allocating the best dates to clubs whose higher turnovers generate the most income for the industry.

With smaller fields in the north, and hence lower gross betting revenue, more of the lucrative Friday dates have gone to Addington where fields are on average 20% bigger.

Auckland Trotting Club vice president Jamie MacKinnon says his club understands the importance of domestic turnover as it drives the allocation of funding.

“But adherence to this as a driver for the development of the racing calendar will put at risk the entire eco system that sustains racing in the north.”

MacKinnon has met with HRNZ CEO Gary Woodham and told him Alexandra Park will be closed down within five years unless the TAB’s criteria is changed.

Auckland vice-president Jamie MacKinnon … “you might as well close harness racing in the north if this calendar is approved.”He says the draft calendar contradicts HRNZ’s own strategic business plan which is ‘growing, regaining relevance in the community and delivering sustainable returns to its stakeholders’.

“One of HRNZ’s strategic imperatives regarding clubs and venues relates to reversing the decline in horse numbers and participation levels in the upper North Island.”

MacKinnon says HRNZ should be the ones demanding a change in the calendar - “They should be acting in the best interests of harness racing throughout New Zealand, not concentrating on their own back yard in Christchurch.

“We need a business analyst to look at this not someone counting numbers. They’ll take us down the wrong road. The focus should be on how can we build the business, not how someone at the TAB can get an incentive bonus for driving up turnover.”

No long term thinking in bean counting

Steve Stockman, the owner of the country’s biggest racing operation Stonewall Stud & Stables, says there’s no long term thinking in bean counting.

“HRNZ needs to take a New Zealand wide approach and think of not just turnover but what’s good for the whole industry and what will see it grow. It’s the wrong view to do north v south number crunching - you need to consider all the different parameters.”

Stonewall Stud boss Steve Stockman, who has 100 horses in training, says consistent racing on Friday nights at Auckland is essential to attract racegoers.Stockman says no-one at HRNZ has spoken to him in two years even though he has arguably the biggest operation in the country with 100 horses in training in the North and South Islands with Steve and Amanda Telfer.

“Having consistent racing at Auckland on Friday nights is crucial. People need to know racing is on a Friday night so it becomes part of their DNA.

“It encourages people to come. Getting people on course is substantially more difficult on Thursday nights.”

With a population of 1.7 million, Auckland is uniquely placed to attract younger people who work hard during the week but party hard on Friday night.

“They come along, they like it, they take a 2% share in a horse and that’s how it starts.”

TAB research has found that the most important driver for people to become interested in racing is an enjoyable on-course experience.

“With a minimum number of meetings at Auckland it will also become a lot harder to syndicate horses,” says Stockman.

Breeders Ken and Karen Breckon, of Breckon Farms: “The last thing the industry wants is to see sponsors pulling out.”Ken Breckon, who owns Breckon Farms, one of the country’s most successful breeding operations at Ohaupo, and also syndicates horses and sponsors races, says other clubs don’t need Friday nights like Auckland.

“South Island clubs can survive without Fridays but I’ll struggle to get the clientelle I’m chasing to go on a Thursday night.

“And I could see some sponsors not liking it if they can’t take their staff on a Friday night. The last thing the industry wants is to see sponsors pulling out.”

The Auckland club, which is fighting to recover from a big loss on its apartments project, should be getting increased support from HRNZ with more Friday nights, says Breckon.

With the stats revealing North Island owners buy 65% of the yearlings who stay in the country, it was also crucial they had Friday nights at Auckland to aim for, given Thursday night stakes would drop from $15,000 to $12,000 minimums.

MacKinnon says he can’t see why both Addington and Auckland can’t race on a Friday night and doesn’t go along with the argument that turnover is lower than if the clubs raced solus.

“You wouldn’t ask Ellerslie to race on a Thursday or Friday instead of Saturday because Trentham and Riccarton is also on.”

Turnover could easily be boosted if more attention was paid to proper previews and reviews to drive betting, and harness races were held every 15 minutes, without interruptions from turn-off overseas meetings like Busan or Funabashi or the dogs.

“There’s no question we’re missing out on dollars with people channel surfing.”

Middle ground

MacKinnon knows Auckland won’t get back its 44 Friday meetings but believes there is some middle ground between that and what is being proposed.

MacKinnon says the club can’t survive without patronage and it’s impossible to attract people on Thursdays.

Being able to open restaurants and bars at Alexandra Park is crucial to generating income.“When Covid is under control and people can come back we need to be able to open the bars and restaurants. How is the club supposed to generate funds with no people?”

Exposure to offshore betting would also be reduced with Australian television coverage limited on Thursdays.

“Auckland is prepared to consider alternative options for the pattern of racing in Auckland. We could reduce the number of races on a programme from 10 to eight. This would increase field sizes, which in turn would increase turnover.

“The draft calendar proposes 32 meetings and 312 races. If we were to gain an extra seven Friday nights and run eight races this would still equate to 312 races (39 meetings x 8).

“If the calendar goes ahead as they’re proposing you might as well close harness racing in the north.

“We are the gateway to the business in the North Island and one of the premier clubs in Australasia and you’ve got to preserve that.

“It’s not Auckland’s fault that horse numbers are where they are.”

How the turnover figures relate to industry income

Figures sourced from the TAB show average non-premier meeting turnovers at Addington in the past two years have been 20-30% higher than the equivalent at Alexandra Park, which equates conservatively to an extra $150,000 to $200,000 bet.

Based on those figures and the average net margin for harness racing sitting at around 14%, this is a difference of between $21,000 and $28,000 per meeting in revenue for the industry.

General Manager of Broadcasting and Operations, Edward Rennell says in the last two years there has been negligible difference between meeting turnovers on a Thursday night and Friday night on a like-for-like basis (i.e. same venue, excluding premiers).

For Alexandra Park, the average turnover on Thursday night meetings has actually been slightly higher (+8%) than those on Friday nights when premier meetings are removed, though this is based on a relatively small sample.

* HRNZ and club representatives will meet on February 17 to finalise its wish list of changes to the draft calendar and it has until February 25 to make submissions to TAB NZ .