Our New Survey – It is Very Important That You Contribute!

We need your help again.

Just to make sure your feedback is as up to date as possible, we are doing another survey.  The questions are very similar to the ones we asked last time.

When we talk to people about the last survey a number of them point out that a few things have changed since then and suggest people are a lot happier with the way the industry is being managed now.  They may be right …or they may be wrong.

Please click on the link to the survey – fill it in and lodge it – and encourage all your friends who are interested in the future of the industry to do the same thing.

This is really important as we know that changes to the law that covers how harness racing is managed will be going to Parliament early next year.  We need this information to help make our case for real and long lasting change.

Together we can make harness racing in NSW great again!!

Wed 17 Nov 2021

The Whole Industry Wants Change – Let’s Hope the Government and HRNSW are Listening!

As a visitor to this website you would be aware that we are agitating for major changes in the way our industry is managed and supported.

We believe that HRNSW under the current law is nowhere near as accountable as it should be.

That’s why we have spent a lot of time pushing for the law to be changed and it looks like that is going to happen. We have become aware that the Office of Racing will soon be making recommendations to the Government on changes to the Harness Racing Act (2009)

In trying to work out what the industry wanted and needed, the Office of Racing asked for a submissions from HRICG. We have just received details of what HRICG included in their submission and we are very excited.

Remember HRICG is made up of the Breeders, Owners, Clubs and Trainers and Drivers professional associations and the NSWHRC and this is what they unanimously said was needed.

Accountability of the NSW Harness Industry 

  1. Strong desire for reinstating a ‘Minister for Racing’
  2. Appointment of an Independent Racing Industry Ombudsman
  3. Empowering ICAC to investigate allegations of corruption within HRNSW and the harness racing industry in NSW
  4. Discontinuation of the role of HRNSW Integrity Auditor (subsequent to the implementation of 2 and 3 above and a similar recommendation from the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW)
  5. Engaging the Audit Office of NSW as the external auditor for HRNSW Financial Reports
  6. Board of HRNSW to convene an Annual Conference for all Industry Stakeholders with presentations on key data
  7. HRNSW to initiate Annual Customer/Stakeholder satisfaction Survey via Independent Consultancy with results to HRICG , presentation at Annual Conference , and inclusion in Annual Report to the Minister

HRNSW Board Selection

  1. A person nominated by HRICG representing the Industry should be part of the selection panel “

How great would it be if the Government listened to what the industry wanted and made these changes?

These recommendations are very similar to what we have been pushing for. Congratulations HRICG – lets all work together to make Harness Racing in NSW Great Again!

Tue 9 Nov 2021

We Are Getting There, But It Takes Time

Since we first kicked off ‘Make Harness Racing in NSW Great Again’ there have been two prize money increases, with the third expected in the next couple of months.

While these increases are most welcome, we think they are only the beginning and we will be pushing for much more.

There also appears to be a more proactive approach to improving industry integrity, but here as well there is a long way to go. We are not going to stop pushing for a fairer, more representative, more prosperous and successful harness racing industry.

There are some in the industry that wish we would just go away. They will be disappointed to hear that, in actual fact, we are just getting started.

We know that genuine reform takes time and it is hard work, but it is essential.

Our industry is on life support and needs that legitimate reform.

Our contribution to the overall racing sector turnover for example is falling and that’s not a good thing.

A number of leading trainers are moving away from NSW is increasing and that’s not a good thing.

The poor relationship between Harness Racing NSW and the bulk of the sector (our last survey indicated less than 15% of respondents thought Harness Racing NSW was doing a good job) needs urgent attention.

Please regularly check this website (we will send you a note when we update it) and talk to your friends and peers about what they might do in order to play their part in making Harness Racing in NSW Great Again.

Mon 8 Nov 2021

The Fight to Make Harness Racing in NSW Great Again

Right from the very start we have been pushing and lobbying for two simple things;

  1. For the Board and Management of Harness Racing NSW to be more directly accountable to the industry it is meant to serve
  2. For the integrity function of the industry to be totally independent in terms of funding and resourcing from Harness Racing NSW

All of the work we have been doing over the past many months have been focused on achieving these two main goals.

We firmly believe that if we can get these two things done, the industry will have a legitimate chance at a prosperous future.

If we can’t get it done, we then believe the slide in sponsorship, ownership, participation, media coverage, betting turnover, prize money when compared to the other codes and confidence will continue.

But we are really going to need your help over the next couple of months. We will be;

  • Reissuing the original survey in order to get a sense as to whether sense your attitudes or issues of concern have changed or not
  • Lobbying political parties as they consider possible amendments to the Harness Racing Act (2009)
  • Talking to lots and lots of people who we think can influence our pursuit of our two main goals

So, keep an eye on this website and if you want to help make a difference, then please give us a hand.

Fri 5 Nov 2021

MAKE NSW HARNESS RACING GREAT AGAIN – Update

Firstly, we hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe and healthy in these extraordinary times.

What have we been up to?

Quite a bit actually!

We have had meetings with a number of senior political and industry figures, including the Deputy Premier of NSW, the Honourable John Barilaro MP and while we received an excellent hearing, we are continuing to push for change through those and other political channels.

Three key members of this group, Colin McDowell, Emilio Rosatti and Peter Neil met with firstly the full Board of Harness Racing NSW for an hour and then the Chairman (Ken Brown) and CEO (John Dumesny) for another 2 1/2 hours for a robust, open and firm discussion. A subsequent meeting has also been held between a member of our group and the Board Chair. We will keep you posted as to developments from those meetings.

What has changed?

Since we first sought your input on the current state of the industry quite a bit has changed, but there is a long way to go. Some of the more positive changes have included;

  • Prize money has increased, but it is no nowhere near a level that to us is satisfactory. We are pushing for $10,000 per Level A race
  • There has been some recent action to improve industry integrity. While these changes are most welcome, they do not go nearly far enough

We have also been advised that the NSW Office of Racing is recommending amendments to the Harness Racing Act (2009) which will apparently be presented shortly to the Government for its consideration.  From what we understand the Office of Racing undertook extremely limited industry consultation in the development of the recommended amendments.  We are doing our best to try and find out what has been recommended – as soon as we do find out, we will let you know.

What we are pushing for

Our goals have not changed, they remain;

  1. Sustainable prize money for all races
  2. An accountable and transparent governing body
  3. Genuine and respectful industry engagement and participation in decision making
  4. An industry where honest, hardworking people can compete on a level playing field

How you can help

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks. We will be giving you some specific things we would like you to do, but until then, if you can keep pushing for the things that we have outlined above, it will help us all work together to make Harness Racing in New South Wales Great Again.

Your Survey Results

Close to 400 people have responded to our “Make Harness Racing in NSW Great Again” survey, and as mentioned in earlier posts, the results really should get everyone who has an interest in the future of our industry sitting up and taking notice.

We presented a summary of the survey results to the Board of Harness Racing NSW and CEO John Dumesny at our recent meeting.” We thought it only fair that we share that summary with you.” We will provide details of all the demographic information associated with the survey in the near future.

Key findings of the survey included

  1. 87% of participants either had no confidence (46.37%) or little confidence (40.67%) that harness racing in NSW has a growing and prosperous future in the years ahead
  2. Less than 15% of respondents either agreed (11.14%) or strongly agreed (2.33%) that “Harness Racing NSW does a good job in controlling, supervising and regulating harness racing in the state”. 62.95% of respondents either strongly disagreed (25.13%) or disagreed (37.82%).
  3. Less than 10% of respondents either agreed (6.40%) or strongly agreed (3.37%) that “Harness Racing NSW has initiated, developed and implemented policies which are promoting harness racing well in the state”. 73.20% of respondents either strongly disagreed (31.09%) or disagreed (42.2%) while 17% offered a neutral response.
  4. Less than 10% of respondents either agreed (6.22%) or strongly agreed (1.56%) that “Harness Racing NSW has initiated, developed and implemented policies, which have strategically developed harness racing in the state”. 72.79% either strongly disagreed (32.12%) or disagreed (40.67%) while nearly 20% (19.43%) offered a neutral response.
  5. Less than 8% of respondents either agreed (5%) or strongly agreed (2.50%) that “Harness Racing NSW has initiated, developed and implemented policies which have ensured the ongoing success of harness racing in the state.” 76.70% of respondents either strongly disagreed (34.46%) or disagreed (42.23%), while 16% of respondents offered a neutral response.
  6. Just over 7% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that “The Board and its administration are well focused upon and totally understand the needs of licenced participants, owners, breeders, fans and punters”. Just over 82% of participants either strongly disagreed (45.08%) or disagreed (37.05%) with the statement, 11% expressed a neutral view.
  7. Just under 20% either agreed (16.84%) or strongly agreed (3.11%) that “The Board and its administration are doing a good job in achieving a high level of integrity in equine welfare across the entire industry”. Just under 54% either strongly disagreed (22.02%) or disagreed (31.87%) with this statement and just over 26% of respondents expressed a neutral view.
  8. Just under 9% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they were “Satisfied that harness racing in New South Wales is currently regulated on a fair and level playing field for all participants”. Just under 77% of respondents either strongly disagreed (42.75%) or disagreed (34.2%) to this statement, while 15% of respondents offered a neutral view.
  9. Just under 23% (22.54%) thought the handicapping system is working reasonably well, while less than 2% thought it was working very well. Around three quarters of the respondents offered the view that the current handicapping system is either not working / needs replacing (42.23%) or is working poorly (33.42%).
  10. Just over 7% of respondents believed that based on their recent experience with the current prize money structure in NSW that their involvement in harness racing is economically viable. Just under 93% did not agree with this statement.
  11. Less than 1.5% of respondents indicated they were “fully committed with strong expectations to expand and grow their involvement in harness racing in the next three years.” Nearly three quarters of the respondents indicated either they were “involved, but definitely cutting their involvement when possible” (30%) or “involved, but likely to reduce their involvement (43%) within the next three years”.

So What Can You Do To Get Involved?

Watch this space. We are not going away.

Click here to see Survey Result

Welcome back to the Make NSW Harness Racing Great Again Website. We just wanted to bring you up to date with the latest developments.

Who We Are
We are a small group of interested and committed harness racing people led by three of the biggest owners in the industry Colin McDowell, Peter Neil and Emilio Rosati, all of whom have long pushed for reform.

Survey Responses
We have received to date just under 400 responses and overwhelmingly they reflect our concerns about the industry. We do not plan to make the findings publicly available at the moment as they would, by themselves, be embarrassing. We have said right from the very start we have no interest in embarrassing anyone or any organization. Our only interest is pushing for genuine reform in the way our industry is administered, regulated and marketed. The survey responses overwhelmingly support the need for this type of reform.

Presenting the Survey Responses to the Board of Harness Racing NSW
Messrs McDowell, Neil and Rosati will be seeking a meeting with the Board of Harness Racing NSW in order to present the survey findings in person and to hopefully begin a discussion on effective ways forward.

Meeting with the Deputy Premier
Members of the team recently had a very productive meeting with the Hon John Barilaro MP Deputy Premier of NSW and we thank the Deputy Premier for that opportunity. A couple of promising things have happened following on from that meeting. We look forward to even more positive developments.

Integrity in the Industry
One of our members is currently involved in a court action seeking to clarify the integrity procedures involved in swabbing. This matter is ongoing. We will keep you posted.

We know that many of our supporters are impatient for reform but genuine reform must be well thought out, well planned and well executed. So please be patient. The task of making NSW harness racing great again will not be simple or easy – but if we get there, it will be worth it.