THE WEDNESDAY WHINGE has a new look but won’t be dispensing with some of our old favorites and will continue to focus on THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY side of what has happened in racing over the past week. The Whinge will continue to provide an opportunity for The Cynics to Have Their Say. Thanks again for your support for the most read column on this website. Our popularity continues to grow despite the bagging it is copping from some officials who cannot cope with constructive criticism and insist that no-one reads it. We encourage readers to continue to contribute but plan to restrict the Whinge to only eight or at the most 10 items as well as stories you may have missed in the mainstream media. That is what you seem to want. Feedback suggests that unless there is a major issue that the column at times is too long.
AUDITOR SIGNALS ‘SIGNIFICANT DOUBT’ ABOUT ABILITY OF TOOWOMBA TO COPE FINANCIALLY
FROM a group of concerned members of the TOOWOOMBA TURF CLUB:
‘WE write as a combined group of members and supporters in the hope that by voicing our concerns on this forum Racing Queensland might consider addressing the parlous state of racing at the Toowoomba Turf Club.
We don’t want to be alarmist but are uncertain how to read the results of the last financial year at the club – whether to accept that these are a positive as directors would have us believe, or of great concern for the future when perusing the auditor’s report.
On one hand the TTC Treasurer Peter Turnbull reports that the net profit before depreciation, asset write-offs and capital grants was $75,482.
As the track was closed for six months during the club’s best function period, that, as he says, would seem quite a good result with bar and catering combining to record a profit of $160,949 and tote recording a strong profit of $40,035.
But when you consider the bottom-line result for the year was a net loss of $2,533,673 one has to be concerned about the future for the club.
The Treasurer reports that this negative result was brought about mainly by the write-off of the value of the cushion track and other scrapped assets totaling $8.5 million. To a lesser extent, he says, this amount has been offset by the value of the new grass surface project grant of $6.7 million. The net loss is also after depreciation of almost $749,000.
He also explains that the first stages of a very extensive renovation program, undertaken while the course was closed, resulted in capital expenditure of approximately $1.2 million which was achieved through the use of cash reserves.
The Treasurer reports that with ‘most of our senior management team in place’ he is ‘very optimistic about the future of the club’.
One would hope that the ‘team is in place’ considering the staff that worked there when Neville Stewart ran the show was less than a third of the current one. We might also mention that when Neville left he had recorded more than 20 years of successive profits and there were cash reserves of $1.6 million.
Now if everything is so rosy looking to the future of the TTC why did the Auditor report the following under the heading: “Uncertainty in relation to going concern” when he wrote:
‘WITHOUT qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to Note 21, in the financial report, which indicates the club incurred a net loss of $2,533,673 during the year ended 30 June 2014, had a net current liability position of $468,936 and net cash being a liability position of $166,743 as at 30 June 2014.’
But the most alarming aspect of the Auditor’s Report was the subsequent warning to members:
‘These conditions, along with the other matters set forth in Note 20, indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and therefore, whether it will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.’
Now if we were shareholders in a registered company that presented us with the rider (future finances may cast significant doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern) we would be far from happy or confident – let alone optimistic about the future of our share holding.
Let’s face it – the TTC has had significant financial support from the Government and RQ – some would argue much more than most, if any, club in Queensland. There are allegations it has been ‘cuddled’ because of close links between the club chairman and his RQ counterpart.
There have been on-going claims of favoritism from RQ hierarchy and the Government to racing in Toowoomba. If the club needs another handout in the year or two ahead to haul it out of a spot of financial bother this will not sit well with those clubs who are struggling financially and believe that Toowoomba already gets too much start at their expense.
Not only was there the new track – which has proved somewhat of a disaster – but the story goes that RQ helped TTC out with wages during the time it was closed for the redevelopment. That does not appear to be covered anywhere in the annual report so perhaps it is incorrect.
Add to that the massive prizemoney increases under the new TAB deal and date allocation proposals that Toowoomba has received in recent times and one has to ask if RQ can afford to throw good money after bad when the track is a basket case and many punters will not bet there.
In conclusion we pose this question for RQ All Codes boss Kevin Dixon to ask his good buddy the TTC chair Bob Frappell next time he calls on the hot line looking for another handout:
How are clubs like Townsville and Mackay who were threatened with closure (one even had an administrator appointed we believe) going to react if we allow the handout mentality to continue with Toowoomba?
It’s just food for thought!’
CONTROVERSY THAT THE INDUSTRY SHOULD DEMAND ANSWERS FROM RQ ON
SINCE the Cairns Amateurs last Friday and Saturday we have received numerous emails expressing concern at incidents which occurred during the carnival. We offered Racing Queensland the opportunity to respond but CEO Darren Condon said there would be ‘no comment’ at this stage. He also pointed out that one incident – a fall on Friday – was the subject of an on-going inquiry.
Rather than be repetitive here is one email which hopefully gets the general message across and it was sent by a HIGH PROFILE STAKEHOLDER in the FAR NORTH:
‘WHEN a trainer of Greg Wehlow’s standing and respect suggests that the safety aspect of the Cairns track is so serious that he will not be starting any horses there and fears a jockey could be killed, then it is time RQ took some action.
This is not something that can be swept under the carpet. There have been falls on the same section of the track and two big meetings that have seen jockeys injured. One claimed the ambulance refused to take him to hospital for treatment which should have been addressed by now, if not by RQ, at least by the Jockeys’ Association.
There are differing reports about whether a damaged section of the track or clipped heels were responsible for the falls. Is it a coincidence that the Stewards’ Report normally posted on the RQ website on the evening of the races took several days to appear after Friday’s fall?
One would hope that RQ does not consider dealing with Greg Wehlow for ‘bringing the sport into disrepute’ over the serious criticism he leveled at the Cairns track. If that were to happen all hell would break loose. After all the jockeys did consider boycotting the meeting on Friday and said they only continued riding because it was the Amateurs.
The thing that has most irked many of us in the north has been the weak-kneed media who have done nothing but praise the success of the carnival and made scant mention of the controversies that caused havoc behind the scenes. Would it have been the same situation had a jockey been seriously injured or, heaven forbid, even killed?
Instead of coming north to get their noses in the trough, the visiting media should start doing their job and keeping the industry – nationally – properly informed about how serious the situation reached in Cairns.
Kevin Dixon, the boss of RQ, was also there and should be reassuring the stakeholders in the area that his organization is doing something to rectify the problem and ensure it never happens again – as it has in the past.’
SHAME ON FREE-LOADING MEDIA FOR PUTTING A POSITIVE SLANT ON CAIRNS FIASCO
DARRYL J of TOWNSVILLE sent this email:
‘HAVING visited Cairns for the Amateurs last Friday and Saturday I would like to know who is paying for all these media free-loaders who are in attendance?
They were there in droves pressing the flesh and following the Chairman for Everything around like he was the Messiah.
It was finger down the throat stuff, especially from one ‘big man’ who seems to be a regular on the big days at Cairns now that he is more than just a ‘member of the racing media’.
Whatever the club is doing to lure these ‘freeloaders’ north it is working, especially when you consider all the positive publicity they received and not a line in the mainstream media of how bad the track was or the safety concerns that almost forced Friday’s meeting to be called off.
You wouldn’t have thought there was a problem at all when SKY crossed to their ‘girl on the spot’ – Bernadette Cooper – on Saturday and she told the national audience that there were ‘a few little niggles with the track’ the previous day but all was fine for a great day of racing ahead.
How’s that for positive publicity and steering clear of the real controversy that was occurring behind the scenes in Cairns on the big day of the Amateurs?’
DO CLUBS THAT HAVE TO ‘PERFORM’ UNDER NEW BENCHMARK NOT INCLUDE DEAGON?
ALBERT W of REDCLIFFE of REDCLIFFE writes:
‘WE were told when the new TAB distributions were announced that clubs would be required to perform.
That all sounded very nice when RQ was defending accusations of favoritism which continue in the wash-up of the new TAB deal. Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast and of course Brisbane are the subject of some venom.
I’ve got another one to add to the ‘favorites’ list and that is Deagon. How does a picnic meeting that manages to hold less than $180,000 of the TAB get such select treatment?
The racing fraternity in Brisbane has been aware for years how this boutique training centre has been ‘cuddled’ for years but some feel more so since the perception that they jumped ship politically to the LNP when there was talk that Labor and the Bentley Board would turn Deagon into a harness and greyhound facility.
Now no-one has a problem with the ‘local’ community organizing a picnic meeting once a year but how much support financial and otherwise are they receiving from RQ to boost this event.
Is it more than they are entitled to under the new ‘pay your own way’ policy when you consider the return to the industry was pretty paltry in TAB turnover considering the publicity and promotion that the Deagonites received?’
HERE’S A POLICY FOR RQ TO PURSUE – ONE THAT ONLY PERMITS POSITIVE FEEDBACK
BILL K of TOOWOOMBA writes:
‘MOST of us know how badly the Chairman of Racing Queensland copes with criticism – constructive or otherwise.
I came across this story the other day and thought it might well be worth forwarding to him.
They could make it policy at RQ and send it to stakeholders as a Rule of Racing in Queensland for anyone daring to be different – like your website. It only permits positive feedback.
I have attached the story (which reads):
IF your experience bad service, should you be allowed to complain about it online? Or is it like your mother always told you — if you can’t say anything nice …
In a time when anonymous reviews from disgruntled customers can make or break small businesses, one man is on a personal mission to bring some positivity back to the internet.
Paul Ryan, head of marketing company Intouch group and co-founder of the company formerly known as Wizard Home Loans, is the behind a new venture called Kudos2.
It’s an online testimonial service in the vein of UrbanSpoon or Yelp, but with a fairly significant catch — you’re only allowed to post positive feedback.
“Service is subjective,” Mr Ryan explains. “One man’s drink is another man’s poison. What could be good service for you might not be good service for others.”
According to Mr Ryan, sometimes “people have bad days” and while your grievance may be legitimate, it’s unfair to publicly sledge a business without first giving them the opportunity to rectify the issue.
“Today we’re very quick to jump on negativity, but I think we should be rewarding effort. If you post a negative review online, it just breeds more negativity.”
Mr Ryan hopes people will use Kudos2 to share positive service experiences, and others will make their judgment based on the number of recommendations a particular business has.
“Say you wanted to move to Port Macquarie — you’ll need to find a real estate agent, an insurance broker, a dentist, a nice coffee shop,” he says. “We want people to be able to jump on Kudos, type in ‘Port Macquarie’, and see all the businesses that have happy customers.”
So there you go – the answer to all of RQ’s problems – only positive feedback and no room for criticism of any kind. It’s racing’s perfect world!’
WHY WOULD THOSE STATES NOT WANT TO ENSURE A BETTER DEAL FOR THE PUNTERS?
PERCY S of MELBOURNE writes:
‘I read a brief comment on one of the racing blogs that the move to declare a winner that weighs in light a non-runner was rejected by New South Wales and Queensland at Australian Racing Board level.
Surely those responsible for the decision-making process in these two states don’t have their heads that far in the sand that they don’t want to see the lifeblood of racing – the punters – refused the right of a run for their money.
It must be very frustrating for the Victorians – who operate the most progressive and respected racing integrity body in the country – when interstate colleagues don’t support them on issues as important as this one.
It just goes to show that the dark ages in racing are alive in well, especially in the two states where the ‘buddies’ or should I say ‘breeders in arms’ join forces to rip another carrot up the rear end of the long suffering punter.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: RESPECTED Sydney columnist KEN CALLANDER weighted into the debate in the DAILY TELEGRAPH this week when he wrote:
IF you can’t win you should not be able to lose. Hence I was disappointed that a motion was defeated at the Australian Racing Board meeting in Melbourne on Thursday to declare winners who weighed in light as non runners.
Punters have to be protected and those who back horses who eventually weigh in light do their money as soon as they bet. How is that fair?
DOES RACING NSW HAVE TOO MUCH START WITH THE HIERARCHY OF OZ RACING?
GLEN W of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘WHEN it comes to the decision making process in Australian racing one gets the impression that Racing NSW gets what they want.
Just look at the carnival changes rubber-stamped by the Pattern Committee where there is an obvious link between the hierarchy at Racing NSW and the Australian Racing Board.
Perhaps these jokers making the important decisions in favour of NSW that impact on racing in Victoria – the most successful state – should start having a closer look at just how bad racing in Sydney is travelling at present.
One gets the impressions though that won’t happen because Messrs Messara and V’Landys are running the show – not just in NSW but for the whole country. You wouldn’t mind if they were the success story that some suggest.
A good example of how racing is travelling in Sydney at present was last week’s Warwick Farm midweek meeting where the opening race attracted only three starters and resembled a barrier trial.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: FOR those who missed it here are excerpts from a story by CHRISTIAN NICOLUSSI in the DAILY TELEGRAPH on the Warwick Farm fiasco:
In an embarrassing advertisement for Sydney racing, the TAB Early Quaddie Handicap (at Warwick Farm) featured a tiny field (of only three) after there were two scratchings.
While finding the eventual winner Kuro wasn’t hard, coming up with a magical solution to make sure there aren’t any three-horse fields in the future is a lot tougher.
After all, the sport is driven by betting turnover.
Chief steward Ray Murrihy said it didn’t help when there were eight trials at Wyong on Wednesday, and another 32 trials scheduled for Randwick on Thursday and Warwick Farm on Friday.
But Murrihy quickly stressed the need for trials, and added “you don’t want horses not fit’’ and “horses who are uneducated’’.
“There is a reluctance (from owners and trainers) to take on the metropolitan horses and metropolitan trainers, and they’d prefer an easy kill somewhere else,’’ Murrihy said.
“There’s also the perception that if you win a good race in town, it can affect a horse’s ratings, and they’ll be disadvantaged the next time they run in a race they might be able to win. The bottom line is it’s not satisfactory from racing’s point of view.
“There are lost opportunities for owners here, there’s lost opportunities for the club, and lost opportunities for racing because they’re missing out on turnover.’’
WHAT’S THE POINT OF HAVING A PATTERN COMMITTEE WHEN THEY CAN’T DECIDE?
ALBY K of BENDIGO sent this email:
‘THE supposedly unavoidable clash of the Australian and Randwick Guineas makes you wonder why we have a Pattern Committee.
Both races will be run on March 7 next year which is ridiculous despite the fact it has been painted as a transition.
There was never a chance that Sydney racing would lose out in this.
When are the people running the show – whether they come from a backwater like Queensland or not – going to realise that Victoria leads the way in Australian racing – not New South Wales.
One wonders how much influence Racing NSW had on this decision.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: TO be fair to Kevin Dixon the Chairman of the Pattern Committee, he did issue an ultimatum on this issue which is covered in the story below by ADRIAN DUNN for THE RACING NETWORK:
THE Australian and Randwick Guineas will clash on March 7 next year, but the Pattern Committee has issued an ultimatum to the respective clubs to snare it doesn’t happen in 2016.
The Pattern Committee met today in Melbourne where the issues revolving around dates for the Melbourne and Sydney autumn carnivals were finally fixed.
But, what could not be avoided next year is a clash between the Australian Guineas and the Randwick Guineas, with both races run on March 7.
Kevin Dixon, the chairman of the Pattern Committee, said the problem of the two Guineas clashing had crystallised the issue and it needed to be addressed going forward.
“Next year will be a transition year and by 2016 we have to find a solution that separates those races by at least a fortnight,” Dixon said.
“The solution to that needs to be brought to the Pattern Committee next February.”
Dixon, said there was “some concern about the movement of the Championships and the relevant movement of the races in that it causes some duplication of Group 1 races.”
“In the time constraints we had we were not able to find a solution that would separate the Guineas,” Dixon said.
“The Pattern Committee is uneasy about that, however, offsetting that is the recognition that in the past five years they have clashed before and in the past they have been seven days apart.
“Over the past five years 133 horses have competed in those races and only six have competed in both. That has crystallised the problem we had anyway in that the races are too close.”
The Championships will be run on the first two Saturdays on April - the 4th and 11th - with the Golden Slipper moving forward to March 21 - three weeks after the Blue Diamond.
The Australian Cup and Newmarket Handicap will be run on March 14 with the Ranvet run on Golden Slipper day.
BOUQUETS FOR SYDNEY STEWARDS IN DIRECTING WATERHOUSE TO STOP SELLING TIPS
DES J of SYDNEY writes:
‘FULL marks to the Racing NSW stewards for directing Robbie Waterhouse to stop selling his tips.
The ARB should follow that lead and outlaw former jockeys – like Mick Dittman – from joining the tipping band-wagon.
Surely these ex top hoops made sufficient money when they were riding not to have to flog their selections to the poor old punting brigade on the promise of ‘we have the inside information’.
There are so many supposed ‘experts’ now running tipping services that one wonders how the bookmakers survive.
Just kidding!’
EDITOR’S NOTE: THE above email obviously was in reference to the column item by KEN CALLANDER this week in the DAILY TELEGRAPH which read:
AFTER direction from the stewards Robbie Waterhouse has agreed to desist from selling his tips on the radio and the internet.
As pointed out in this column two weeks ago Waterhouse’s actions contravened Rule Of Racing 175 (i) and I am glad he has put a finish to it as it gave racing a poor look.
Stewards have also stopped Sportingbet, a company run by Waterhouse’s son Tom, from betting on winning margins.
That was another smart move by the boys in charge as you can imagine the howls from punters if a winning jockey eased his mount down over the final 50m and cut into the winning margin.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN THE MAINSTREAM RACING MEDIA
MOST ELITE RACING SCHOOL IN THE WORLD TO BE BASED IN AUSTRALIA
THE most elite racing school in the world will be based in Australia for the next six months as the Darley Flying Start 2015 class takes the next step in its development.
CHRIS ROOTS reports in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD it is a system that has delivered some of the leaders within the Australia racing industry. Newgate Farm's Henry Field, Eden Harrington from the China Horse Club and racing managers such as Jason Walsh at Godolphin and Adrian Bott at Gai Waterhouse's stable have all completed the course.
For the past decade, Flying Start has become the Rhodes Scholarship for racing. It has a remarkable success rate at producing high achievers. Of 120 who have started the two-year course, only two have not finished it, and 21 graduates have become business owners.
"We get more than 100 applications a year from around the world. We interview about 30 of them for only 12 places. We are getting these young people when they are a bit older and they understand what a brilliant opportunity it is," Flying Start's course manager Clodagh Kavanagh said.
Applicants are required to have completed a university degree and have at least one year's working experience in the racing industry or five years' full-time experience in the thoroughbred industry. Part of the selection process includes showing their horse handling and riding skills.
"They come to us ambitious and get to do a business and leadership course as well as getting to meet industry leaders, including Sheikh Mohammed," Kavanagh said. "We are proud of our record at developing industry leaders."
Flying Start is basically a finishing school for racing professionals from around the world, with graduates working in 20 countries on five continents.
The Flying Start class was at Golden Rose day, as racing days are important in the program. As is study ... and they have been doing a module of their course at Sydney University.
In coming weeks the trainees will go out for work placement while on the Australia leg of the course, which has already taken them to Ireland, England and the US in the past 12 months.
Kavanagh has been with Flying Start since it has began and helped to develop the course. Her role in Sydney was to interview trainees and work out placements and look at their progress.
"Each of them is an individual and wants to focus on different aspects of the industry. In the past we have had trainees go to Inglis, Gai Waterhouse and New Zealand Bloodstock as well as stud farms," she said.
"There are so many different options within the industry and everyone has a different focus, so we try to match them with the right area for them."
While this class of Flying Start is in Australia, including Queenslander Kathryn Barr, the next intake has begun its travels around the world in Ireland. There are three Australians in that class, including Berry's Dane Robinson, who gave some insight on being selected.
"The good thing about the course is it gives you experience in everything, so hopefully, it will give me time to really think about what I want to do and, hopefully by the end of it, I'll be set on the right path," Robinson said.
"The syllabus covers everything from business management to accounting for the equine industry. There's hands-on experience all the way through to veterinary and farrier work."
FREE RACE REPLAYS AVAILABLE ON VICTORIA’S NEW DIGITAL PLATFORM
FREE race replays will be available on Victorian racing's new digital platform.
Racing.com, which was officially launched on Monday, will include vision for all Victorian races and has an archive going back two years.
The race replays will be available 30 minutes after every race.
The vision, which includes the option of showing just the last 400m, will be found alongside the results of each race and will also be available on a new app.
Racing Victoria's chief commercial and strategy officer Andrew Catterall said they were expecting more than a million visits over the spring carnival with more than half the traffic coming from mobile devices.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in the above e-mails should not be interpreted as those of JOHN LINGARD, the owner-editor of the letsgohorseracing web-site. That is why he has added an ‘EDITOR’S NOTE’. Every endeavor is made to verify the authenticity of contributors. We welcome any reasonable and constructive responses from parties or individuals.