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Finally, after more than 12 months of mind-boggling and depressing nonsense, someone outlined the very real problems that racing in Australia has left alone for far too long and offered some solutions to those problems.
Last Thursday, a review of the integrity structures of Victorian racing by former British Horseracing Authority chief executive Paul Bittar was released, and I urge anyone with an interest in any code of racing in Australia, whether participant or punter, to read it.
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The document appears to be the result of thorough research, much thought and considered reasoning, free of internal bickering and scapegoating. The review was created to answer the question of whether the commercial and integrity functions of racing should be separated, and recommended that a new Victorian Racing Integrity Unit (VRIU) should be established for all three codes of racing, as much to address the perception of conflicts of interest as real ones.
However, the review identifies this is not the right question, and instead appears to argue the financing of integrity and welfare, the education of participants, and communication strategies are at least equally important, if not far more so, and are just not being given the attention they deserve.
There’s too much in the review for one article, so I’ll focus on the education and communication strategies for now. For far too long, racing has opted for a punitive approach when creating, implementing and enforcing rules, rather than a modern co-ordinated approach.
“When investigating other sports, a key distinction identified was the commitment to educate participants and not simply police them. This links to code stakeholder feedback suggesting there is a lack of support in educating licensees in welfare and integrity issues and how to develop best-practice operating processes and systems (e.g licensed trainer facilities). This is less structural than cultural, but seen as a key requirement to be further developed”.
When communicating their message, most notably during the cobalt debacle, it’s been unclear as to who exactly Racing Victoria (RV) is communicating to and why. The review had this to say on communication.
“However, there is a failing in the development and execution of a strategic communications approach specific to integrity services including the public management of key cases and issues. This has meant RV’s ability to get its message across is often compromised or reactive. This strategic communications failing is recognised by stakeholders, many staff and the RV Integrity Council. In particular, the distinction needs to be made between raceday incidents, and those issues that move into a more complex legal forum”.
I’d fully agree with that.
For Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV), the change in recent times has been as drastic as it was essential. Although they were more progressive than any other greyhound racing jurisdiction in the country, the last 12 months has seen a dramatic escalation not only in their welfare initiatives but also their commitment to education and communications.
“GRV has a much stronger communications strategy and engagement program to support its approach and the cultural change required of its participants. GRV is building a communications strategy that seeks for the participants to be ‘taken on a journey’ and helps them understand what good regulation is and why it is important to the future sustainability and the growth of the sport”.
But really, when it comes to education and communication it’s saying that racing administrators need to treat people like adults (well, except for the ‘taken on a journey’ bit). Tell people the broad outline of what you want out of them and why, give them the information they require and allow them input on how to get there.
And not ‘fill in a form to be ignored’ input, but the opportunity that focussed workshops and semi-formal education sessions provide. When you change rules, make it clear why these rules have changed and inform people how they are to comply, think how people can inadvertently transgress the rules and make sure it doesn’t happen.
Mr Bittar is right, let’s just hope that the powers that be can look past the headline, read the review and enact the recommendations. In an ideal world, the States would surely follow.
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