Greedy !

Horse racing is an industry that employs about thirty thousand people in New South Wales.  It is fast being eclipsed by it's counterparts in Victoria and Queensland and turf interests are desperate to get the NSW government to invest in it's expansion with rich prize events that attract overseas horses.

The Melbourne Cup is an iconic event that attracts world wide attention.   The NSW racing industry has a dream of staging a similar event and money has been spent on upgrading Randwick to world standards.  We already lag far behind Melbourne in the size of race fields, and now we face a challenge from Queensland.  The Queensland government has cut racing taxes from twenty percent to fourteen percent - and that extra money will go into the prize pool to improve competition numbers.

Comparing race fields in Melbourne and Sydney tells a sad story.  The eight event programmes this weekend had a telling numbers disparity, despite Sydney offering an average $5,000 extra prize money for each race.  Melbourne offers two $ 100,000 dollar events at the top of it's Saturday calendar, compared with a single $ 100,000 race in Sydney.   The numbers were as follows:

         Starters:          Sydney.        Melbourne.
                                    7                 16
                                   8                   13
                                  10                  20
                                  11                  16
                                  10                  12
                                  10                  16
                                  12                  14
                                  15                  15

Taxing horse racing is seen as a " sin tax " in some circles.   The more the state takes from the betting pool. the less there is to finance racing - and the lesser dividend returned to those who bet on events.  The tax take from the three states varies widely.

Queensland takes just 82 c from each $ 100 wagered.   Victoria subtracts $ 1.28 - and New South Wales is by far the most voracious - with a take of $ 3.22.    It is not hard to see why horse racing in this state is stagnating.

That tax level is myopic.   The racing industry provides jobs across a wide spectrum, from those that service the crowds at racing events to those who participate in the actual races - to those who work in the breeding and training industry scattered across the entire spectrum of country towns.   A healthy and expanding industry generates more jobs - and more indirect taxes.   It makes sense to spend seed money to aid that expansion - and gain across the wider tax spectrum.

The ball is in the New South Wales government's court.   The statistics are clear.   Racing in this state has been overtaken by both Victoria and Queensland and that can only deteriorate unless positive steps are taken to improve it's finances.    Whether that is by way of a racing tax review - or help with staging premium racing events is a matter for Treasury !