Is this a warning?

AJC prizemoney shock - stakes cut by almost 30 percent
Clinton Payne
Thursday, 2 July 2009


The Australian Jockey Club has slashed prizemoney by almost $4 million for the 2009-10 racing season.

Blaming factors outside of its control, including the global financial crisis and the continued fight against corporate bookmakers and Betfair, the AJC has reduced feature race stakes by 29 percent on the $13,515,000 handed out in 2008-09.

“It is not possible for the AJC to continue to protect prizemoney in the face of corporate bookmakers' assault on critical wagering revenues,” AJC chairman Ron Finemore said.

“There was no other option but to reduce the level of prize money on feature races to achieve a break even budget for 2010.

“The AJC was faced with a lose-lose situation.

“Our choice was, however, increasing track fees or reducing base prizemoney which effects all AJC stakeholders, whereas reducing elite prize money effects a much narrower group of stakeholders.”

Minimum levels of prizemoney for non-feature Saturday and mid-week races this financial year have been retained.
Finemore said if the $30 million held by Racing NSW from corporate bookmakers could be released, the AJC would quickly act to restore feature race prizemoney as well as improve facilities for the club's members and customers.

“We estimate at least $9 million (and growing) of monies caught up in the corporate bookmaker-related litigation would be available to the AJC,” he said.

The AJC has also announced seven redundancies on Thursday taking the total reduction in head count to 19 over the past 12 months.

“The current environment means the club cannot survive the challenges and sustain the current staffing,” Finemore said.

“Every aspect of the club’s business has been examined with the view to finding savings, efficiencies and opportunities to restructure or rationalise as the club is preparing to announce a loss from operations in excess of $5 million for the current financial year.

“The board and management of the club have worked hard and made some incredibly difficult decisions to find savings and efficiencies and have identified and implemented $8.5 million in cuts to our 2010 budgeted operating expenditure including prize money.”

Betfair: death on wheels for racing. The devil.

Racing has enough problems without Betfair.

At the current rate, horse racing is set for a steady decline into a minor sideshow that will only be played by the very rich at private clubs for their own amusement.

Maybe I can get a good seat in the stands if I am still alive, because I know a lot of people with money!

Give the tracks the control over their own marketing,seems to help in the uk,
my local track(musselburgh) is buzzing atm with record crowds(9000 at an evening meeting last month)and prizemoney.




Epsom and Status Quo last night

We next Thirsty.

Days of wine and roses now long over - wait till after July - GC gotta come with retrenchments - they just too fat with overloads of staff everywhere - except in totes where they really needed.

And then Tellytrack? Need to go Mnet route and axe in-studio presenters - irritating unecessary 'luxury'.
Good strong back studio producer could ensure all info is relayed - sans the private jockes and banter.

Watch the VDJ tomorrow- every 'personality' will be there showing their faces - all on a free ride.
CANNOT LAST!