Month: May 2023

by Brian de Lore
 Published on 29 May 2023

The Entain deal is a fizzer for racing. That’s my view after learning the devilish detail of an agreement that’s more about the TAB’s survival and the Minister’s generosity with racing’s money than it is about arresting racing’s decline.

Racing’s $150 million cake already had the icing removed before the codes turned up to collect it. By that time the cake had a value of $89.5 million and the Entain/TAB partnership had divided it into five slices, each for yearly distribution with the largest slice five years away.

The deal is no game-changer for racing as Minister McAnulty claimed at the Karaka announcement on Tuesday. What it truly represents is a Government appeasement of a conglomerate of 28 sporting organisations who lobbied hard for a chunk of the icing, plus handouts to a Women Sports Initiative and gambling harm minimisation which comes in addition to the levy already applied.

No one denies that all these organisations don’t deserve funding, but they are already funded to exist and this is racing’s money and represents a chance to secure its own future sustainability. Is the Government vote-buying here in an election year at racing’s expense?

TAB intends retaining $40 million in reserve – Why?

Does it make you curious that Entain offers $150 million upfront and then in partnership with TAB NZ takes $40 million back to hold in reserve to add to the $90 million of cash and equity on the books from last season’s annual report? All this money theoretically generated for racing.

TAB NZ has fast become racing’s nemesis. The board is sport heavy, is Government controlled, seems weakly represented by racing, and displays no worthwhile concern for racing’s future.

On Tuesday at the signing, McAnulty told me: “I have a lot of faith in the racing industry and the people that work within it, but the playing field hasn’t been level for a long time, and in a country our size that competes overseas, we need to have the structures right.

“That’s why I’m such a big believer in re-establishing the monopoly for the TAB, one because it re-establishes the original intent of having a single wagering provider that then feeds back to sports and racing – racing predominantly and sports additionally. That has been eroded because of online overseas betting.

“By closing that loophole and saying that if you want to back NZ racing you can bet solely through the TAB and this will secure it for the future – I think that’s massive and that’s why I have been leading that work, and that’s also why I have announced that in-principle decision today alongside the signing of the agreement,” he concluded.

Marketed as a billion-dollar deal, but announced as $900 million over five years, the missing $100 million comes in as a contingency when/if the Government sees fit to geo-block Kiwi punters.

Only $20 million to the codes in year one, less the year after…

This is how the deal is structured: The upfront drip-fed $150 million eroded by  $500,000 to the Women Sports Initiative, $15 million to 28 sporting entities, $5 million towards gambling harm minimisation, and $40 million for a reserve fund held by TAB NZ.

Leaving $89.5 million distributed to the three codes over five years:

1. 2023/24         $20m
2. 2024/25         $15m
3. 2025/26         $15m
4. 2026/27         $15m
5. 2027/28         $25m

These miserable annual allocations became known via a radio interview with NZTR CEO Bruce Sharrock on Saturday. Out of the $20 million for next season, the thoroughbred code gets $11.5 million, a meagre pot of cash for stakes increases and badly overdue maintenance and infrastructure at various racecourses.

Sharrock: Stakes not seen as a priority

In an online article headed “Increase in stakes not seen as a priority” which appeared on the Herald website late last Thursday, a Sharrock quote stated: “We know we are getting more money for the next five years and, yes, some will go into stakes, but we also have to look at infrastructure like our tracks.”

Racing’s woes intensified at last Tuesday’s announcement when the Minister also revealed the TAB would relinquish its Class 4 gaming licence and remove 500 poker machines from TAB outlets around the country.

Last season the pokies brought in $23 million profit, allowing the sporting clubs of NZ to apply and be allocated grants totaling $6 to $7 million, but additionally, the codes will now be denied income of $15 to $16 million, out of which the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) gets its funding ($14.2 million in 2021/22 season).

How the RIB will be funded in the future and when this takes effect is uncertain, but it would be logical to assume it will come out of normal code funding. Six years ago the RIU cost $5.8 million for the season, but in the Racing Act of 2020 the legislation changed the RIU to give it autonomy and it became a board, and afterwards the then Minister of Sport and Racing, Grant Robertson, appointed a bunch of non-racing retired policemen associates to run it, and costs have risen 145 percent.

‘Three groups spend other people’s money – children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision.’

It reminds me of an old saying: ‘Three groups spend other people’s money – children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision.’

It’s hard to fathom the logic for giving up the Class 4 licence and poker machine income unless it’s a move to appease a growing anti-greyhound/horse racing, anti-gambling lobby for vote-catching in an election year.

On radio on Saturday, Minister McAnulty failed to justify the decision when he said:

“Attached to the monopoly proposal (geo-blocking), but not part of the agreement, in exchange for expanding the monopoly from onshore to online I negotiated with the TAB and they agreed they would relinquish their class 4 gaming licence and stick just to wagering, and so that would be a 500 poker machine drop to our country’s total – there would not be machines in TAB outlets anymore, and that means the TAB can focus just on wagering as it was intended to do right from the start.

“All I’m proposing we do is return to the initial intention of the TAB; that it’s the sole wagering operator in the country to the benefit of racing and sports.”

It’s obvious from that remark the Minister knows nothing about the history of the TAB and its beginnings. The thoroughbred and harness racing clubs of New Zealand put up £50,000 and a proposal to the Government in 1950 to financially support the clubs – no mention of the ‘sole wagering operator’ or ‘sport’ which never contributed to the set-up costs or shared in the TAB running expenses.

Barton prepared a 24-page report which quite clearly rules in favour of the clubs as having an irrefutable claim to the beneficial ownership of the TAB – Friday Flash 1995

He should also be reminded that in 1995, George Barton QC after a thorough investigation handed down a paper to the New Zealand Racing Conference saying the racing clubs of NZ had an irrefutable claim to the beneficial ownership of the TAB.

Also remember this: The Government appointed John Allen and Glenda Hughes to run the TAB and the incompetence of that pair cost racing a fortune. Against industry wishes, they built a soon-to-be redundant fixed odds betting platform for $50 million with huge ongoing costs to accommodate sport – did either the Government or Sport compensate racing for this debacle?

No, they didn’t, but as soon as a pot of cash turns up for racing, The Government steps in and wants to give to everyone else, and Sport is the first in line for a handout.

Sport should get some money, but not racing’s cash over and above the fair arrangement that’s written into the Racing Act of 2020. The Government should fund sport independently, just as it gave $136 million to Auckland’s last Americas Cup.

Racing contributes hundreds of times more to the NZ economy than the Amercas Cup ever will – 14,000 full-time employees and 45-50,000 participants and volunteers.

CEO Mike Tod takes his bonus and runs

This is a better deal for sport than racing. But why sign up for 25 years? What happens if this marriage of convenience for mutual profit needs a divorce after a 7-year itch? It won’t matter to the mercenary Mike Tod who already has lodged his divorce papers and is on the run with a big bonus.

Kieran McAnulty’s radio interview revealed several debatable thoughts. Have a read of them below and then post your thoughts in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box at the bottom of the page.

Minister of Racing Kieran McAnulty said:

“Tuesday was a hugely proud day for me personally and the highlight of my career.

“We are very fortunate position for a country of our size to be a world leader, but the industry is under threat, and the various aspects of it are under threat, not just in the domestic racing scene, not just our contribution to the Australian racing scene but also the $1.6 billion export industry that underpins the racing industry.“

(surely he meant $1.6 million)

“The TAB is at the centre of that, and always has been, and always will be. If the TAB falls over, then so does our industry.

“The deal will be game-changing for the New Zealand industry, but at the same time I wanted to give everyone in racing the Government’s commitment to secure racing’s future. We want people to have confidence to invest in horses, and we want sponsors to have confidence to invest in the racing industry. We are doing what we can to save it and keep it sustainable into the future.

“You will note that it was an announcement of an in-principle decision. Cabinet has given me the go-ahead to look into how we can secure the TAB further into the future. Normally you wait for a decision before you announce it – everyone that’s got an interest in this will be able to have a say and input into it.

“Let’s be clear about what this is; it’s a service agreement. It’s a 25-year arrangement. At the end of that the TAB still remains in New Zealand hands. What the agreement says to Entain is that we want you to give us a world-leading platform, your access to products, the odds that you offer, the competition with overseas operators that you provide a world-leading standard product that New Zealanders deserve, and our TAB is simply too small to provide.

“In exchange for access to that Entain takes a cut of 50 percent moving forward. The projections are that given the amount of money the TAB is losing to overseas providers because the TAB can’t compete, the TAB will still make more money, and still going to distribute more money to New Zealand racing and sports than it would do if it was left like it was. The key thing is that we get more out of this than we are perceived to be giving away.

“In terms of the Entain deal, the TAB will be restricted to wagering products only, they won’t be allowed to do online casinos and won’t be allowed to do online pokies. But there is the potential for Entain to allow what they call Novelty Betting – betting on elections or things that aren’t sport or racing.

“I’m proposing that for novelty events, the same proportion is used, but the profit goes to gambling harm – it’s a progressive approach to expand the TAB product and in exchange for that we take harm minimisation seriously and fund it properly.

“Attached to the monopoly proposal, but not part of the agreement, in exchange for expanding the monopoly from onshore to online I negotiated with the TAB and they agreed they would relinquish their class4 gaming licence and stick just to wagering, and so that would be a 500 poker machine drop to our country’s total – there would not be machines in TAB outlets anymore, and that means the TAB can focus just on wagering as it was intended to do right from the start.

“All I’m proposing we do is return to the initial intention of the TAB; that it’s the sole wagering operator in the country to the benefit of racing and sports.

“We have to think about the situation we were facing, that the TAB would have fallen over within three years and racing have had less and less money to distribute around the country, and this agreement changes that.

Footnote:

If novelty betting comes in, and it sounds as though it’s over the line, my advice to the Hon Minister of Racing, Kieran McAnulty, is to mortgage his house and have a decent bet on a National-Act coalition new government landslide result in October – go 13+.

by Brian de Lore
 Published 5 May 2023

Every two years, a new group of high achievers come forward for induction into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, and in the class of 2023, none would be more deserving of a place than the late Keith Felix Hawkins Voitre.    

Not only did this young man display a genius rarely known in his profession, and perhaps posthumously never bettered in such a short career, but his perfection as a jockey came equally matched with an off-course behaviour that singled him out amongst his peers.

He exuded a manner, charm, and maturity well beyond his years. These qualities made him special, and consequently his sudden, early death all the more tragic.

Keith’s genius in the saddle existed for only 10 years, between his first ride at the age of 15, and his last at Moonee Valley 10 years later on 10 September 1938, when through no fault of his own, three horses fell in front of Keith’s mount, Frill Prince, in the Budgeree Handicap, all of them ridden by apprentices, including Bill Williamson. The three sustained comparatively minor injuries.

Keith’s mount followed the three fallers and went down over them; he had no chance, suffered severe head injuries, and died on the operating table in Melbourne Hospital at 10 pm that night. Not long before the accident, he had become engaged to a local Melbourne girl.

The tragedy provoked an outpouring of grief on both sides of the Tasman never before known in racing or for someone so young. The sorrowful reaction to Keith’s death resembled that of the demise of a head of state, royalty, or highly respected world champion.

Keith Voitre’s funeral on 20 September 1938 drew thousands of mourners that lined
Melbourne’s St Kilda Road for the entire eight mile journey to Falkiner Cementery

A Melbourne newspaper wrote: “Men and women of every class gathered in a great crowd this afternoon for the funeral of Keith Voitre. Not for many years has an assembly been seen at a Melbourne funeral. The crowd included leaders of the Australian turf, sportsmen of every rank, men who had ridden with Voitre, and thousands who had followed his career from the enclosure and hill.”

Hundreds of floral wreaths arrived from all parts of Australia and New Zealand. The Wanganui Chronicle described Voitre as the finest horseman ever developed in the Dominion, likening him to the human equivalent of Phar Lap, with his name known in every corner and sphere of the Dominion.

Traffic became gridlocked in Melbourne that funeral day on 20 September 1938 as thousands gathered densely on both sides of St Kilda Road for the entire eight-mile route to the Falkiner Cemetery, where they formed a packed square around the site of the grave.

After the service, thirty jockeys formed a guard of honour as the coffin with his Melbourne Cup presentation whip resting on top underwent careful lifting by the pallbearers to the carriage. Three floral cars followed the hearse, banked high with wreaths, with many tied in the colours of the owners for which Voitre had ridden. One wreath stood out conspicuously, made with pansies and violets in a horseshoe shape with the word ‘Resting’ in gold letters on a blue background.

“…people admired his many excellent qualities as a man…”

In a eulogy that appeared in The Sportsman three days before the funeral, after espousing his brilliance as a jockey, the author writing as ‘Chiron’ said, “He was a young man with a most pleasing personality and address, and for that reason, he was popular both in the racing world and out of it, as people admired his many excellent qualities as a man apart from his merits as a jockey.

“He was a credit to his calling, and his death will cause sincere regret in Victoria as well as New Zealand, where he was conspicuously successful before he came to Australia,” concluded Chiron.

The Keith Voitre story had begun more than 60 years earlier when his Polish immigrant grandfather, Felix Voitrekovsky, stepped off the ship Lammershagen in Wellington in July 1875.

On a website called Polish History New Zealand, historian Barbara Scrivens explained, “The Polish spelling of Felix’s name is Feliks Wojciechowski. Felix continued to use the Germanised version in New Zealand.”

The detailed Barbara Scrivens’ history of the Voitrekovsky family later in her account mentions Keith’s father Ernest. It stated, “Ernie loved all his children, and his children loved him. They called him ‘Pop,’ as did his own family, and when he died in 1958 in Auckland, many others besides his own mourned his passing.

“Keith’s early success as a jockey allowed him to help set up his father in business in the cordial factory at 65 Albert Street, Palmerston North.”

In 1928, Ernest moved his family to Wanganui where he changed his name to Voitre, after which Ernest’s niece, Florinda, speculated the change came for practical purposes for the benefit of Keith.

Much later, after Ernest moved the family back to Palmerston North, Florinda is credited with this comment made in 1942: “So successful was the firm by this time that Ernie was able to build a beautiful home. The residence contained a small room sacred to the memory of Keith. In it had been gathered together all his cups, prizes, photographs, and memorabilia, as well as his riding outfit, saddle, whip, etc.”

Keith Voitre’s whip that was placed on his coffin for the funeral service. It was presented to him following his 1935 Melbourne Cup win, and bears the inscription: Presented by Mr Philip Wirth Senior to Keith Voitre, rider of MARABOU, winner of the 1935 Melbourne Cup

Barbara Scrivens’ research revealed praise for Keith’s father. She said, “Ernest Felix Voitre, a ‘charming man,’ approached his fiftieth year with a secure marriage, six children, the words ‘Voitre and Sons’ outside his cordial factory in Palmerston North, and enjoyed following his son Keith’s career as a jockey – on 10 September 1938, Ernest’s world collapsed…”

Keith inherited his grandfather’s diminutive size, quiet demeanour, and his father’s loving nature, all of which played their part in his astounding rise to fame and cult-like following. All the qualities he displayed as a human being came from his veneration for his parents, which transmitted to an unswerving loyalty to the owners for whom he rode with a fearlessness that won him many races.

A midget at school, but a quick thinker with a very sharp brain, in standard VI he finished the year as dux of the school. As a 12-year-old, he had entertained the idea of becoming a bank clerk, but a year later at Otaki, as a 13-year-old, he became mildly interested in becoming a jockey. Before school, he led horses out in the mornings for the Penman stable but only ever rode a bombproof hack, his first experience atop a horse.

After a year, his father suggested an approach to a trainer for an apprenticeship. In 1927, aged 14, his mother took Keith to Roley Hatch’s stables, where the trainer took a liking to the young lad, and his jockey indentures commenced.

5 stone 2 pound (33kg) for his first race ride

At 14 years, the diminutive Keith weighed barely more than four stone (25kg), but Hatch immediately recognised his potential and put time into teaching him, correcting all his learner faults and increasing his confidence. Six months hence he had grown and strengthened and increased his weight to 5st 2lb (33kg) when he made his debut in an official race, finishing last in a five-furlong sprint at Woodville.

In a frank interview in Sport and Sportsman published after his Melbourne Cup success on Marabou in 1935, Keith Voitre said: “It was Roley Hatch who taught me how to balance my weight in the saddle and how to ride a well-judged race.”

“I won my first race at Carterton on Callanmore. I’ll never forget the thrill of feeling my mount striding along, well within itself and ahead of the field, with the winning post sliding smoothly towards me. Soon after, I won another race on Callanmore, and after little more than 12 months in the saddle, I had ridden 18 winners.

“The following year, I brought 32 of them home,“ continued Keith, “and in the next season, 48. By that time, I had knocked all the rough edges off my riding and had an easy seat in the saddle. But most of my races were ridden according to my trainer’s instructions, and his judgment played a big part in my success.

“In 1931, I made my first trip to Australia, still as an apprentice, but on loan from Roley Hatch to J. T. Jamieson. It was a fairly short visit, but I rode five winners, one of them at Randwick, and finished second in the Metropolitan on In the Shade. I went back to New Zealand, not realising that Australia would be my home for many years to come. Back home, I soon struck form again.

In the Flemington mounting yard before the 1935 Melbourne Cup,
Keith with former New Zealand trainer Lou Robertson discuss the
tactics for the winning ride on Marabou.

“In the Melbourne Cup, I could feel Marabou bowling along sweetly under me. I could have sung three furlongs from home when I realised he had a good chance. On the home turn, I began to push him to the front, and as we straightened up for home, I knew I had the race won.

“I’m sorry for the man who hasn’t had that magnificent feeling. It may be a Melbourne Cup or a novice handicap, but nothing can dull the thrill of the final dash to the judge when your mount is streaking along ahead, and the sound of the hooves behind is only a dull echo that the wind carries away.

“My happiest moments have come when I am crouching over my mount’s neck as he goes further and further ahead or else creeps up on the leaders. It is then that you get the feeling of speed, and 20 years in the saddle would not affect my liking for it.

“I never use the whip unless I am absolutely forced to it. Horses are magnificent animals, sensitive and highly strung, and no jockey worthy of the game would knock them about just for the fun of it.

“Usually, I can get all the speed I need out of my mount by using my hands, knees, and heels, and a horse urged on in this way is always likely to do better than one that is hit all the way home. Often a hard whack with the whip is enough to throw a horse out of its stride, so common sense and decency should make jockeys use their mounts as kindly as they possibly can.

“Being a natural lightweight, I am a whole heap luckier than many other jockeys. Normally I ride at about 7.11 (49kg), but I can get down to 7.7 without trouble. I have never been in a Turkish bath In my life, and I’ve never had to waste.

“In 1932, I rode over 80 winners. The next year I put up a New Zealand record with 123 wins, and it was then that they began talking about my riding skill.

“I can only explain my record-year by saying I rode just as well as I could, taking my opportunities as they came, judging my mounts’ needs as well as I could, and having my full share of the luck. And I was lucky, too, in the calibre of the horses I was engaged to ride.

“I came to Australia and have no cause to regret my decision”- Keith Voitre

“The next year, I came to Australia because both Sydney and Melbourne seemed to offer a good market for riding skills. I have had no cause to regret my decision. My greatest races have been ridden in Australia; in most of them, I have had to use every atom of my skill. But in none of them did I perform superhuman or magic feats. I just rode as well as I could, and the horses did the rest.”

Keith rode 420 New Zealand winners in just a few seasons at home, including two Auckland Cups on Admiral Drake and Gold Trail, two Great Northern Foal Stakes, the Great Northern Guineas, two ARC Welcome Stakes, two Avondale Stakes, the CJC Jockey Club Handicap, Members Handicap, Egmont Cup, Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, Napier, Nelson Cup, two Rangitikei Cups, two Taranaki Cups, Wanganui Cup, Wairarapa Cup, Wellesley Stakes, Wellington Stakes, and Wellington Cup.

In the 1931-32 season he won the New Zealand Jockeys’ Premiership as an apprentice with 82 wins. The following season he broke Hector Gray’s 116-win record with 123 wins which stood for 35 five years until broken by Bill Skelton in 1967-68.

In the short time Keith Voitre had ridden in Australia, he scored many notable successes; his principal wins included the Doncaster Handicap on Hall Mark, Melbourne Cup on Marabou, Victoria Derby on Feldspar, Newmarket Handicap on Count Ito, Oaks Stakes on Nalda; Ascot Vale Stakes on Tactical, Williamstown Cup on Garrio, Epsom Handicap on Synagogue, and South Australian St Leger on Donaster.

Champion Australian Jockey Billy Duncan praised Voitre

Champion Australian jockey of the day, Billy Duncan, won 11 Victorian Jockeys’ Premierships between 1920 and 1933 and won the Melbourne Cup at his first ride in the race on Night Watch in 1918 as an 18-year-old and again 14 years later on Peter Pan in 1932. He watched Keith Voitre closely while sidelined with injury.

He said, “I have been told by owners, trainers, and jockeys that Voitre and myself are counterparts. After watching him closely, I should say that our styles are identical in many respects. Like me, he seems to like a good break out of the machine and is invariably found in the first three or four.

“I never liked to ride the type of horse that could not be up with the leaders without being bustled. Naturally, I have been a critical observer of Voitre and other jockeys since my fall from Rose Valais, and with glasses, look for happenings throughout a race that possibly others would not bother about. In Voitre’s case, I have been most exacting. I have taken into consideration the type of horse he has ridden, his barrier position, and the distance of the race. In my own mind, I have mapped out the race I would ride on that particular horse, and our ideas seem to coincide.

“Never flustered, he is in complete control of his mount, and his face always carries that confident, mean, business look. He is always ready to seize an opening; an alert brain and vigorous methods help him in this regard. Perhaps the only difference in our riding could be detected in the closing stages of a race. Voitre has a style entirely his own, and all said and done, his judgment and effectiveness in finishes leave nothing to be desired.

“He gets the best out of his mounts, and no one could do more. To build up such a glorious record in such a short space of time speaks volumes for Voitre. He has the world at his feet. A natural lightweight, strong, vigorous, brainy and cool, he should go on for years, and being a gentlemanly little fellow, he will make many friends in the right direction.”

Footnote:

The Melbourne Cup presentation whip, recently framed, came into my possession in unusual circumstances, and I feel privileged to be the çustodian of such a historical object that represents Keith Voitre’s most important win.

Inscribed on the whip in brass, it says: “Presented by Mr Philip Wirth Senior, to Keith Voitre, rider of Marabou, winners of the 1935 Melbourne Cup.

In 1938 it was placed on Keith Voitre’s coffin for the funeral service and procession to Keith’s grave in Melbourne’s Falkiner Cemetary. It then went back to New Zealand with Keith’s parents and only returned to Australia on the 50th anniversary of Keith’s win on Marabou when his ex-jockey and trainer brother Noel returned to Melbourne in 1985 for the first time since Keith’s funeral.

Noel stayed with Brian and Jan Andrews, and Brian took him to visit Keith’s grave, and he went to the 1985 Melbourne Cup. He brought with him three scrapbooks kept on Keith to show to Brian and Jan and, upon leaving, gave Brian the whip. Since the passing of Brian, Jan had considered giving it to the Racing Museum in Melbourne but thought it really belonged in New Zealand.

Jan and I had occasionally discussed Brian’s riding accomplishments on Chat. One day she offered the whip to me and I accepted, and now I am its custodian (framed only last week), which is an honour, but the whip truly belongs in a New Zeland Racing Museum, which we currently don’t have.

Isn’t it about time racing people of influence formed a committee and did something about founding a racing museum?