Racing: Massive injection of funds but change is needed

Cameron George faces a busier weekend than usual in September with the Warriors finals run clashing with the Horse of the Year. Photosport

Thoroughbred racing boss Cameron George says the record stake increases breathing new life into the code won’t be the last as long as the racing industry can embrace the changes ahead.

George may be better known to Kiwi sports fans at the moment as the chief executive of the New Zealand Warriors but he is also chairman of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

It would be fair to say both roles have come with far greater success, and therefore popularity, in 2023 than in more turbulent recent years.

NZTR recently announced over $20 million in stake increases for this season, as well as more money for education, innovation, horse and human welfare and infrastructure, so the code feels on the verge of a renaissance.

Much of that has been made possible by the TAB/Entain deal and its huge cash injection but George says it is now the code’s responsibility to make the changes necessary to keep that momentum going, which would increase returns and lead to further stake increases.

“Everybody is thrilled to see more money in the code but it is up to us to meet the targets we need to keep that going,” says George.

“We can’t take this money and just keep doing things the way we have been and we [NZTR] definitely aren’t going to.

“As an industry, we have to be open-minded about what we can achieve and not be scared to innovate.

“There is real momentum now but we don’t want to look back on this era in five years and say we wasted our opportunity.”

Racing “lifers” are often notoriously dubious about change, many having set their lives by the racing calendar or breeding season for decades, knowing exactly where they are likely to be on any given weekend months, or even a years, in advance.

George says the huge changes already under way at the TAB and the obvious financial advantages for the racing industry are bringing with it an appetite to keep the momentum going.

“You can feel it among the people we are talking to in the industry, they are excited about what is going on.

“But it can’t just be us [NZTR] or the clubs who are leading it.

“I honestly believe the industry would be far better off if every person in it saw themselves as an ambassador for racing.

“Higher levels of professionalism from everybody, from clubs right through to trainers, jockeys and all the hard-working staff are what is needed to help us grow and make more people want to be involved in racing.”

After some fraught years trying to shield the code from the worst economic effects of Covid and numerous issues that followed, NZTR are now able to plan for the future.

Part of that will be a venue plan, working out which tracks should remain open and which ones need to prove their worth.

“We have people working on this specifically and we can’t afford to be parochial on this issue and think of only what each person or club wants, we have to enter the process with an open mind.”

But George says with racing and the world having changed so much in the past five years, NZTR does not feel bound by any previous reports or ideas on possible track closures.

“It comes down to a variety of factors – money and sustainability are two, but we will also be weighing up community involvement in the regions, where these tracks are and whether clubs are willing to innovate to keep tracks going.”

While George is juggling two of the bigger roles on the New Zealand sporting landscape, he sees synergies.

“At both places [Warriors and NZTR], any success we are having comes down to the people who work there, their skills and them wanting to make the organisation better.”

There are also unavoidable clashes, some bigger than others.

Like the weekend of September 8-10, which will almost certainly see the Warriors playing in the first round of the NRL finals the same weekend as the first Group 1 race of the season at Hastings and, on the Sunday night, the New Zealand Horse of the Year dinner, racing’s premier occasion.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself but, yes, that could be a very busy weekend,” smiles George.