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Well written Open Letter to the New Zealand Racing Establishment

By Antony Knowler

This industry is being strangled by boards, bureaucrats, and blazers who cost a fortune and deliver nothing. Owners, trainers, breeders, and punters are footing the bill so administrators can keep their cushy seats warm. Enough.

Here are the facts:

• $13 million wasted on “Racing Integrity.”

• $14 million blown on NZ Thoroughbred Racing.

• That’s $27 million a year — $11,000 a race.

• 4,300 starters last year at $6,279 per horse.

That money isn’t going into prize money, better tracks, or promotion of the sport. It’s vanishing into meetings, reports, and salaries.

The TAB board? Just another layer of highly paid suits clipping the ticket. No transparency. No accountability. Another trough for insiders while grassroots participants struggle to stay afloat.

A nine-raceday card burns about $100,000 in governance costs before the first horse even walks into the birdcage. A hundred grand gone to administration before the product even exists. It’s waste, pure and simple.

And let’s name it: NZTR’s board — Cameron George, Sir Peter Vela, and the rest of you — this is on your watch.

Costs balloon. Stakes stagnate. Participants drown. Where’s the leadership? Where’s the courage to clean house? Or is it easier to nod through another round of “business as usual” while pocketing the fees?
“Integrity” is the most abused word in this industry. Real integrity would mean cutting the fat, ending duplication, and getting money back to the people who actually put horses on the track. Instead, the current model exists to protect jobs, not the sport.

Here’s what must happen now:

• Cut the boards: NZTR reduced to five members max, term limits enforced, seats openly contested.

• One lean integrity unit: No overlapping empires. Independent, efficient, accountable.

• Full salary disclosure: Every director, every executive, every consultant — published. No more hiding.

• Hard cap on admin costs: NZTR + RIU + TAB together capped at 5% of turnover. No excuses.

• Redirect savings to stakes: Every dollar stripped from bureaucracy must go straight into prize money and grassroots infrastructure.

• Performance contracts only: Miss targets, you’re out. No golden handshakes. No endless extensions.

• Independent reviews every 3 years: By international experts, not insiders marking their own homework.

This isn’t complicated. Slash the boards. Cut the wastage. Put the money where it matters. If you don’t, you’ll go down as the people who killed New Zealand racing — not through lack of passion, but through suffocating it under layers of board papers and inflated salaries.
The industry is bleeding out while you polish your chairs in Wellington. Enough. The people who actually run horses, ride them, and pay the bills are done waiting. Change — or get out of the way.

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Tokyo Tycoon returns post-race positive
Unbeaten Mark Walker-trained juvenile Tokyo Tycoon has returned a post-race positive result to
meloxicam following his victory in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Pukekohe on March 11.
The son of Satono Aladdin defeated Ulanova, Tulsi and To Catch A Thief to cap a perfect five from
five campaign.
After being notified by the Racing Integrity Board of the positive, Te Akau Racing have released the
following statement:
“We are extremely disappointed to be advised by the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) that Tokyo Tycoon
has returned a positive post-race result for a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medication following
the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes.
“This news has come as an enormous shock as we have trained 155 winners this year in New
Zealand alone, 30 at Group level, and every other horse has delivered a 100% clear post-race result.
“Te Akau always conducts itself with the utmost integrity and professionalism. Our whole team is
deeply committed to these principles. We take pride in our robust systems, which have been noted
by the RIB. Abiding by all rules of racing is non-negotiable for us.
“The post-race result indicates the presence of meloxicam which is commonly used within the
industry and is administered as an anti-inflammatory medication post-gallop. This treatment was not
prescribed to Tokyo Tycoon making this result a mystery.
“We are working very closely and co-operatively with the RIB to ascertain exactly what has
happened, and to establish how this has occurred.
“There are, in our view, only two possibilities for this to have occurred: ether a human error, or
deliberate administration by an unknown party.
“We have CCTV throughout our stable, and this footage is currently being analysed to identify what
has occurred. We have shared this data with the RIB.
“We feel very disappointed for Tokyo Tycoon& #39;s owners who are wonderful friends and supporters of
our stable - and for the horse himself as Tokyo Tycoon proved to be the stand-out 2YO throughout
this season.
“As this is an on-going investigation, there will be no further comment.”
Should Tokyo Tycoon be disqualified, the Stephen Marsh-trained Ulanova would be the Gr.1 Sistema
Stakes (1200m) winner.