Bren O'Brien: John, thanks for your time. How have you seen the thoroughbred industry's response to the coronavirus crisis?
John Messara: Most of the response has been led by the state and federal governments. Racing NSW and other PRAs have directed activities in terms of stables, trainers and staff. We have already seen and will continue to see the non-spectator race meetings; however, I fear that is only the first phase. If it goes the way of the rest of the world, there will be further restrictions imposed over time unless the virus behaves somehow differently in Australia.
Caulfield last Saturday, empty seats and only the required staff in the mounting yard for the first race of the day
BO’B: Extrapolating on that, your feeling is that racing will struggle to continue as this crisis develops?
JM: The most damaging thing that could happen would be the close down of race meetings altogether for a period, because that would severely impact on the revenue of the industry. We are dependent on wagering and it would be a blow if closures were to last for any period. In the current environment, it would only take a major trainer or a few jockeys to catch the virus to pretty well stultify racing. We are in a high-risk situation.
"In the current environment, it would only take a major trainer or a few jockeys to catch the virus to pretty well stultify racing. We are in a high-risk situation. " - John Messara
No matter what business you are in, either your supply chain is affected, or demand evaporates; in both cases it’s not good for your business. We are not much different to any other industry, except that horses have a certain athletic life and there are also carnivals which are important to the sport. It's worrisome.
Allan Endresz part owner of Alligator Blood celebrates with the crowd after his Magic Millions win
BO’B: With the upcoming Inglis Easter Sale, do you feel that as things stand, it is feasible to proceed how Inglis has indicated?
JM: It’s a very fluid situation and a lot will depend on what the government determines in terms of restrictions over the next week or so. Restrictions appear to be reviewed on a twice weekly basis. It's possible that it will get to a point where the sale can't be held because the restrictions on the number of people might drop to 100, like it is now in America and other places. We do need a critical mass of buyers there to make the Sale viable.
BO’B: Assuming things stay as they are, and that's a big assumption, is the Sale viable in the format Inglis has proposed?
JM: It’s not ideal, but at least it would salvage a reasonable result. With international buyers unable to attend in person due to the new quarantine style restrictions, which add up to four weeks of non-movement, I think a lot of them won't come. It’s then a question of them bidding remotely or using local agents, but it's never quite as good as having the buyer here. However, I applaud Inglis for the efforts they are making to give us a workable sale.
Inglis Riverside
The quality of stock is still there, it’s actually an outstanding catalogue. These yearlings represent the next draft of 2-year-olds, when the virus will be over, so you would think that long term participants will look beyond the next few months. Those whose business is racing, still need to fill their stables, but it’s a question of whether the sale can be organised in a sensible fashion.
I think the plan Inglis have in place is a reasonable plan and Arrowfield is supportive of it, but it may not be able to be carried out depending on circumstances; in which case, the industry might be left somewhat high and dry.
John Messara noted that 'those whose business is racing, still need to fill their stables'
BO’B: How does the complexity of this situation compare to what the Australian industry went through during equine influenza?
JM: We developed a very clear policy at that time with the Government. We had practical zones established by government and we were able to operate within a known set of boundaries. It was all over in a few months.
Also, in circumstances such as this we have to think about the wellbeing of our staff first.
The situation with the virus is moving fast, it involves danger to humans and all this certainly makes it more difficult for all of us.
Final preparations before heading to the ring at Inglis Riverside
BO’B: Are there things the industry can put in place right now to ensure people don’t lose their livelihoods here?
JM: I don't know the answer to that at the moment. We don’t know how far the restrictions are going to go. If they go all the way to eliminating live race meetings and if they seriously impact on the sales, this will be damaging to many participants. However, this is no different to what is happening to the tourism, travel and hospitality industries.
If you look at the Easter Sale, it is a very important sale. The sale is probably worth about $175 million. It's a significant amount of revenue to flow into the industry. How that can be replaced in the short term, I don’t know.
"If you look at the Easter Sale, it is a very important sale. The sale is probably worth about $175 million. It's a significant amount of revenue to flow into the industry. How that can be replaced in the short term, I don’t know. " - John Messara
Those horses are of value and will end up being raced one way or another. They are not disappearing, but the immediacy of cash flow is disappearing for a lot of us.
John and Kris Messara
BO’B: Arrowfield has been a leading vendor at the sale for many years, are you concerned you may take a massive financial hit here?
JM: Interestingly, this Easter draft is probably one of Arrowfield’s best ever, but like everyone else we will take a hit. In our industry a lot of people are asset rich but cash flow poor and the cash flow is seasonal and this sale represents revenue that the industry depends on. While we are financially secure, we will have to navigate our way through this and that will be challenging.
We've met challenges like this before and we have surmounted them, and we will do so again.
BO’B: Thanks for your time.
