Op-Ed: '...before reducing prizemoney, RVL needs to reduce overheads and inefficiencies'

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

In recent days, Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) announced a move to reduce prizemoney, with General Manager of Racing, Matt Welsh telling Racing.com that there will be prizemoney cuts across a broad cross-section of races in 2023/24. This is in response to a reported decline in wagering this year.

Before RVL considers reducing prizemoney it needs to reduce overheads and inefficiencies at RVL. I understand they are also looking at that, and that is a good thing. And after they have addressed that, they need to look at existing misallocations in prizemoney to reduce or avoid the need to reduce mainstream prizemoney levels for Saturday, mid-week and country races.

The misallocation that sticks out is the $5 million allocated to The All-Star Mile plus a reputed hefty $2 million marketing budget for that race. The obvious thing to do is to reduce the prizemoney for that race to $2 million and abolish the marketing budget. That stands out as low-hanging fruit and saves you $5 million.

We and most other people in the industry have advised RVL for a number of years that The All-Star Mile was overcooked and that the $5 million saving I have proposed would be better reallocated to other prizemoney.

In that regard, I am not being critical of the race, and it would still be really good and worthy of Group 1 status as a $2 million race, as I propose. Unfortunately, it is a pet project of some people at RVL, but clearly, not an indulgence they can afford.

RVL has “promised” to consult with TROA on prizemoney changes for the 2023/24 season but, as yet, offered no details on where the cuts are proposed.

Let’s see the background details, let’s see the proposal and let’s consult. Unfortunately, up until now, they have failed to adequately consult and listen to industry participants and experts and this needs to change.

Recently announced changes to the Spring Carnival program also included misallocations of prizemoney that could yield savings that could be used for wider distribution. The race program announced for Caulfield the week after Melbourne Cup week is a “fiasco”.

In particular, the proposed shifting out by five weeks of the G1 Thousand Guineas for 3-year-old fillies to that day was “crazy” as it would give those fillies inadequate time to prepare for the autumn, result in a worse race (being isolated at the end of the spring with inadequate lead-up races and after the attrition of a full carnival) and undermine the Australian Pattern and sport.

The Thousand Guineas must stay where it is. The best day for it is three days later than currently, on Caulfield Cup Day. You’ll get a better field and keep the continuity into the VRC Oaks and the VRC Empire Rose and most importantly, be able to get those horses ready for the autumn. What RVL is proposing cannot work as you will be a month behind for races in the autumn. This is a very serious problem.

In relation to that problem of not having sufficient time to prepare for the autumn, the detailed analysis of the timing constraints that give rise to that problem are as follows; if RVL’s later G1 Thousand Guineas race date was used last year, the race would have been run on 12 November in 2022.

Then to prepare for the autumn, those fillies would have needed a minimum spell of four weeks (ending 10 December in 2022) followed by a minimum of 8 weeks' work (ending 4 February in 2023), then two trials spaced appropriately (around two weeks apart which takes you to a first-up run over 1200 metres on 4 March 2023).

A second-up run would usually occur three weeks later over 1400 metres (two weeks is usually considered to risk flattening a horse second-up), which would have been on 25 March 2023. The logical autumn targets in the autumn for those fillies coming out of the G1 Thousand Guineas in the spring are the G1 Surround Stakes in Sydney for 3-year-old fillies over 1400 metres, the G1 Australian Guineas and G1 Randwick Guineas over 1600 metres, and the G1 Coolmore Classic for fillies and mares over 1500 metres.

Based on the timeline set out above, you would have been a month late for each of those races, as the Surround Stakes was run on 25 February 2023, the Australian Guineas and Randwick Guineas were both held on 4 March 2023, and the Coolmore Classic was held on 11 March 2023, with those longer races requiring at least two lead-up races, rather than one lead-up race for the Surround Stakes. This analysis is clear and indisputable.

And as far as misallocations go, the $1 million proposed for the Country Cups final on the new Caulfield race day makes no sense and is a total waste of money. It should be scrapped or reduced to $200,000. Similarly, it is a waste of money increasing the Rupert Clarke Stakes from $1 million to $1.5 million. It is a handicap and you won’t get any better field. The money is better allocated to mainstream prizemoney and the race should remain where it is. Similarly, the proposed increase in the Blue Sapphire from $200,000 to $500,000 and increase in distance to 1400 metres makes no sense. It is a race looking for a purpose.

I am not opposed to the new Caulfield feature race day, only the cost and selection of races. We have tried to work with RVL to tell them that what they propose does not work, but they don’t listen. If they want a good race meeting, they need to put on appropriate races and make sure that they do not undermine the Australian Pattern or prevent horses preparing for the autumn carnivals. And if they are claiming that they are short of funds, then should not waste it by misallocating prizemoney.

We have suggested a much better race program for the new Caulfield feature race day. That alternative program has the backing of the major owners, breeders and trainers and costs no more.

It involves shifting the G1 WFA Orr S. from the autumn so that raceday attracts the best weight-for-age horses and introducing a new 3-year-old fillies Group 1 1200-metre race, which would be a great addition. Added to those headline races would be a Magic Millions 2-year-old qualifier race, moving the Sandown Guineas and Summoned Stakes from Zipping Stakes Day and having a lower-cost version of the Country Cups final race proposed by RVL.

In that scenario, Zipping Stakes Day would be reinforced with a new 2000-metre 3-year-old race to be called the Melbourne Derby, which you would target to be a Listed or Group 3 race. That new race would progress from the Carbine Club Stakes and Sandown Guineas and be used as a springboard for later-developing stayers looking to target Adelaide and Brisbane in the following autumn and winter.

The Blue Sapphire Stakes would also shift to Zipping Day, remaining as a 1200-metre 3-year-old race worth $200,000. The G1 Thousand Guineas would move forward three days to Caulfield Cup Day, and Rupert Clarke would remain where is, so that part of the Spring Carnival is not weakened.

This is a far superior program and will not have a negative impact on the autumn carnivals.