What happened to Racing NSW’s Strategic Plan?

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

As the NSW Government reviews the Thoroughbred Racing Act 1996, which sets Racing NSW’s functions and powers, The Thoroughbred Report examines recent Strategic Plans to assess progress against its stated commitments.

In preparing this analysis, The Thoroughbred Report sought clarification from Racing NSW on the delivery of key initiatives outlined in successive strategic plans. Chief Executive Peter V’landys declined to address specific questions, instead emphasising Racing NSW’s achievements and suggesting that the inquiry was hostile.

He also asked whether similar questions had been put to other Principal Racing Authorities. However, Racing NSW is currently under legislative review and specifically, its strategic planning obligations are defined within that Act. That context makes this assessment especially pertinent.

What does the Act say?

Under section 14B of the Thoroughbred Racing Act 1996 (NSW), Racing NSW must prepare a strategic plan “at such times as it considers appropriate.” The clause requires consultation and publication, but there’s no obligation to review whether it’s ever delivered.

Other states take a firmer approach. In Queensland, annual strategic and operational plans must be approved by the Minister. Victoria’s system, through the Racing Act 1958 and Financial Management Act 1994, requires racing bodies to have their plans reviewed each year against performance. Western Australia goes further again, compelling the governing body to table both a Strategic Development Plan and a Statement of Corporate Intent, while Tasmania’s new Racing Regulation and Integrity Act 2024 requires the Minister, in consultation with the Integrity Commissioner, to prepare and periodically review a strategic plan.

Racing NSW’s annual report is tabled in Parliament but isn’t independently audited by the Auditor-General, putting it (alongside South Australia) among the only jurisdictions where financial and operational oversight of the racing authority sits outside the public audit framework. Both states also lack any formal requirement to review their strategic plans, relying instead on annual reports for accountability.

The most recent strategic plan published on Racing NSW’s website dates from April 2019 (Strategic Plan 2017/18/19).

In August 2024, around the timing of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Rosehill Racecourse, Racing NSW released a Draft Strategic Plan 2025 for industry consultation. The draft outlined the current state of the industry and proposed strategies to build on recent gains and address emerging challenges.

More than a year later, no final version incorporating stakeholder feedback has been formally published. In the absence of a finalised plan, this article focuses on the deliverable items and outcomes promised in Racing NSW’s 2019 strategic plan.

As the review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act considers how Racing NSW’s powers are structured and overseen, the question of how its strategic plans are developed, implemented, and evaluated has never been more relevant.

Priorities of the 2019 Strategic Plan

The 2017/18/19 Strategic Plan outlines seven challenges that Racing NSW needs to address:

The 2019 plan proposed solutions across four areas: increasing the state’s horse population, expanding and improving infrastructure, lifting returns to participants, and growing the industry workforce.

So, which of these have actually come to fruition?

Increasing the horse population

A central aim of the 2019 Plan was to increase horse numbers in New South Wales, though the focus was on importing rather than breeding. The Plan acknowledged a shrinking foal crop and smaller race fields, proposing that Racing NSW establish a buying entity, modelled on the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to purchase ready-to-train horses overseas.

That initiative never materialised. While imported racehorses have certainly increased over the past decade - as explored in The Thoroughbred Report’s ‘Breeding Drain or Racing Gain’ series - the shift has been driven by trainers and ownership groups, not a Racing NSW program. And large-scale importing comes with its own complications: greater pressure on the rehoming sector and an even steeper uphill climb for the state’s breeding industry as money for bloodstock goes offshore.

The data bears out the challenge. According to the 2024 Racing NSW Annual Report, total starters have fallen from 54,752 in 2018/19 to 52,078 in 2023/24 - a drop of 2,674 per year. Country TAB starters recorded the sharpest decline, down 8.2% to 25,338, while statewide average field size edged from 9.67 to 9.5.

The foal crop continues to contract, with national live foals dropping from 12,892 in 2020 to 11,722 in 2024.

That decline has played out against a backdrop of tension between the regulator and breeders; the very group most critical to reversing the trend. At last year’s Rosehill inquiry, Peter V’landys told the parliamentary committee: “They (the breeders) want to get rid of me, so they can put horses into abattoirs. … no matter how old the horse is, they want to send it to a knackery. Well, we won’t allow that.”

These comments enraged breeders, who were unsurprisingly upset at V’landys’ remarks at the parliamentary hearing.

The 2019 Plan had proposed adjustments to the Breeder Owner Bonus Scheme (BOBS), yet the BOBS Mares program, which rewarded registered breeders, was suspended in 2022 “pending review” and has not been reinstated, nor the review findings released.

In the draft 2024 Strategic Plan, Racing NSW has pledged to address concerns about the contraction of the state’s breeding industry - a necessary commitment if it hopes to strengthen the foundation of its horse population for the future.

Yet that task may prove difficult: relations between Racing NSW and leading breeders are more fractured now than ever, making genuine collaboration on the state’s breeding future an ongoing challenge.

Improvement of infrastructure

A major focus of the 2019 Plan was the improvement of racing infrastructure across New South Wales. The goal was to create better facilities for participants, attract new trainers and owners, and increase racegoer engagement. The Plan committed $98.5 million - funded through the Point of Consumption tax - to statewide upgrades.

Racing NSW has made meaningful progress in regional areas. Between 2022 and early 2025, the 'Racing for the Regions' program distributed just over $63 million for country and provincial track upgrades, including $20 million directed to Scone for a new polytrack and an additional 300 on-course stables.

A further $20 million was allocated in early 2024 to “shovel-ready” projects, and a $5.4 million initiative replaced 88 running rails at country tracks later that year. These upgrades have materially improved facilities for participants in regional racing and are widely regarded as one of the plan’s clear success stories.

The metropolitan picture, however, is far less advanced. The 2019 Plan proposed building up to 550 new stables within the Sydney basin - a critical expansion for a city where training capacity has long been stretched.

It also outlined the development of a large-scale “centre of training excellence” capable of housing up to 400 horses in work.

The Sydney Morning Herald dramatically declared the concept “Australia’s Newmarket”, describing Racing NSW’s early investigations into potential sites in the Southern Highlands. By the release of the 2024 draft plan, the proposal had been re-framed and expanded to a capacity of 1000 horses.

No tangible or reported progress has followed at this stage. Racing NSW has acquired several existing training properties around Sydney and leased them back to trainers, but this has done little to expand capacity or modernise metropolitan infrastructure.

The Plan also allocated $4 million to develop a PRA-run pre-training centre. In 2021, Racing NSW purchased Bong Bong Farm - reportedly with a guide price of $35 million. However, the facility was later leased to Ciaron Maher in 2023.

Returns to participants

Few messages have been repeated by Racing NSW as often as its success in lifting returns to owners, breeders, and trainers through prizemoney increases. In the 2019 Plan, this was presented as the primary mechanism to reduce the cost of ownership and improve industry participation.

The biggest jump came in 2023, when Racing NSW announced across-the-board lifts to minimum prizemoney levels - particularly for fourth to 10th placegetters - along with major injections into feature and black-type races. The Plan also introduced a model in which a small percentage of prizemoney outside the placings would be paid directly to trainers, “effectively as a prepayment of the owner’s account.”

In the 2023/24 season alone, more than $27 million in upgrades were made to black-type races, and the new Super Maiden category added $6.5 million in prizemoney for first-time winners; a popular inclusion. The Everest, now a Group 1, rose by another $5 million to a total purse of $20 million.

Headline numbers are impressive: total prizemoney has grown from $278.5 million in 2018/19 to $407 million in 2023/24. But a closer look shows the gains are concentrated at the top end.

Races worth $1 million or more now make up 26.6% of total prizemoney - almost double their 2018/19 share - yet account for just 48 races on the calendar.

At a national level, Racing Australia’s 2024 Fact Book shows only 5.9% of racehorses earn over $100,000 a season. Applied to the NSW population, roughly 515 horses cleared six figures in 2023/24.

With average annual training costs of $52,823 (as cited in Racing NSW’s 2024 Strategic Plan) - and $70,023 for metropolitan stables - the remaining 94% of owners are unlikely to break even.

While Racing NSW uses the phrase “returns to owners”, the stated measurability of success is total prizemoney - effectively gross returns, not net returns after costs. True viability depends on what remains once expenses such as training, transport, veterinary care, and insurance are deducted, and spread across the entire population. Without factoring those costs in, prizemoney growth gives only a partial indicator of owner outcomes; one that looks healthy on paper but in reality, does not reflect the complete picture of ownership economics within the state.

And while Racing NSW’s headline prizemoney growth has been unprecedented, the benefits remain concentrated among a small fraction of horses and participants, leaving overall net returns to owners in poor shape.

Expanding the workforce

The 2019 Plan identified workforce shortages as one of the most pressing threats to the sport’s future. It pointed to long hours, physically demanding work, and limited access to training as key barriers to attracting and retaining staff.

The proposed solutions were ambitious and exciting: outreach programs to local communities, new education pathways, and recruitment of riders both locally and internationally to fill ongoing gaps.

Six years later, those challenges remain unresolved - and, by the numbers, the situation has worsened. The 2024 Racing NSW Annual Report shows statewide declines across all key categories: licensed trainers fell from 785 to 732 year-on-year, trackwork riders from 837 to 824, and stablehands from 2479 to 2330. It paints the picture of an industry losing participants every year.

The closure of Richmond TAFE in 2022 compounded the problem, shutting down the only dedicated trackwork riding course in New South Wales. Racing NSW had purchased the Hunter TAFE site in Scone the previous year, but its rebranding as the Scone Thoroughbred College only became clear with the draft release of the 2024 Strategic Plan.

That document notes that “over 120 individual participants” received training at the college in the previous year - mostly apprentice jockeys attending the biannual jockey school. It also states that an expansion is underway to construct a 600-metre training track and supporting facilities to form a Racing, Riding and Skills Academy. It appears to revive a concept first outlined in the 2019 Plan but not mentioned again until now, and there has yet to be any public call for enrolments.

While Racing NSW continues to offer Certificates II to IV in Racing, all are structured as on-the-job training. This is valuable for existing staff but offers limited access for newcomers outside the industry and puts pressure on current staff to train people while working. Team Thoroughbred’s 'Thoroughly Schooled' initiative recently completed its 2025 intake of 10 students, who participated in a five-day program at the Scone site.

If it comes to fruition, the Racing, Riding and Skills Academy could provide the kind of structured, accessible training pathway the industry has long been lacking. In the meantime, recognising the current vacuum in formal education, several independent organisations have stepped in.

Thoroughbred Breeders Australia’s Fast Track program, now in its sixth year, delivers a full-time, year-long paid traineeship and has expanded its cohort to more than 20 students per intake.

The Thoroughbred Industry Careers (TIC) program had also been a vital entry pathway through its Explorer Cadetship and the National Pony Racing Series, but its recent closure removes yet another route into the industry. TIC had initially been promised funding support from Racing NSW, which did not eventuate, forcing the organisation to fundraise annually until its suspension.

Another independent organisation is the Silverdale Academy in the Southern Highlands, which continues to provide industry-specific short courses and mentorship programs. It is transitioning to a registered charity to attract long-term philanthropic and industry support - operating without Racing NSW funding.

Seeking a response

Questions were sent to Racing NSW seeking updates on the proposed Sydney training centre, the BOBS Mares scheme review, the rollout of the Scone Thoroughbred College programs, and strategies to address the continuing decline in foal crops and workforce participation.

We also asked how the organisation measures whether prizemoney increases are actually improving participant viability.

In reply, Racing NSW Chief Executive Peter V’landys did not address any of the questions directly. Instead, he characterised the request for more information as hostile and emphasised Racing NSW’s achievements.

“I appreciate your organisation under the veil as a media organisation is really an activist self-interest group,” V'landys responded to The Thoroughbred Report.

“If you were to balance your hostile attack at the very least all my quote below should be used.”

Here’s the requested list (as written):

“In every measure NSW is leading.

Most prize money paid of any Jurisdiction.

Most returns to owners: $110 million more than any other State.

Highest returns to Jockeys.

Highest return to Trainers.

Top two highest prize money races in Australia.

Only State to have double up BOBs bonuses to stimulate the breeding and sales.

Only state to pay a bonus to the least paid workers in the industry

Most drug testing with World recognised Drug Laboratory.

Stewards and Integrity systems which are recognised as best practice.

Most comprehensive animal welfare programs in the world including Equimillion.

Increase attendance in under 35 demographic with advent of the Everest.

Highest spend on capital infrastructure including public and racing facilities in Australia.

Best financial position all Country and Provincial clubs have been in.

Best financial position Racing NSW has been in.

Future proofed the industry with provisions to enable navigating any crises or downturn.”

The list makes one thing clear: V’landys measures success largely through comparisons to other jurisdictions, rather than by health metrics on how the New South Wales industry itself is progressing.

The metrics highlight revenue, prizemoney, infrastructure spend, headline events and broad, largely comparative statements, and provide little clarity on how participants within the system are faring. Absent are assessments of industry viability or year-on-year participant metrics; indicators that could help to reveal whether the industry is genuinely healthy.

V’landys’ reply did not address any questions directly or provide detail on how the Strategic Plan initiatives have been delivered.

Planning for real progress

Across almost every area of the 2019 Plan, execution has fallen well short of declarations. Many initiatives have been proposed, promised, and promoted, but few have been delivered. Both the racing and breeding sectors are feeling the strain, and the latter, in particular, has struggled to align with its principal racing authority.

The Everest raceday has been an extraordinary success story, drawing record crowds in 2024 and already selling out again for 2025. However, there is no published evidence that its popularity has translated into broader or sustained growth in racing participation - a clear opportunity for Racing NSW to build longer-term engagement beyond the event itself.

The absence of PRA-backed pathways into training and stable work has left a widening labour gap, while rising costs continue to constrain how much trainers and breeders can invest, expand, or even remain viable.

Equimillion, now three years old, has been a genuine bright spot for the rehoming community, driving demand for the off-the-track thoroughbred. But beyond that, few new welfare initiatives have been developed. Like education, much of the progress in reshaping public perception has come from independent initiatives.

One reason for the lack of strategic plan execution appears to lie in the structure of the legislation itself. Under section 14B of the Thoroughbred Racing Act 1996 (NSW), Racing NSW must prepare and publish a strategic plan “at such times as it considers appropriate,” but there is no obligation to implement it. The Act requires consultation and publication - not delivery or review.

In practice, this means every initiative listed in a strategic plan is aspirational rather than enforceable, leaving the industry without any formal mechanism to ensure that commitments are met or measured.

V’landys, in his comment describing The Thoroughbred Report as “an activist self-interest group,” was right about one thing: the publication does have a powerful self-interest group behind it - the thousands of breeders, participants, owners, and fans who read it each day and care deeply about racing’s future.

Our interest lies in accountability, transparency, and the belief that strong leadership should welcome scrutiny rather than dismiss it as hostility.

Every person in the industry now has the same opportunity through the ongoing review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act 1996 (NSW). How that opportunity is taken up will determine whether the sport’s leadership chooses to protect its legacy - or reshape it for a stronger, more sustainable future.

The review offers a simple but defining question: will strategic plans continue to promise progress, or finally be required to prove it?