Moonee Valley
On October 28, The Age published a report advising of talks between Harness Racing Victoria, Moonee Valley Racing Club, and the State Government regarding the potential return of the trots to the Valley.
Any talks are in their earliest stages, and HRV, like the Moonee Valley club and Government, is carefully examining opportunities before commenting broadly.
However, I appreciate the great interest and excitement of this prospect, especially given harness racing’s rich history at the Valley.
HRV is evaluating its options and conducting the appropriate due diligence. If proceedings advance, we look forward to involving the broader industry in the new year.
Harness racing in Victoria representatives
Over the past 18 months we’ve shared that harness racing in Victoria, like all racing codes, is facing financial challenges, and it has been great to see the industry’s passionate response, including in stakeholder-run forums across the state.
With new HRV Chair Bernard Saundry, I look forward to working with participants and representative bodies to ensure the industry benefits from new ideas and initiatives.
With that in mind, I urge those who would like to be a part of change to consider nominating for a seat on the Harness Racing Advisory Council, which is an important industry voice to HRV’s Board. More details, including a link to the nomination form, are below.
Wagering performance
The wagering market remains challenging, but harness racing in Victoria can be proud of its ability to hold its ground.
While our total turnover is down, partly due to running fewer unprofitable races, our average race turnover has outperformed other codes and harness racing jurisdictions.
The racing department has focused on running more races with fuller fields in the best time slots and, more consistently, at the most popular tracks, which has been well-received by punters. There are green shoots, but as the below racing and wagering snapshot shows, there are also numerous headwinds.
Strategic outlook
With its stakeholders and partners, HRV will consider future initiatives to benefit the sport on its pathway to sustainability. These include:
- Working with the Government and Victoria’s racing codes to ensure a fair distribution of returns from wagering licenses and point of consumption tax to ensure the sport’s viability
- A review of the race fields fee model to analyse the impacts of a more significant turnover or revenue approach
- Targeting more operational savings associated with putting on the racing product, including in broadcast
- Development of the Melton masterplan to ensure the precinct best serves the industry, including considering potential Moonee Valley opportunities
- With the State Government, give consideration to and conduct preliminary planning for a harness racing tracing facility west of Melton
