ADDRESS BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF
THE BARBADOS TURF CLUB MR. STEPHEN WALCOTT
AT THE ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER 23RD FEBRUARY 2008
Your Excellency the Honourable Elliott Belgrave, Acting Governor General and Mrs. Belgrave; Honourable Doctor David Estwick, Minister of Health, and Mrs. Estwick; Mr. Rawle Batson, President of the Barbados Thoroughbred Breeders Association, fellow Directors of the Barbados Turf Club; Distinguished guests; Ladies and Gentleman.
I must first express regret on behalf of the Board of the Barbados Turf Club that our President Mr. Philip Moseley is unable to be with us this evening. As is known to us in the racing fraternity Philip has been unwell for the past few months. I am constantly in touch with him, and I am pleased to report that there is every reason to expect that he will soon be well again and I take this opportunity to extend our very best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. He has asked me to express how much he will miss being here as he would dearly have loved to extend a warm welcome to Your Excellency and Mrs. Belgrave and Minister Estwick and Mrs. Estwick.
May I say that we are honoured by your presence and are particularly pleased that you could join us, and we hope that you will find it to be an enjoyable evening.
We are sure that you are aware that Sport runs through the very heart of Barbadian Society, and the passion and enthusiasm which we have for sport has contributed towards the shaping of our culture and defines a sense of what makes us uniquely Barbadian.
The sport of horseracing in particular, has a very unique capacity to attract people from all backgrounds, and the sheer range of people who participate in all facets of the sport fully reflects the very essence of our contemporary Barbadian experience.
I wish to mention briefly at this stage certain industry statistics.
Based on a previous PWC study, now updated, total employment both direct and indirect from horseracing and related equine pursuits surpasses 2000. Top Trainers and Jockeys earn in excess of $75,000.00 p.a. and top Grooms over $50,000.00 p.a.
Perhaps, I should start with the proposals for the new track, since at this function last year we were abuzz with this breaking news.
As many of you know, we had been encouraged by the previous administration to move from the Garrison and to have a new home for horseracing, and over the last year we have had ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Finance in pursuance of that objective. Government made known to us its intention and policy to pursue a comprehensive infrastructural development of the south-eastern part of Barbados, and it saw the Barbados Turf Club having a modern horseracing and enquine complex as part of that macro-development.
Although it is no secret that the Barbados Turf Club does not have the resources to undertake such a move, Government gave the assurance that it would act as facilitator and to that end initiated the process to find and provide an appropriate location for us. River and Vineyard Plantations were identified as potential sites, but for a number of reasons they proved to be impractical. Once Government then determined that it did not have a suitable area for the project, it encouraged us to look to privately-owned lands. We have made progress in that regard, and have identified a suitable site.
We will therefore be seeking to meet with the relevant Ministries of Finance and Sports at the earliest convenient opportunity to get an understanding of their policies and to further our discussions. We look forward to working in partnership with the new Government in the planning and implementation of the development of a new multi-purpose equine complex for horseracing, which will also feature all necessary and related ancillary facilities such as an equestrian course, a polo field, a veterinary hospital, related housing development and commercial and shopping centre.
And so, not only will political change bring about exciting times for a new Government, but we too confidently look forward to new and exciting times for the Barbados Turf Club.
The recognition of, and embracing by Government of our equine pursuits will not only further enhance Barbados’ image in the area of Sports Tourism, but will impact in a meaningful way sociologically by providing further employment and housing.
Challenges
We certainly face our fair share of challenges in horseracing, some of which are simply challenges of change. Time will not permit me to be exhaustive on them all, and the following are but a few:
There is the challenge of changing the image of horseracing in the Barbadian context. Too many Barbadians are still not aware that the structure of “racehorse ownership” has changed over the years, and that it is no longer the preserve of the old elite. We need to strive harder to change this negative perception. Of course, high net worth individuals will always be associated with the sport of horseracing; horseracing welcomes and needs them, but over the years racing syndicates, and partnerships of friends, colleagues and like-minded people who are attracted to horseracing, have brought about a democratization of racehorse ownership. This can clearly be ascertained from a casual examination of our ownership register, and we need this to become more widely known.
There is also the challenge of recreating the appeal of horseracing. How can we change the minds of people who are currently closed to the idea of “going racing”, and of course, the minds of those potential sponsors who prefer to place their advertising dollar elsewhere? As in any other business, we need to find out what the customer (in our case, the fans) want; package it in an appealing way, and zealously promote it. Of course, it would help if we had more “stars” and more “heroes”.
Then, there is the challenge of competition in gaming products. Gone are the days when we had the exclusive rights to the punter’s attention. Numerous betting products now proliferate, and to use the hackneyed but true cliché - “the pie is only so big”. It has become a real challenge to increase our betting handle.
We have however implemented new marketing strategies and initiatives directed at making horseracing more appealing and already we are noticing increased attendance and turnover at the track.
By far the most significant challenge is that of improving our finances. It has been said that the Barbados Turf Club is the most successfully run bankrupt organisation in the Caribbean. We are technically bankrupt because of the litmus test of solvency, if applied. If we were required right now to meet all of our payables we would be unable to do so, and this is so because of the Government debt as recorded in our financial statements. We have of course addressed this matter with Government and have been given certain assurances, however it will clearly be necessary for us to put this matter high on the agenda when we meet with the new administration.
Our share of revenue from the Sports Lottery falls far short of what the Club requires to operate racing annually, and that together with our traditional revenues derived from raceday betting and otherwise are still insufficient to sustain horseracing. Our revenues are supplemented by sponsorships, and it is a great challenge not only to attract new sponsors but indeed to ensure that our existing sponsors feel that they are getting value for their money. As such we have to work continuously and earnestly with our sponsors to keep them happy so that racing can be sustained at its present level.
But current revenue streams are not enough if racing is to develop. With ever increasing operating expenditure, and the need to inspire confidence in all stakeholders that there will be better times ahead, that prize moneys will increase, and that racing can and will grow; it is now mandatory that we develop new sources of revenue.
We had for some time talked about simulcasting. It was introduced as a betting product a few years ago, albeit on a limited scale as an experiment on racedays. Results have clearly shown that the manner in which it was introduced did little to improve our take.
Creating a separate pari-mutual pool at the Garrison on racedays for simulcast betting is not the answer. However, simulcast betting into a merged pool where local punters can get the benefit of receiving the same payments as made at the counterpart North American tracks, in my view, will have distinct possibilities. Achieving this however is not without a challenge since there is presently a 60% withholding tax on all remittances derived from the Barbados handle into this merged pool, and clearly our US counterparts will not allow us to enter into a merged pool arrangement with them in those circumstances.
Representation was therefore made to Government concerning this withholding tax and our submission that there would be no loss of revenue to Government by the removal of this tax on merged pool betting, gained favourable consideration, given that Government does not get any revenue from it now anyhow. Regrettably however the tax has not been removed as yet.
We expect additional revenue to be derived from the much talked about gaming room. Your Directors have decided that as the Club does not have the resources or the know how to manage such an operation, we will shortly be inviting tenders from all well known and established arcade operators in the island to establish the gaming room at the Garrison, on a concessionary basis.
Let us now take a look at some of the things we have accomplished over the past year:
- a new irrigation system has been installed and the drainage of the race track has been improved. We have acquired a tractor, an aerator, a top dresser and a l lawn mower, which equipment is needed in the maintenance of the track. Except for the remaining challenge of creating and maintaining a more even racing surface, it is generally felt that track conditions have considerably improved.
- the betting booths at the Drill Hall, at the 7.8 start and in the Field Stand have all been upgraded for the benefit of the betting public, and in addition all public wash room facilities have been improved.
- the new marketing initiatives are paying dividends.
I should like to conclude on the positive side, and comment on some of the things that we look forward to in the short and longer term.
1. We look forward to a new pari mutual wagering system which will have the capacity to cater not only to existing and new exotic wagering products, but also to simulcasting and merged pool betting.
This new wagering system will feature a mix of both teller operated as well as self service touch-screen terminals, and the touch screen machines will have the capacity of being placed at appropriate locations off – track. For those that we cannot influence to come to the track, we have to take racing to them.
The collapse of our betting system on Boxing Day has necessitated that urgent consideration and priority be given to such a system, and we are currently in discussion with the three major North American service providers of these systems.
2. We look forward to the installation of the new, (already purchased), timing system. Because of the necessary excavation (albeit minor) required to certain areas of the track in order to install this system, work cannot be undertaken on this project before the break between racing seasons; and so we look forward to the new timing system being in place for the second racing season.
3. We look forward to new and improved revenue generating projects to ensure the sustainability and development of racing.
4. We look forward to the conceptualization, planning and implementation of the project which will provide a new home for horseracing and to partnering with Government on this.
5. We look forward to having more like Sir Michael Stoute, and Patrick Husbands and other top jockeys, all true sons of the soil, who represent us with distinction in other racing jurisdictions, and of whom we are all justly proud.
And lastly, we look forward in the short term to the Sandy Lane Gold Cup, and to the tremendous thrill and excitement which it brings to us all. This year we expect to have 5 entrants from overseas, 3 from Martinique, 1 from Trinidad (which from all reports is a high quality horse) and the recently imported ITZMO; and we anticipate keen competition with our local horses.
Thank you all for your kind attention, and I hope the remainder of your evening will be most enjoyable.