RV earns prize-money plaudits from ATA head honchos
The recent prize-money announcement made by Racing Victoria has been warmly received by a cross-section of participants, with Australian Trainers’ Association (ATA) president Robbie Griffiths praising the “harmonious approach” which enabled the industry to maintain the current levels for the upcoming season thanks chiefly to a strategic reallocation of funds.
Griffiths was joined by his fellow ATA committee member Troy Corstens in complimenting the collaborative process that led to an outcome which both believe should enable the racing industry to withstand the headwinds caused by declining wagering figures and an uncertain economic climate.
Although a $2 million increase to the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) inevitably garnered much of the media’s attention when the announcement was made last week, the reality is that winning Australia’s grandest prize – notwithstanding last year’s fairytale success for the connections of Queensland Knight’s Choice (Extreme Choice) – remains something of a pipedream for the average stable.
Instead, the success or otherwise of their operation is heavily reliant on picking off bread and butter races at the lower end of the sport’s ecosystem, which is why the likes of Griffiths and Corstens were determined to impress on industry powerbrokers the necessity of raising the stakes for maiden races.
Extensive consultation led to a desired outcome for all parties when it was announced that the prize-fund for all professional country maidens would be increased by $5,000 for the upcoming season, at a combined cost of $7 million to the industry.
That announcement formed part of a suite of initiatives which included a $1 million boost for the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) and a significant uptick for the Thoroughbred Club Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Caulfield, which will now be worth $1 million in the hope of attracting a quality field and, in time, elevating its status to become the country’s sole 1200-metre Group 1 contest for fillies.
While Griffiths concedes that the system is still by no means perfect – getting racing stakeholders to agree unanimously on any subject is akin to herding cats – the experienced horseman fervently feels that significant strides are now being taken in the right direction.
“Like any sport and indeed any business operating in the current climate, it’s increasingly difficult to find the funds to complete your wish-list but in general we were all very happy with last week’s announcement,” Griffiths told ANZ News.
“[Racing Victoria] CEO Aaron Morrison was pretty open and honest about how much was in the prize-money pot, so there was never any question of making increases and the discussions focused on the best way of carving up the cake in a way that best served the needs of the majority in the industry. The consultation process between a wide range of stakeholders in the lead-up was very thorough, we have a strong committee at the ATA and we were keen to put our views forward on a range of issues.
“So everyone had their say, and we certainly feel our voices have been heard. While we’re never going to agree on everything, I haven’t heard many if any dissenting voices so far. If things aren’t done the right way you tend to get some pretty strong feedback as soon as the announcement has been made, but it was a harmonious approach from the start.
“So overall I think the vast majority of trainers and owners were pretty pleased with the outcome, and we were particularly pleased with the increases to maidens because they’re very hard to win in any racing jurisdiction – and especially here in Victoria. It’s tough enough to keep your existing owners happy, let alone attract new clients, but this and some of the other initiatives should certainly help in that regard.”
Another area of concern which the trainers were keen to address was the recurring theme of some of their more moderate performers either being balloted out of Benchmark races or having to compete against higher-rated horses – often prepared by some of the country’s bigger stables – whose weight disadvantage was mitigated by a claiming apprentice.
In a bid to prevent that sort of scenario and even up the playing field, Racing Victoria made a recalibration at the lower end of the race ratings system which should theoretically provide horses engaged in that grade with a better chance of winning.
The four new categories – Benchmark 0-66, 0-62, 0-56 and 0-52 – are set to be introduced to the calendar from September 1, 2025 and will be trialled throughout the remainder of the season, with a sliding prize-money scale set to serve as a disincentive for trainers to run horses outside of their grade.
The move followed extensive consultation between the ATA, the Jonathan Munz-led Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association (TROA) and Racing Victoria’s racing operations team and was welcomed by ATA vice-president Corstens, who was still basking in the glow of an impressive win for Zou Sensation (Zoustar) at Caulfield last Saturday.
“In conjunction with RV’s racing department, the ATA did a hell of a lot of work into the ratings system so we’re pretty pleased with the outcome,” Corstens told ANZ News.
“We suggested that they tweak the prize-money for those lower-rated races, so it was fantastic that we could collaborate with them and get a result which we feel is for the betterment of trainers and owners. Unfortunately, the majority of horses struggle to go through their grades once they’ve won their maiden. So if we can hopefully create a better pathway and make it easier for horses to win another race once they’ve broken their maiden, that can only be a good thing.
“It was a big body of work and we had to go through a lot of the data presented to us by the RV racing team, but I think we’ve managed to come up with a workable solution to the problem. Opening up the lines of communication is something that we at the ATA had been asking for, so it does now feel that we’re all generally pulling in the same direction.”
For his part, Morrison – who will next month celebrate one year at the helm of Victorian racing’s governing body – believes that the announcement provided a shot in the arm for an industry which he readily admits is not without its challenges.
Some tough decisions needed to be made at the principal racing authority’s Epsom Road headquarters in order to ensure the industry’s ongoing sustainability and maintain the state’s current prize-money levels, which peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic when wagering on racing reached record highs.
The prize-money reveal came in the aftermath of the move to streamline Racing Victoria’s media arm and improve the overall efficiency of the business.
“We feel that maintaining prize-money levels at their current level gives the Victorian racing industry a big shot of confidence,” said Morrison.
“It’s a great news story and a massive sign of ongoing faith in the health of Victorian racing. In the face of some macro-economic uncertainty, we’re delighted to be able to reward participants at all levels thanks to some really smart reallocations.
“The co-operation with our stakeholders has been the key factor behind the announcement. We started consulting some time ago and the stakeholder groups all understood from the outset that the industry faces some economic challenges, which is why we’ve had to make some decisions to restructure our business.
“We had buy-in from all the clubs, who have contributed by investing in some of their marquee races, and we’ve been able to reallocate some of the prize-money from other races. We’re also running 18 fewer races next season, and rather than taking it out of the system we’ve also been able to use those funds to invest in some of the other prize-money initiatives we’ve announced.
“I feel we’re now in a really good position to be able to maintain these levels moving forward. My mantra has always been to look after the participants as a priority, the people who put their blood, sweat and tears into the industry are the ones we should be rewarding.”
Morrison has part-owned a handful of horses himself with none so far displaying above average ability, although Keep Thinking (So You Think) – a three-year-old trained by Jason Warren – showed a degree of promise with a debut win at Pakenham back in May.
His ownership experience is therefore a fairly typical one which perhaps explains why the push to pump up prize-money at the lower end to cater for horses racing away from the bright lights of the city, as well as incentivising everyday owners to maintain their involvement in the industry, were considered of paramount importance.
“The announcement I’m probably the proudest of is the $5,000 increase to all professional country maidens from next season,” Morrison told ANZ News.
“Increasing prize-money for maiden races is beneficial on many fronts, not least as it encourages investment in young horses making their early career more financially rewarding for owners who then have a greater incentive to reinvest. Once your horse has won its maiden, it often gets even harder to make the step up in grade which is why we made some adjustments to the ratings system at the lower end of the scale.
“While supporting stables at all levels of the sport, the maiden increases and new ratings races are particularly important for smaller stables, helping them stay viable and participate more actively. Overall, we feel there’s lots to be positive about for Victorian racing as we approach what will hopefully be another record Spring Racing Carnival.”