PHOTO: Men in the middle: Counties and Auckland Racing Club Chairmen Mark Chitty and Doug Alderslade
The platform has been established and now the hard work begins as the combined forces of the Auckland Racing Club and Counties Racing Club establish their new identity as Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Incorporated.
Last week’s resounding mandate from the membership of both clubs was the crucial forerunner to what is shaping as an exciting future for racing in the northern region. Extensive preparatory work over more than 18 months pulling together the concept aimed at significant increases in stakes, the instillation of a StrathAyr track at Ellerslie and the concentration of feature racing at northern headquarters was a compelling package for members to absorb and then agree to.
“All the stars aligned beginning with the Messara Report, legislation leading to a new Racing Act, the situation with the TAB laid bare and the realisation that current revenues were simply not sustainable for worthwhile returns to stakeholders,” said ARC Chairman Doug Alderslade. “Going back nearly two years we decided there had to be a better model and since then it’s been a matter of finding it.
“There’s been a huge amount of work going on in the background over a long period of time and once we had nutted through what the framework would look like, we presented it to our members. Transparency was important, being able to answer every question, so when it came to the vote last week, for both clubs to get in excess of 90 per cent support from our members was a fantastic outcome.”
Perhaps the greatest challenge belonged with the Counties Racing Club, requiring members to agree to signing over all its land, building and infrastructure assets to the tentative entity and putting their faith in the process.
“A big part of that was doing the necessary due diligence, which included two independent reports, identifying how our assets could be realised – commercial, residential or investment opportunities,” added Alderslade’s CRC counterpart Mark Chitty. “As well as our members, we needed the support of the wider industry, so having such categorical backing was absolutely essential.
“We’ve been reminded of cases in the past where clubs have sold land and several years later had nothing to show for it. We haven’t lost sight of that, it’s definitely something that we’re going to avoid.”
The most contentious single issue in the amalgamation plan has been the proposal to realise the value of the iconic Ellerslie hill and with that the end of jumps racing, including the Great Northerns, in Auckland. Such a break from tradition understandably rankles with the jumps fraternity, however the new entity has committed to not turning its back on that group.
“We haven’t abandoned jumps racing, it’s something we need to work through with the jumps people,” said Alderslade. “With their input we want to come up with a solution as to the future of the Great Northerns and other jumps racing that will no longer be staged at Ellerslie.”
With activities under the new ATR Inc. entity due to officially commence on August 1, the remaining part of the process is to appoint a board of directors comprising two representatives of each current club and up to three independent directors.
“Both clubs will select their two representatives and they will then appoint the independents,” explained Alderslade. “Once they’re in place it will be up to them to make a decision on what the independent component will look like.
“Then the real work starts. There have been meetings already this week with the StrathAyr people working through timeframes, materials, contracts, that sort of thing, and there are various other matters to deal with such as processes around land utilisation, race dates allocations through the period that Ellerslie will be out of action, and incremental stake increases.”
While the Avondale Jockey Club has not been directly involved in recent negotiations around the ARC and CRC amalgamation, the west Auckland club is by no means out of the loop.
“Avondale had already given an indication of what they saw as their future and we have had several meetings with them, most recently as last month,” Alderslade added. “We respect the Avondale Jockey Club’s desire to retain their own identity, however the discussions have been positive and once the (ATR) board is in place I’m optimistic that we can work hand in hand for what the Auckland landscape will be.”
Plans for Pukekohe Park centre on expansion of its training facility to accommodate a larger racehorse pool with close proximity to Auckland city as well as the venue’s greater integration towards complementing Ellerslie feature racing.
“We’ve learnt a lot in recent times, including the EI (equine influenza) and Covid eras,” says Chitty. “One of the lessons is that you need different pools of horses and we definitely have a part to play in investing for the new generation of stakeholders.”
On top of their desire to see an increase in returns to owners and other participants towards an essential premise of average stakes in the region of $100,000, Chitty and Alderslade share a wider vision of what will constitute a vibrant and sustainable industry.
“So much has changed compared to what racing used to look like,” says Chitty. “Education and encouraging the next generation is vital, and welfare must be addressed as unlike former times, all eyes are now looking in on how we conduct ourselves.”
Alderslade also concurs that the input culminating in confirmation of the establishment of ATR hasn’t been down to just two individuals. “It’s been a big effort by a large number of people, from the likes of Alistair Sutherland who has played a significant role in wider club discussions, our deputies Geoff Vazey and John Crawford along with our management teams and of course NZTR, who have been very supportive right through.
“After all this isn’t about two clubs and it’s not only about Auckland; it’s about the whole industry.”
