Time to press go on stalled track facelifts as Racing Queensland board finally comes together

IT’S welcome news that the final composition of the new Racing Queensland board is imminent. It has only taken 12 months and the industry has been on pause for most of that time.

Under The Louvre wins Queensland’s premier race, the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap, at Eagle Farm nine days ago. Picture: Jono Searle

IT’S welcome news that the final composition of the new Racing Queensland board is imminent.

It has only taken 12 months and the industry has been on pause for most of that time. The fact Ipswich is still waiting for approval on what looks a slam-dunk, risk-free redevelopment typifies the holding pattern the industry has been in.

Similarly, Gold Coast chairman Brett Cook recently won a landmark change to the constitution of the club so he can stay on at the helm.

Cook has vowed to stay until Racing Queensland comes good with the funding promises made to the club, which were earmarked to be part of the original $100 million Racing Infrastructure fund during Bob Bentley’s time as chairman of Racing Queensland.

The club was given assurances of an allocation to upgrade its course proper, improve the training tracks and build a tunnel, which would open up a precinct for the club to host more events at and would earn it additional income.

The Gold Coast agreed to take a back seat while Toowoomba was re-grassed and then again with Eagle Farm’s redevelopment.

With pressure being placed on clubs to justify the annual subsidies they receive from RQ, these projects should be seen as high priorities in a bid to hasten the self-sustainability process. Instead, Racing Minister Grace Grace has used the infrastructure money as a political football in discrediting the old board.

Minister Grace has described racing’s $97.4 million cut of the 30-year Tatts Licence agreement (the Government pocketed the remainder of the $150 million) as “not a lot of money” despite the fact it was a new revenue stream for the industry.

It is completely different from the $100 million infrastructure fund negotiated by Bentley, which came from five years of redirected wagering taxes.

Money from both funds now sits with government, including more than $50 million of unspent money from the Bentley deal.

If Minister Grace wanted to revisit the redirection of wagering taxes, which would amount to $10 million a year, the industry would welcome that prospect with open arms.

Originally published as Time to press go on stalled track facelifts as Racing Queensland board finally comes together