Short-termism has led NZTR to make poor decisions.
Rather than favouring premier racetracks to maintain or bring them up to international standards, funds have been spread across tracks without regard to their future prospects.
As a result, we now have 51 racetracks in New Zealand - far more than is justified by the number of thoroughbreds. Many of these tracks are slowly dying on the vine.
The excessive number of venues also means too many race meetings for the size of the pool of horses. Last year there were 357 meetings with more than 3000 races.
But the real lack of vision, in my view, is the singular emphasis NZTR appears to place on racing at the exclusion of the industry's other key area of business: breeding.
Racing and breeding are heavily interdependent. Races provide owners with income in the early stage of their horses' lives as well as opportunities to establish whether horses are winners. Winning horses retire (often early) into careers as stud stallions and brood mares.
When it comes to breeding thoroughbred horses, New Zealand has a glowing reputation and one of the most suited climates in the world. Yet New Zealand is viewed as a racing backwater. Our prize money looks poor by international standards and low stakes force local breeders to sell their best horses to earn revenue to stay afloat.
The other important lever is the timing and locations - the "pattern" - of high-level "black type" races in New Zealand. Unfortunately, NZTR seems unable to get that right either.
Late last year NZTR conducted a formal review of the pattern. In such a review, one would expect the NZTR to start with a clean slate. Disappointingly, the review committee concluded "the current pattern is generally working reasonably well".
Moreover, it seems the committee considered the effects of changes in the pattern on racing clubs alone, rather than on the broader industry. For example, the committee rejected a proposal for a national carnival to be run around the annual Karaka yearling sales in January to give overseas owners more reason to come to New Zealand.
The committee noted only "the consequences" of shifting one or more Group One races from the Auckland Racing Club's Cup carnival in March. No mention of the benefits.
I am not entirely sure why the racing industry lacks vision, as there are certainly visionary people active within it. Clearly changes need to be made.
I would like to make two recommendations. First, we need to shake-up the governance of the industry by bringing in individuals with industry knowledge, business acumen and leadership skills.
Second, we need to revisit the strategic plan using a structured approach that starts with a few key questions: What businesses are we in? Where do we truly want to be in five years' time? Who are our customers and competitors? What are our competitive advantages?
Only then are we going to attract new investment in New Zealand's high-potential thoroughbred racing industry.
