New Zealand racing will recommence on July 3 with a flat stake level of NZ$15,000 through the first month. The future structure and direction of an industry that was in a parlous state before the COVID-19 outbreak remains uncertain.
Sam Collett is well-established among the top echelon of New Zealand jockeys, having won the National Premiership in 2017/18 with 131 winners and was third on the table with 72 before the lockdown.
Racing has been good to Collett and her family - father Jim was a leading jockey turned trainer and mother Trudy is still riding - but she is giving consideration to alternative career paths, which she has discussed with partner and fellow jockey Shaun McKay.
Sam Collett (left)
“Obviously, it’s pretty scary times and frustrating for everybody and not just with the COVID-19 situation, it’s our industry and the state it’s in,” she said.
“Shaun and I have had a good talk about things as to where we’re at with our careers. I could probably go to Australia and ride, but we’ve got a farm that we’re committed to and a big mortgage.
“For me, I was always keen to get into something else at some stage and my ambition when I gave up riding was to stay in the industry. At this stage it doesn’t look like the industry is going to go forward enough for me to do that.”
"At this stage it doesn’t look like the industry is going to go forward enough for me to do that.” - Sam Collett
Collett has therefore put her time during lockdown to good use studying interior design.
“I’ve been studying on my time off and it’s looking like I’ll try and salvage what I can from whatever racing is here and then probably look at getting into another job,” she said.
“That’s a real shame because I’d like to think I could ride here for another four or five seasons before doing something else. That’s been fast-tracked and now I’ve got to weigh up how I can make enough money to pay the mortgage.
Shaun McKay, fellow jockey and partner | Image by Grant Matthews courtesy of Race Images
“Going to Australia is an option, but it would be hard. Shaun and I would have to go together because I couldn’t leave him to run the farm and we’ve only just bought the place. I’m pretty resilient so I’ll try and do whatever I can to make money to keep the farm.
“People are struggling to stay positive and that’s really sad. I’m a really positive person and it’s sad to see people losing their passion, it’s quite heart-breaking.”
Australia calling
Cambridge-based agent Bevan Smith established his bloodstock agency last year and is now seriously considering a future overseas.
“I’ve got ideas in place and have started to plan for different situations and 100 per cent looking at moving to Australia the way racing is here,” he said. “If racing is going to take another step backwards there’s no point in me being here.
“If racing is going to take another step backwards there’s no point in me being here. " - Bevan Smith
“I can’t justify running a business out of New Zealand. Depending on what happens in the next two or three months, and I’ll need to see more happen, I’ll be making a decision if I uproot and move.”
The Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) has the task of driving the industry toward a more sustainable financial future, off the directive of the Messara Report, but there has been widespread concern of not informing participants of its game plan.
Bevan Smith (left)
“I know Winston Peters came out and defended RITA and I understand they inherited an already failed industry, but the biggest frustration is the lack of communication,” Smith said.
“We’ve been told what the stake money is for the first month after return, but nothing beyond that. The biggest problem for me is the lack of communication, everyone is in the dark and people’s livelihoods depend on this.
“You just can’t plan a month at a time and I know the world is in a precarious situation with COVID-19, but racing has been in this precarious situation for a number of years, if not decades. "
Desperate for change
A lack of communication was also a point highlighted by Cambridge Stud’s Head of Sales and Nominations Scott Calder.
“The younger generation are trying to make decisions about their career paths and where they want to be and it’s hard to do that and be optimistic under the current state of affairs,” he said.
“There’s just so much uncertainty about where the industry is going and the communication hasn’t been good enough. People are desperate for change.
"The communication hasn’t been good enough. People are desperate for change." - Scott Calder
“We have a blueprint thanks to the Messara Report and I really hope that we can finally make the structural changes the industry needs to come out the other side of COVID-19 in a better place.
“I would imagine a lot of people are weighing up what their futures are. There is still reason to be optimistic as the New Zealand industry has always punched above its weight, but loyalty only lasts so long.”
Calder is also on the committee of For The Future of New Zealand Racing, a not for profit group established to promote and support the involvement, consultation and development of younger persons (under 35) to enhance the racing industry in New Zealand.
Scott Calder (right) | Image courtesy of The Future of New Zealand Racing
Trainers’ fears
New Zealand trainers retaining their best horses has long been a major concern and the continued downward spiral of prizemoney and, in the current conditions, travel issues to Australia has magnified the problem.
It has raised the possibility of establishing satellite stables in Australia for the spring, or a collective approach for a Melbourne base to prepare and campaign horses.
Premiership-winning trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have enjoyed outstanding success to the highest level in Australia and they are pondering how they might best retain the firepower to remain competitive.
Andrew Forsman and Murray Baker (left to right)
“We’re looking at our options now and obviously to be fair to our owners we have to give those better horses the opportunities to compete for the stake money they should be competing for,” Forsman said.
“There’s a lot to play out and we haven’t got anything locked in. We’re trying to provide a service rather than lose our better horses to Australia, which is probably going to happen.
“We’re trying to provide a service rather than lose our better horses to Australia, which is probably going to happen.” – Andrew Forsman
“What we do know is that there’s not a lot of money to spread around here.”
When asked if New Zealand’s predicament affected his future here, Forsman was blunt.
“Absolutely it does. As you know, when training you’re only making money off the better horses. If you’ve got good horses you have to capitalise on their ability and, looking forward to where New Zealand racing is headed, I don’t think we’re necessarily going to provide those good horses with the opportunities.
“We’ve seen it over the last few years with a lot of our younger horse people making the move and those moves are only going to increase in the coming year or two. Stake money is going to become less before it goes up, I would have thought.
“People are just going to have to bite the bullet and make the move and I just think you’ll see more of it.”
“People are just going to have to bite the bullet and make the move." - Andrew Forsman
Uncertainty was a dark cloud hanging over most New Zealand stables.
“To be honest it’s all a bit up in the air and whether they perhaps open up a sort of trans-Tasman bubble by the spring,” said Robert Wellwood, who joined Group 1-winning trainer Roger James in partnership at the beginning of last season.
“There’s a lot of people talking about it and decisions on how many horses people take, and not only us, will probably depend on stake money here and other variables – how easy it is to travel and so on and so forth.
“We’ve got to wait and see and hope. It’s probably on every trainer’s mind how they are going to keep the better horses here.”
Breeding scene brighter
On the breeding front, Waikato Stud Business Manager Mike Rennie said indications were encouraging for the upcoming season, although from a personal point of view racing was in the direst of straits.
“I’ve found breeders in New Zealand are resilient and a few of the hobbyists will be affected. Bookings here are going really well and I see it like the sharemarket – it’s going to bounce back and it’s not necessarily going to be pretty for the next two or three years.
“There will still be opportunities to find different ways of doing things, like the use of technology and how much more that is being applied now.
Waikato Stud stallion Savabeel has only eight spaces left for the season
“It’s something you can’t take for granted, but the indications up to now show we’re on track. With Savabeel there’s only eight odd spaces left and Super Seth, depending on what the ownership group send, about 25 and Ocean Park about 40, or a bit under.
“Things are where we like them to be. Australia is supporting our breeding industry with Savabeel and Super Seth with some sending mares over, or mares already here.
“We’ve got no reason to be too worried about the nomination side of things and we’ve priced Tivaci very fairly and he’s getting bookings.”
Mike Rennie
While expectations maybe going to script from Waikato Stud’s point of view, Rennie said the opposite was the case for the current state of racing and its future.
“With no specific hat on and speaking personally, I don’t feel the infrastructure is there to make any decisions on and to follow through, I think you’re wasting your time and breath.”
