The administrative body for thoroughbred racing in New Zealand, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), has told racingnews.co.nz they are preparing for a return to racing once the alert level-4 restrictions of Covid-19 are repealed.
“The New Zealand racing industry, like many businesses, faces critical challenges as a consequence of COVID-19,” New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry said.
“The NZTR Board has met regularly over the past two weeks discussing the lockdown, the economic and social impacts, what cuts we can make, and how do we return to racing. There has been significant work undertaken by an industry working group around what format a return to racing might take.”
Saundry commented, “Following an NZTR Board meeting on Tuesday night and based on the assumption of a four-week lockdown, we are targeting a return to racing on 1 July at a reduced network of venues. We will need to be flexible as each region comes out of lockdown and with the possibility that alert levels might fluctuate.”
Thoroughbreds are the major code in a NZ$1.6 billion industry that sustains 14,398 full-time equivalent jobs across the nation and in excess of 58,100 individuals who participate in the New Zealand racing industry as employees, participants or volunteers.
A four-month calendar has been developed, and NZTR has reduced payroll and contractor costs by 20%, including a reduction of the CEO’s salary of 25% and the Board members of 100%. Ideally, training will resume in May, with trials in late June, and races from 1 July with meetings restricted to different regions.
The scheduling of black type races is under review, and nomination and acceptance fees will be removed during the initial period.
There will be no reduction to the minimum stakes purse, however the possibility of a flatter stakes model is under discussion to ensure wider distribution of funds to owners.
