News

Randwick revival starts with Easter

21st May 2009

The Daily Telegraph - Ken Callander - Friday, 22 May 2009

"THE Easter racing carnival should be brought forward, it should be a month earlier and bugger Victoria. "It is a major blow to the industry, not just the AJC, to lose Easter Saturday at Randwick. "Events NSW should be making sure the races do not clash with the football, not pushing back the dates to outside daylight saving hours with the likelihood of bad weather and a head-on clash with football. "In Victoria, they make sure nothing clashes with the races at the spring carnival and on AFL Grand Final day there is not even a race meeting".

These are the thoughts of Ron Finemore, the new AJC chairman and a former truck driver. He stresses these points are totally his and not those of the AJC. Finemore is a refreshing presence in sporting administration. He calls it as he sees it, but stresses the importance of unity on his board and being a team player. The Daily Telegraph's racing expert KEN CALLANDER quizzed the new chairman at his Sydney office this week.

Ken: The AJC members are unhappy, assets have been sold, revenue streams are drying up, the facilities are outdated. Isn't becoming chairman now akin to taking over the Titanic after it hit the iceberg?

Ron Finemore: Possibly, but I think I was the best person to bring unity to the board. I am sure we have a team to go forward.

Do you need it at this time in your life?

No, not at all and I probably underestimated the time it is going to take, but racing is a passion for me, the most important thing beside my family and my business. I think I am in a position where I can contribute.

Can Randwick recover, can it again become the Randwick of yesteryear?

Memories are hard to rekindle. As a result of acquiring a 99-year lease at Randwick, we now have some great opportunities to develop Randwick and assist members in enjoying their passion for racing.

During the past 20 years the Randwick facilities have slipped behind Rosehill.

I am not into criticising past administrations, we have to move forward, but one thing that is noticeable is the AJC has paid $50 million more in prizemoney than the STC over the past 10 to 12 years. They were smart enough to build facilities for their members, create revenue and then catch up with prizemoney.

The Randwick master plan, big new grandstands, flash restaurants, is that "pie in the sky"? Is it dead?

Not at all. We believe it will be upgraded. Since joining the board, John Cornish, new vice-chairman, has taken responsibility for this and he is very enthusiastic about the property assets at Randwick and Warwick Farm, and how we can use them. At Randwick, we have a 99-year lease on land located close to the heart of Sydney, which can be developed on a commercial basis. We need government co-operation, but it is an enormous opportunity.

Does this mean selling up parts of the racetracks, units being built on Randwick?

We need to look at what can be developed and look at joint ventures with commercial partners. We have a 99-year lease on some very valuable land.

There was a lot of criticism before the election about the selling off of AJC assets, particularly properties in Doncaster Ave?There was misinformation about the merit of this.

We have sent out a quarterly update to members this week, jointly signed by myself and John Cornish, pointing out the board has come to a unanimous decision which reaffirms the previous board's decision, which enhances the AJC's overall funding needs.

Was it your initiative to have John Cornish, one of the newly elected "Save Our AJC" group, as vice-chairman?

Yes, it was part of the unity process, part of my requirement to become chairman. As regards property and development, John has great experience in this area.

Why were the members so discontented that they made a major move against the board?

Clearly they were not communicated with well enough.

Immediately the changes at board level were announced, the CEO, Norman Gillespie, left the club. You obviously did not think him to be the right man for the job.

(Ron Finemore had no comment to make about Gillespie.)

You've advertised for a new CEO. Any good applicants yet?

Yes. In just 10 days since we first ran the advertisements we have had 60 applicants. I am optimistic. Several have racing experience, which is one of our requirements.

Has the club paid too much in recent times in executive salaries?

Probably yes, but you need to pay market rates to get the right people.

What are your thoughts on the merger of the AJC and the STC?

I am willing to listen to both sides and to what comes out of the review that is being conducted. I am on record as saying I do not think bigger is necessarily more beautiful.

Is this study, being conducted by Ernst & Young, triggered by the minister and Racing NSW, another case of bureaucrats trying to interfere with racing's culture?

I believe it was partly triggered by unrest at the AJC, which I hope is now behind us. I believe it is extremely important that the board is now allowed to get on with the job of running the AJC. Further unrest leading up to the AGM in October would be a disaster for the AJC.

What about Warwick Farm? Its future is a hot topic with the people of the west.

I have an open mind. It is now a tremendous training facility, but, with racing, we need to get the local community more involved, like Hawkesbury has for its stand-alone Saturday meeting. As with Randwick, there are some inviting commercial opportunities that need to be explored to help in its development.

How is the AJC's relationship with the STC and with Racing NSW?

We are working on it. It is important that all stakeholders have a good relationship.

We are not necessarily going to agree on everything, but it is important that we understand the other party's position and they understand ours.

Does the AJC bear too much of the cost of training?

Both training and barrier trials are major costs for the club. Providing our training facilities costs us $5 million per year, we provide more than 50 per cent of the horses racing at metropolitan meetings and 75 per cent of the horses overall. We need to sit down and make sure these costs are fairly shared.

Was outsourcing the track maintenance at Randwick and Warwick Farm a good idea?

Outsourcing is generally a substitute for not managing a business properly.

With their current prizemoney levels, all midweek meetings lose money, whether they be at Randwick, Rosehill, Warwick Farm or Canterbury. Is there an answer to this besides cutting prizemoney?

At times in business you have to sell product at a loss to protect the overall business. Part of our arrangement with Tabcorp is to provide a certain amount of meetings to bet on. You have to average out the overall result.

As regards profit, is the revenue stream the most important thing in racing at the moment?

Definitely. We need to cut costs to be ultra-efficient, grow our revenue streams and to make sure we get what is fair from the corporate bookmaking sector.

Is 1.5 per cent on turnover fair for the corporate bookmakers?

I think so. I think it is fair. We need to make sure our traditional revenue from the TAB remains. Look at the comparison between England (where bookies have a major influence) and Japan and Hong Kong (all tote). Don't get me wrong, I am a supporter of bookmakers. The reasons I like going to the races, rather than sitting at home, are to see the prices and to enjoy the atmosphere in the betting ring as well as to look at the horses.

Do we make it too easy for people to stay at home with the telecasting of racing into the homes, clubs and pubs?

In one way I think so. Perhaps we are not getting paid enough for our product.

The AJC is a 25 per cent stakeholder in TVN, is it a good product?

Yes it is. One thing that concerns me is the growing advertising of the corporate bookmakers which is detrimental to the earnings of the industry. Sky is a good product too. Competition has forced it to lift its game and I can now watch the horses I race in country areas run at venues that were not formerly telecast.

Promotions and marketing of racing cost a lot of money. Is this money well spent?

It is something strongly questioned by me. Quality effective marketing is good, but we need to look at it closely in the future.

Are there any Ron Finemore-owned or bred horses that we should be following in coming months?

Two that I have high hopes for are Hussenor, trained by Matthew Smith at Warwick Farm, and Not A Snip A Doubt, trained by John O'Shea at Randwick.

Good luck with them and good luck with the AJC.