Gold Coast bosses fear for the future of racing in the city on the back of increase in prizemoney in NSW

GOLD Coast Turf Club bosses fear for the future of racing in the city as trainers threaten to head across the border in droves to take advantage of increased prizemoney in NSW.

GOLD Coast Turf Club bosses fear for the future of racing in the city as trainers threaten to head across the border in droves to take advantage of increased prizemoney in NSW.

Racing NSW recently announced an influx of $24 million in prizemoney across all sectors of racing in what was another blow to the Queensland racing industry labelled “draconian” by GCTC CEO Steve Lines.

GCTC chairman Brett Cook warned clubs risked becoming a training centre if no action was taken by industry figureheads to increase prizemoney in Queensland.

Five race tracks including Murwillumbah, Lismore, Ballina, Grafton and Casino are located within hours of Gold Coast and all now off significantly more financial reward.

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“There are five NSW racetracks all within three hours of the Gold Coast and as of September

they will be racing for $22,000 compared to $16,000 here,” said Cook.

“That’s almost 30 per cent higher prizemoney so it’s not rocket science to know what is going to happen unless someone in the Queensland racing industry shows some innovation.

“We’ll end up being a training centre here at the Gold Coast, which is not sustainable.”

Lines said prizemoney allocations for the Gold Coast needed urgent attention if the club was to have any chance of competing with the giant steps the industry was taking across the NSW border.

Gold Coast Turf Club board members, Trent Watson, Brett Cook and Arch McDonald. Picture: Jerad Williams

“The sport is draconian by nature and we need some innovation and leadership at the top here

in Queensland to refresh the industry,” Lines said.

“Here at the Gold Coast Turf Club, we’re doing everything we can to try and grow our product and the industry. We’ve developed a master plan for the future, with major redevelopments in the pipeline and night racing on the agenda.

“We’ve already had a range of leading trainers like Chris Waller, Michael Costa and John Zielke relocate to the Gold Coast or set-up satellite stables here over the year.

“We’re building momentum but every time we do, we keep hitting road blocks like this and we can’t keep doing it alone. Our provincial tracks in south east Queensland need a boost.”

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Lines believes a prizemoney increase for just two races on an eight-race card at the Gold Coast could help stem the flow of horses across the border and implored the government to reinvest funds from the soon-to-be introduced a 15 per cent Point of Consumption Tax.

“The racing industry in Queensland urgently needs funds to be reinvested from the Point of

Consumption Tax like it has been in NSW,” he said.

“They don’t need to upgrade every race on the program, they could just upgrade two races to be worth somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000 and that would give us a fighting chance.

“You could then rotate which classes receive the upgraded prizemoney each week according to

the horse population and demand.”

STAKEHOLDER REACTIONS:

Gold Coast leading trainer Toby Edmonds:

“The majority of my owners are southern based so these prizemoney increases in NSW may

impact the flow of horses into my stable,” said Edmonds.

Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds with jockey Jeff Lloyd. Picture: Vince Caligiuri, Getty Images.

“But for the horses that are here, the prizemoney over the border is very attractive so, as much as we want to support Queensland racing, we have to consider sending horses to race in NSW if it’s in the best interest of our owners.”

Paul Shailer, foreman for Chris Waller’s Gold Coast satellite stable:

“I think it just shows the progress and forward thinking of the NSW Government with how

proactive they are and how much they put into racing but it’s the complete opposite here in

Queensland.

“The Queensland Government really needs to look at the industry here considering all the

participants, all the people we employ and the economic impact the racing industry has.

Michael McNab and Paul Shailer after irish Optimism's win at Doomben. Picture: Trackside Photography.

“What we get back is very little and it certainly wouldn’t hurt them to go and see how Racing

NSW or Racing Victoria do it and replicate what they are doing — it doesn’t have to be on the

same scale but something that shows a bit of progress.

“The incentives in NSW will definitely affect our numbers on the Gold Coast unless we see

some action and increases in prizemoney. We’ve got 250 horses in work and a massive client

base, so we’ve got to justify to these clients reasons to bring these horses to Queensland and

without the prizemoney to back it up, it’s going to be difficult to get them here.”

Long-time Gold Coast trainer Bryan Guy:

“It’ll definitely hurt us with the flow of southern horses into our stable. Why would they come up if they can race for better prizemoney in NSW?

“We badly need increases in prizemoney here on the Gold Coast to be able to compete. We’ve

got to try something.”

Owner John Moore (left) and Bryan Guy celebrate after winning the Queensland Derby with Eagle Way.

Sterling Cincotta, managing director of Gold Coast-based racehorse syndicator 2K Thoroughbreds:

“The beauty of our model is that we can pick and choose where we send our horses and given

the recent prizemoney increases in NSW, we are already looking at sending more horses to

Sydney to be trained by Richard Freedman.

“When you consider they are offering $125,000 for a Saturday metropolitan race in Sydney and paying $3500 for running 10th, it’s a very attractive option for our owners.

Sterling Cincotta (left), managing director of Gold Coast-based racehorse syndicator 2K Thoroughbreds. Picture: Supplied.

“In saying that, we want to support Queensland racing for the long term. Our related businesses have invested significantly in racing stables locally and have also partnered with the GCTC with their corporate hospitality program for a three-year period.

“We need Racing Queensland to support their stakeholders to ensure the long-term viability of

the product which will promote reinvestment at all levels from punters to owners.”