Industry Indicators - Good, Bad & Ugly

[Messenger]

True Daniel, this was not a classic example - researching the NZ site, I have been known to find more than one progeny that died on the same day.
Giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt, let's say only half the suspicious ones have been euthanized.

[Messenger]

Post Moved from 'Are HRV Broke' thread

We really have gone so far backwards

It is the Ouyen Cup on Sunday
We have 8 races with a total prize pool of $57k

https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fi...24#OUC24032401

Yep 8 races with an average of $7k a race is hardly a Cup program
It is what a normal race meeting was a few years ago and with development and inflation you would have hoped that that would have been closer to $10k/race nowadays

When Messini won the Ouyen Cup in 2017 there were 9 races with a total pool of $91k = $10k a race

https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fi...17#OUC26031701

We need a brave CEO and Board with a radical plan
Some bold decisions need to be made ASAP (after research and consultation of course)

Absolutely everything should be on the table
- sell Melton
- rotate the weekend Metro meeting between Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Shep
- sell or close any unprofitable country tracks AND Melton and get a truly metro track
- don't worry about where we race as crowds are a thing of the past/not important (Not sure I believe this as normally you would have been an attendee before becoming an owner)
- does a model exist where we don't need owners!
- .........................................

I would rather see us go down swinging than slowly but surely sinking like we are now

It seems that too many involved are only concerned about harness racing 'seeing them out'
Get the best minds available - in and out of the industry, including the young ones
and come up with a plan to STOP THE ROT

[gutwagon]

I heard a rumour that HRV wants to close every track in Vic and just race at Melton only ! Wouldn't surprise me !

[Yabbie]

I heard a rumour that HRV wants to close every track in Vic and just race at Melton only ! Wouldn't surprise me !

That is definitely not the case - lots of rumours going around but we will just have to wait to see what actually happens

[Messenger]

Hopefully there will be lots of communication and consultation !!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from Melton (and I am guessing Cranbourne) Victorian harness racing is only alive in Country Victoria - all proposals need to remember this

[Messenger]

PP has a story about the Doggies biggest problem today - the thousands of dogs that they put down. He is correct that one option would be to shut down dog racing

[Messenger]

The Victorian Government has appointed new member Dennis Bice to Harness Racing Victoria's board and reappointed Adam Kilgour.

Bice brings a wealth of industry experience, including eight years as an executive at the Victorian Harness Racing Club and six years as president of the Bendigo Harness Racing Club.

Kilgour will serve as chair for an initial period of six months and his reappointment will ensure vital leadership and continuity for the HRV board, on which he has served as a member since 2017.

https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...qB-7ZTiZjkPzuN

We really are stuffed!

If our interim chairman has been on the board during our continued dreadful demise then he simply cannot be a good choice - sorry but it is that simple!

Doesn't everybody see that we are up to our waist in quicksand

[Yabbie]

The Victorian Government has appointed new member Dennis Bice to Harness Racing Victoria's board and reappointed Adam Kilgour.

Bice brings a wealth of industry experience, including eight years as an executive at the Victorian Harness Racing Club and six years as president of the Bendigo Harness Racing Club.

Kilgour will serve as chair for an initial period of six months and his reappointment will ensure vital leadership and continuity for the HRV board, on which he has served as a member since 2017.

https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...qB-7ZTiZjkPzuN

We really are stuffed!

If our interim chairman has been on the board during our continued dreadful demise then he simply cannot be a good choice - sorry but it is that simple!

Doesn't everybody see that we are up to our waist in quicksand

But it’s only a 6 month stint as chair. We will see. There are more vacancies to be filled yet ……

[gutwagon]

Bit like putting the co pilot of the Titanic in charge ! What has he done in the last 7 years ?

[Messenger]

https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/art...opportunities/

From our new Chairman, Adam Kilgour

First of all, I have worked with one of the best boards I have ever been involved with. The quality of all of the people in my time and their intent has been amazing. I am an activist board member. I believe board members need to roll up their sleeves and apply their specific expertise, not read a set of papers and go to a meeting a month. Under Dale’s leadership, the HRV board has been focused, cohesive and very active.

If this is true then we are dead and buried because we have gone backwards, so if that was with the best board possible (and executives - see later quote) then we were just postponing the inevitable

For the last 10 years, HRV has been living with legacy decisions that weren’t favourable for the sport and its revenues. As a board we feel like we have been fighting with our hands tied behind our backs. This year is the year we get to remake some of those deals, but we are doing it in a vastly different market to 10 years ago.

We were on the slippery slope more than 10yrs ago! We have not raced at Moonee Valley for 14yrs

I have empathy for all the people in this code who ask why we can’t just go back to racing at The Showgrounds or the Valley in front of big crowds? They generated so many fantastic memories, but it’s not going to happen. We’ve got to constantly ask who are we putting the show on for and who’s willing to pay for it?

How was it that MV crowds did not simply hike out to Melton LOL
Who are we putting on the show for - if it is only punters, most of whom don't give a rats about the horses - then why do it? So that horse lovers (and scoundrels - we have plenty of those too) can make a living doing something they love but which the audience/punters don't concern themselves with. Not exactly a meaningful career/life - reason for existence
What is our reason for existence? If we do not aspire to being legitimate entertainment again and a celebration of the standarbred horse

First, you need to attract quality executives. At HRV we have done that in spades despite the restrictions a Government statutory body has on remuneration, which forces us to offer well below market rates. But I think our top quality executives and HRV staff generally cop that because they love racing.

see earlier

The Victorian Government has been very generous to us over the last few years as we worked through Covid-19 and caught up on a lag in infrastructure spend, but that won’t last much longer. The message from the Victorian Treasury is very much live within your means. There are millions of household budgets around Australia that have had to make those adjustments in recent times too. We are not immune.

So we can say we were restricted by previous deals BUT we had the government bailing us out!