Pike: Trainers need urgent assurances from RITA before we bring horses back into work

An appeal by the New Zealand Trainers’ Association to the Racing Industry Transition Agency for some urgent assurances about the future, particularly on stakes, has come up empty.

In a letter yesterday to RITA executive chair Dean McKenzie, NZTA national president Tony Pike told of trainers considering alternative careers, moving their operations overseas and being forced into premature retirement.

With the COVID-19 lockdown due to end on Monday night, and training expected to resume, Pike said trainers need to be able to assure their owners that putting horses back into work is justified.

“Significant financial and personal decisions will be made by our members over the coming weeks and months. I think it is only fair that we have the relevant information to base these decisions on.

“Due to the uncertainty and lack of information coming from RITA the following questions need to be answered:

• Is RITA a solvent organisation that can continue to fund its operating expenses and guarantee distributions to the codes?
• When will RITA be able to give certainty to the codes around their distributions for the coming season?
• What measures have been put in place to reduce costs? Many other organisations have made public announcements around redundancies and wage reductions. We have had no such guidance from RITA on this.
• The RIU is considered a bloated and inefficient organisation. What steps are underway to reduce their cost to the industry?
• Are RITA looking closely at a joint venture partner to unlock the value left in the current business?
• What progress is being made with Government around securing the short term future of RITA?
• When is the Racing Reform Bill likely to be enacted?
• When will there be clarity regarding ownership of the TAB?

Pike said in the letter that New Zealand’s trainers and owners are the people that are going to deliver RITA much needed domestic racing product once racing resumed.

“We need to be assured that RITA is in a position to support our participants.”

But Pike’s pleas for acceptable responses before mid-day on Monday fell on deaf ears.

RITA executive chair Dean McKenzie.A reply from RITA Head of Public Affairs Ian Long said McKenzie would table the letter at the board’s meeting on April 29.

Long said he believed Pike’s queries “had been mostly covered off” in previous updates issued by RITA and provided a link to a waffling release dated March 20.

The association, in a follow-up letter to trainers, described the response as very disappointing and said it showed a lack of respect for the body.

“Some members of the executive have stated they will not be putting horses back into work until acceptable answers are received.

Action by trainers?

“There could not be a more appropriate time for trainers to take action should the answers from the RITA Chair and Board, not be acceptable.

“It is totally unfair to expect owners to commit their horses to training, when they have no idea what the future of racing may look like and what the stakes may be.”

Pike said today he had been receiving lots of calls from people wanting to know what was happening.

“Trainers don’t want to have to take action, RITA just needs to give us some info. We all know we’ll have to take a financial hit, like everyone else, we just want to know what’s being done.

The figures looked bleak in the last annual report. What will the overdue half yearly report for this season reveal?“I believe stake money is a short term problem. I’m an accountant by trade and the business is basically broken.

“When the last set of accounts came out I told them the business was insolvent and it’s got a lot worse since Covid-19.

‘Kick in the arse’

“What Covid has done is brought everything to a head very quickly. It’s been a kick in the arse the industry needs to sort its shit out.

“The industry needs a complete restructuring. We need a joint venture partner to get some efficiency into the business.”

Pike said he wasn’t holding the current RITA board to account.

“They walked into a very difficult situation. Racing hasn’t had the best management over the last few years.

“It’s essentially a very profitable business, with a monopoly on domestic betting, but the cost of running it has been a concern for years.

“If changes are made, and they can tell us they’re doing A, B and C to turn the business around - and this is where we will be in 12 months’ time - I think people would be happy, but there’s no information coming out.”

Training protocols

Pike said the trainers’ association had done a lot of work with the Ministry For Primary Industries on protocols allowing training to resume and only a sign-off was needed for that to start on Tuesday.

“The requirements are very robust but that’s the same for all industries - like washing tools in the construction industry.

“It’s short term pain for long term gain. And we have to make sure we don’t make a mistake.”

Pike said he was fortunate to have been based in Sydney when the coronavirus was brewing and he saw the protocols develop as it got worse.

“They’ve covered all their bases over there to run racing safely and we have to do the same.”