The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition Plan For Racing

The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition PlanFor Racing

THE LIBERAL NATIONALS COALITION PLAN FOR RACINGRacing is a vital industry in Victoria.It is an exciting and strongly supported sport whose three codes are a key partof the Victorian economy.Racing industries support 75,000 jobs across the state, many in regional andrural Victoria.In order for our great racing codes to continue to flourish and offer good prizemoney to participants, Government must ensure the new wagering andbetting environment provides a fair deal for punters, wagering and bettingproviders and an adequate return to the racing industry .The future challenges for thoroughbred racing in Victoria include: Ensuring Victoria remains the number one thoroughbred racing state inAustralia and continues to enhance its worldwide reputation. Maintaining and increasing market share of gambling dollar withincreasing competition from sports betting and other forms of gambling. Ensuring continued growth in funding for racing to increase prize moneyand funding to further promote racing across Victoria. Increasing on-course patronage especially outside the Spring Carnivaltime. Rebuilding the breeding and sales industries in Victoria.The future challenges for harness racing in Victoria include: Building its market share of off-course wagering. Attracting good crowds and support for Tabcorp Park at Melton. Maintaining strong fields throughout the year. Ensuring a strong viable future for country harness racing.The future challenges for greyhound racing in Victoria include: Maintaining and growing its share of off-course wagering.2

At the time of this announcement Labor promised to “develop fundingarrangements which were no less favourable” to the racing industries.Adding to industry uncertainty is the looming expiration of the Tabcorp socalled“exclusive” parimutuel licence (totalisator licence) on 15 August 2012.During 2008 the Victorian racing industries commissioned Ernst and Young toundertake a detailed study and report on recommended state taxationarrangements and funding needs to provide a secure and growing future forthe three Victorian racing codes.In particular Ernst and Young was requested to determine the quantum offunding needed to properly and fully replace the current and growing fundingprovided to racing from the Tabcorp electronic gaming machinearrangements, and hence produce a “no less favourable” outcome forVictorian racing.Ernst and Young said on p.63 of their report:By removing the gaming component of the Victorian RacingIndustries return from the licence holder, the StateGovernment has to fund a ‘transition’ gap of between $104million in 2012/13 and $171 million in 2023/24 to enable theVictorian Racing Industry to achieve a return ‘no lessfavourable’ to the current funding arrangements. This gaptotals approximately $1,622 million over 2012/13 to2023/24. 1Ernst and Young make it clear the three racing codes need an extra $1.6billion over the period of the next wagering licence simply to make up theshortfall due to the decision by the Labor Government to discontinue theelectronic gaming component of funding to racing.In November 2008 Labor announced it would alter taxation rates with respectto the new racing wagering licence to make up this shortfall.However under these proposed new arrangements racing will only receive $1billion over the licence period, rather than the $1.6 billion needed, creating a$600 million blackhole for Victorian Racing. 21Ernst and Young Melbourne, Business Case for Funding Requirements-Victorian Racing Industry, 1 August 2008,p.632Media release from the Minister for Gaming, Tony Robinson, 3 November 20087

Ernst and Young also advised that Victorian Racing needed a capital injectionof $105.9 million with $41.6 million from industry and $64.3 million to comefrom the State Government.In response Labor again short-changed Victorian racing, promising only $86million in capital funding with only $45 million from the Government, $19million less than recommended.Currently the Labor Government is engaged in a process to select an operatorfor post 2012 wagering and betting services in Victoria.This new licensee will also be permitted to operate a betting exchange inVictoria and will have the right to offer approved simulated racing games.But Labor has mismanaged this process.The original deadline for the announcement of the new wagering and bettinglicence holder was December 2009. Then Labor said it would be finalised in2010, but recently Racing Victoria said it would not be announced until thefirst quarter of 2011.The Labor bungling and delay is creating uncertainty and instability for theVictorian racing industries and the bidders for this licence.A Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will seek to finalise this process assoon as possible so that all stakeholders can properly plan for the future ofracing in Victoria.A Liberal Nationals Coalition Government would ensure that the Victorianracing industries were provided with sufficient funding through this process todeliver not only a “no less favourable” outcome for racing, but funding for thegrowth and development of all three racing codes in Victoria.ASSISTANCE TO ATTRACT MORE PATRONSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Allocate all state taxes on on-course totalisator (TAB) bets to theracing industries to be used to promote on-course attendance.8

For each racing code establish, by agreement of all keystakeholders within that code, a committee to manage thesefunds.The three racing codes, thoroughbred, harness and greyhounds, are all facingchallenges with declining attendances except at major feature meetings; forexample, Spring Carnival, Country Cups, feature greyhound and harnessevents.While off-course betting is critical to the financial success of our racingindustries, it is also essential to maintain and grow on-course attendance,betting volumes and atmosphere.There has continued to be moderate growth in off-course wagering despitethe challenges of extra competition.However all three codes agree that declining on-course attendance, outsidefeature events, is of concern to the industry.A Liberal Nationals Coalition Government would allocate all state taxescollected from on-course totalisator (TAB) bets to the racing industries forthem to develop and implement innovative and exciting ideas to increase oncourseattendances.It is estimated that between $5 and 6 million will be available each year forthese programs, however the exact amount will depend on the volume of oncoursetotalisator turnover each year.A special committee will be established for each racing code to identify andimplement these plans and programs to improve on-course attendances.Among the ideas which may be considered are:o Buy one, get one free entry tickets.o Free racebooks on entry.o Winter saver tickets; for example entry to 10 meetings for theprice of five.o Free entry for AFL club members at Saturday race meetingswhen no AFL matches in Melbourne.o ‘Fat’ on-course dividend for targeted bet types.o Free betting vouchers.o Broader on-course entertainment.o ‘Owner for a day’ privileges for lucky patrons.9

NATIONAL APPROACHA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Immediately seek a meeting of all State and Territory Ministersresponsible for Racing to develop an agreed national approach tocontrol, tax and administer wagering and betting to deliver fairreturns to our racing codes, fair taxation dividends to states andterritories, fair returns to punters and to create a strong, viable,competitive wagering and betting environment for bookmakers,betting exchanges and totalisators.In recent years the so-called “exclusive” parimutuel licence (totalisator)currently operated in Victoria by Tabcorp has been undermined bycompetition from Darwin based corporate bookmakers and Betfair operatingfrom Tasmania.With the rise of internet and telephone betting these interstate bettingproviders have been able to attract punters by taking advantage of lower stateand territory taxation rates and the fact that they make little or no contributionto the funding of the Victorian racing product upon which many of their betsare made.Recent legislative changes in Victoria to allow open advertising of bettingproducts have increased this open competitive environment.Under the current regime Tabcorp estimates the funding loss to Victoria dueto inaction by Racing Minister Hulls to be $18.9 million per year in state taxesand $45 million per year to our racing industries.Tabcorp predicts these losses will continue to increase significantly unlessstrong action is taken.This new, much more competitive environment creates very real challengesfor potential bidders and the successful operator of the Victorian wagering andbetting licence.10

THOROUGHBRED RACING IN COUNTRY VICTORIAA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Work with Racing Victoria Limited and Country Racing Victoria toreview and reverse the Labor Government’s cuts to countryracing.Work with Racing Victoria Limited, Country Racing Victoria andeach and every Victorian racing club and all racing stakeholdersto improve the racing program in the State.Work with the racing industry to achieve positive programmingoutcomes for all country race clubs including:o seeking to place the Ballarat Cup meeting in October beforethe Caulfield Cup;o restoring the special and popular Caulfield Cup Daymeeting to the Latrobe Valley Racing Club;o restoring the very successful race meeting on the Mondayimmediately prior to the Melbourne Cup to the HamiltonRacing Club;o providing a second race meeting to the popular andpicturesque Towong Racing Club to enable this club to holdan annual Easter race meeting to cater for enthusiastic localracegoers and the many visitors in the area during Easter;o giving active consideration to the application for theLatrobe Valley Racing Club to restore their popular dualcodemeeting; ando working with the Bendigo Jockey Club to extend thedistance of the Bendigo Cup to make this great regionalCup a Melbourne Cup qualifying race.Work with Racing Victoria to:o support the relocation of the Pakenham Racing Club racingand training operation to its property at Tynong; ando support the development of night thoroughbred racingfacilities at Cranbourne in conjunction with the CranbourneTurf Club and the City of Casey.11

TRAINERSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Put in place a program to assist country racetracks to attract andprovide facilities for trainers.A Liberal Nationals Coalition Government recognises the great opportunity toencourage more trainers to relocate to regional and rural locations to providebetter opportunities for them, their families, their staff and their horses.This will also provide significant opportunities to create new jobs in ruralVictoria and to boost regional and rural economies.The Liberal Nationals Coalition believes there are enormous opportunities towork with the country and regional racing clubs, local municipalities andRacing Victoria to facilitate the significant expansion of training facilities andopportunities in areas such as Seymour, Ballarat, Bairnsdale, Bendigo, Moe,Wangaratta, Warrnambool and the new Pakenham Racing Club developmentin Tynong.SYNTHETIC RACETRACKSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Work with Racing Victoria to undertake a comprehensiveevaluation of the operation of the synthetic racetrack at Geelongwith particular emphasis on horse welfare.Work with Racing Victoria to establish two more syntheticracetracks in regional Victoria, one to the east of and another tothe north of Melbourne, if this review approves synthetic tracks.COUNTRY HARNESS RACINGA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Return harness racing to the clubs, tracks and communities thatthe Labor Government closed in 2005.12

Work with these local clubs and Harness Racing Victoria toaddress any Occupational Health and Safety issues with respectto these currently closed tracks in order that these clubs will beable to hold their annual harness racing cup meetings on theirown track in their own town.Seven country communities and their harness racing clubs (Boort, Gunbower,Hamilton, Ouyen, St Arnaud, Wangaratta and Wedderburn) were devastatedin 2005 when the Labor Government suddenly and without consultationclosed their harness racing tracks.Despite significant efforts from these communities harness racing has onlybeen returned to Hamilton.Closure of these country tracks has cost local jobs, damaged local economiesand forced many owners, trainers, breeders and harness racing enthusiastsout of the industry.A Liberal Nationals Coalition will work with local race clubs to return their localharness racing cup days to these six local communities.WANGARATTA GREYHOUNDSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Investigate modest improvements to facilities at Wangaratta witha view to possibly returning greyhound racing at this track.In June 2009 the Labor Government presided over the closure of greyhoundracing at Wangaratta. This decision was against the wishes of the local club,the Wangaratta Rural City Council, and the wider north-east community.Weekly race meetings were held at Wangaratta until its sudden closure. Theclub was very viable and the races strongly supported by a large network oflocally owned, trained and loved greyhounds as well as visiting dogs.13

UNCLAIMED DIVIDENDSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:Reinvest 100 per cent of the total unclaimed racing dividendsback into the industry, drought proofing racetracks, assuring thefuture of retired racehorses and greyhounds and ensuringVictorian racing leads the pack when it comes to drug testing.Unclaimed dividends are unclaimed winnings from punters. This happens fora number of reasons such as people leaving the track without realising thehorse won or they lost their betting slip or forgot they had a bet on.Unclaimed monies (from the tote) average about $12-14 million per year andrising. In the 2006-07 financial year unclaimed dividends were worth $14.05million to the Labor Government. This money is currently returned toConsolidated Revenue every six months.Totalisator customers have six months to claim their winnings with a winningticket. Bookmakers are required to hold on to their unclaimed dividends andmust pay all winning tickets, however old they are.The Liberal Nationals Coalition recognises the essential need to support andnurture horse and greyhound breeding programs, allowing growth and futurepotential to deliver top national and international starters.DISTRIBUTION OF UNCLAIMED DIVIDENDSA Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will:In consultation with all racing peak bodies guarantee, through theOffice of Racing, unclaimed wagering dividends are returned tothe racing industry over four years as follows:o $1 million to Living Legends.o $1 million to the Greyhound Adoption Program.o $4 million for drug research.o An extra $30 million to improving Victorian racetracks andfacilities.14

o An extra $10 million to boost Victorian breeding industriesthough the VOBIS, GOBIS and VICBRED schemes.o $2 million for jumps racing.o $200,000 to support picnic races.Living LegendsLiving Legends, which is located at the Woodland Historic Park just near theMelbourne Airport, is a grossly underdeveloped and under-marketed touristand racing promotional opportunity.Living Legends provides a unique opportunity for children, families anddedicated horse lovers to get up close and personal with multi-million dollarstake winning retired champions of the track.It is home to such great track stars as Takeover Target, Apache Cat, Saintly,Might and Power, Better Loosen Up, Rogan Josh, Brew, Doriemus, SkyHeights and Paris Lane.The Woodlands Historic Park is over 700ha including 400 hectares of naturalbushland with mobs of kangaroos and other native animals.The Park also contains the historic Woodlands homestead, beautiful gardensand numerous walking, biking and horse riding trails.There is no government funding for Living Legends nor do they receive anyfunding from Victorian racing industries. They are managed by a voluntarycommittee of management and have Eliza Park Stud as their major corporatesponsor.Providing a guaranteed income stream for Living Legends will allow them tobetter promote and market this great tourist product and to stimulate a widerinterest in Victorian racing.Greyhound Adoption ProgramThe Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) has been a great success story. Itis an initiative of Greyhound Racing Victoria and involves retraining andfinding homes for greyhounds that are no longer suitable for racing.15

Since it started in 1996 under the previous government more than 2,700greyhounds have found new homes as pets. About 350 greyhounds per yearare adopted.Greyhounds can make fantastic pets – they are quiet, relaxed and gentle dogsthat thrive in the family home environment. Greyhounds that have passedthrough this program and have been awarded a special green GAP collar, donot have to be muzzled in public.Every dog that enters the program is thoroughly temperament tested,desexed, wormed, microchipped, and vaccinated. They then spend time witha volunteer foster carer to help them adjust from life in a kennel to life in a pethome. GAP foster carers aim to expose their charges to a variety of situationsthe greyhound is likely to encounter once it becomes a pet, work on basicmanners and get the greyhound used to the type of routine that is normal for afamily home. It is only after this that they are made available for adoption.This program aims not only to re-house retired racing dogs but also to helppromote a more positive image of greyhounds and the greyhound racingindustry.It is seen as very important by all stakeholders in the greyhound industry.The GAP kennels are in Seymour and they provide important local jobs andsupport for local businesses. The GAP is funded, on a very limited budget, byGRV. There is no government funding to assist with recurrent costs.Provision of an annual recurrent funding stream will assist GAP to retrain andrehouse more dogs and better promote the image of greyhound racing.Increased funding for drug researchVictorian Racing has a world-wide reputation for integrity.Confidence in the integrity of all Victorian racing codes is vital to retain thesupport of punters and hence income for racing. Increased funding is urgentlyneeded to assist Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) conduct thenecessary research and development to improve the detection of new andemerging drugs and substances which may be used to affect the performanceof racing animals.16

Improving Victorian racetracks and facilitiesIn addition to current funding a Liberal Nationals Coalition Government willprovide an extra $7.5 million per year to assist all three racing codes and theirclubs to improve facilities for racing, training and for patrons.This will include funding to further assist in drought-proofing tracks and inresearch, development and installation of safe and competitive synthetic allweather racing surfaces for thoroughbreds at strategic locations acrossVictoria.Breeding and salesThe Liberal Nationals Coalition understands the economic and employmentbenefits to our State of having strong breeding industries in all three racingcodes.To further encourage the breeding of racing animals in Victoria and topromote Victorian-based sales of racing horses and greyhounds, a LiberalNationals Coalition Government will provide a $2.5 million a year boost to thealready successful VOBIS, VICBRED and GOBIS schemes which providesignificant prize money incentives for horses and greyhounds, bred and/orsold in Victoria.Jumps racingThe Liberal Nationals Coalition strongly supports the continuation of jumpsracing in Victoria.The Liberal Nationals Coalition will provide $2 million over the next four yearsto boost prize money for jumps racing particularly targeted at the worldfamous, time honoured Grand Annual May Racing Carnival in Warrnamboolwith the aim of attracting overseas jumpers to increase both local andinternational support for this great regional racing carnival.The Liberal Nationals Coalition will work with Racing Victoria, the JumpsRacing Association, Warrnambool Racing Club and all jumps racingstakeholders to maximise the benefits and outcomes from this $2 millioninvestment into Victorian jumps racing.17

The Liberal Nationals Coalition will work with jumps racing stakeholders toseek to attract overseas jumping horses to Australia to compete in our majorevents to bring international focus on Victorian jumps racing in the same waythat internationalisation of the Melbourne Cup has created enormous benefitsfor Victorian racing and our economy.The Liberal Nationals Coalition will work with trainers, jockeys, owners, racingofficials, veterinarians and the RSPCA on a continual basis to ensure jumpingracing is conducted in the safest possible manner for both jockeys andhorses.We will liaise with interstate and overseas experts to assist our efforts tocontinually improve safety for jockeys and horses participating in Victorianhurdle and steeplechase events.Picnic racesThe Liberal Nationals Coalition strongly supports picnic races. Victoria has astrong, popular, well-run and well attended picnic race circuit.We understand that picnic race days are essential grass roots country racingevents. The volunteer committees that run picnic race events understand andappreciate the benefits these events provide to their communities throughtourism, local fund raising for key community groups and the social benefitsfor the local population.The Liberal Nationals Coalition also recognises the great benefits to theVictorian racing industry of picnic racing introducing thousands of people eachyear to the excitement of racing in a great community atmosphere.The Liberal Nationals Coalition will work with the picnic racing clubs to ensuretheir future viability and to guarantee the ongoing success of this sector ofVictoria’s great racing industry. In contrast Labor has continually tried to takeaway picnic race meetings and shut down picnic racing clubs and tracks.STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONUnder a Liberal Nationals Coalition Government, the Minister forRacing will meet regularly with all key racing stakeholder groups,in particular with owners and trainers, breeders, jockeys, driversand workers in the racing industries.18

The current Labor Government and its Minister for Racing have failed toregularly meet with and listen to key people who are the heart and soul ofVictorian racing.A Liberal Nationals Coalition Government will regularly meet with key racingstakeholders, listen to their ideas and work together to make Victorian racingeven better.TOTAL COSTINGS:Recurrent fundingPolicy2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 TotalLiving Legends $0.25 m $0.25 m $0.25 m $0.25 m $1.0 mGreyhoundadoptionprogram$0.25 m $0.25 m $0.25 m $0.25 m $1.0 mDrug Research $1.0 m $1.0 m $1.0 m $1.0 m $4.0 mImprovingracetracks andfacilitiesBreeding andsales$7.5 m $7.5 m $7.5 m $7.5 m $30.0 m$2.5 m $2.5 m $2.5 m $2.5 m $10.0 mJumps racing $0.5 m $0.5 m $0.5 m $0.5 m $2.0 mPicnic races $0.05 m $0.05 m $0.05 m $0.05 m $0.2 mTotal $12.05m $12.05m $12.05m $12.05m $48.2mAuthorised by Tony Nutt, 104 Exhibition St, Melbourne VIC 3000.19