If ever you required any proof why horse racing in NSW is struggling you only had to watch the CEO Peter V’Landys, who was the special guest on the TVN’s Racing Review program on Sunday morning.
Normally he would never expose himself on TVN and the highly intelligent and untouchable Racing Review compare Bruce Clarke who made the point several times that V’Landys argument “just does not stand up”.
The Federal Court ruling is expected this week where Racing NSW wants to charge corporate bookies and exchanges 1.5% tax for the privilege to promote and bet on their product. The bookies are saying that this tax is not viable and have agreed to pay Racing Victoria 10% on turnover (15% in the spring carnival).
V’Landys incredibly refused to take the stand over the last two weeks in court and in fact has not even bothered turning up despite the pending landmark ruling.
His TVN appearance looked like a last ditch effort to salvage something from the wreck, but Bruce Clarke kept reinforcing the point that the most important consumers in NSW Racing are the punters who fund the industry, despite V’Landys claims that his “only concern are the participants: owner, trainers, jockeys, stable hands, etc.”
The boss of Racing NSW made a multitude of inaccurate comments that were irresponsible for someone is such a powerful and accountable position, and once when challenged by Clarke he commented “absolute rubbish Bruce”.
I personally trade on U.K. Racing every morning after midnight and I can affirm that the racing is vibrant with enormous interest and turnover. There are currently six Internet radio stations that cover the four to five meetings every day and you can feel the excitement.
V’Landys disgraceful comment that “U.K. racing would not have an industry if they didn’t have Sheik Mohammad” was typical of a man out of touch and struggling with the reality that his patch is drowning from his signature administration.
It was refreshing to see a member of the media not gun shy by V’Landys standover commentary and set him and the viewers’ straight on some key points.
For a prosperous future of racing in NSW let us hope that Mr. Clarke is not the only person to fall for his bluff and bravado this week.
ray hearnden
Guest
i would like to bet they find danny nikolic guiilty as they have to save faith whith themselfs as they have made a big debacle out of the whole affair and if they find him guilty ihope they will publish it other wise its just another cover up to there agenda .Also in the hurdle races over the weekend wasnt good towatch i think i seen a couple of r.s.p.c.a. people praying that something bad would happen i have allways donated to them now they only get horse hair off of me thank you ray hearnden
Melb Rebel
Guest
you might this interesting video.yahoo.com/watch/3854421 Like treminator the movie I have tracked back through history to see the pivotal time and the person that we need to eliminate. Ex Racing NSW Chairman Tony Hartnell hired V'landys. By the way current Acting CEO of RVL - Paul Bittar - was Racing NSW Commercial Manager in 2003. Does that mean he oversaw some the terrible agreements like exclusive sponsorship that we are living with now? Racing NSW chairman stands down By Darren Prendergast June 29, 2004 Page Tools Four months after being re-elected for another four-year term, Racing NSW chairman Tony Hartnell yesterday resigned from his post due to ill health. Hartnell's shock departure comes at a vital time for the state's ruling body, which is implementing the eagerly awaited strategic plan of its newly arrived chief executive Peter V'Landys. The board of Racing NSW is considering V'Landys plan, unveiled at a meeting last Monday week. It is expected to rule on the document within a fortnight. A former head of the Australian Securities Commission, Hartnell took on the chairmanship of Racing NSW four years ago. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the TAB Ltd and Tabcorp merger proposal and the introduction of Racing NSW's IT technology and website. "Tony has informed us that his health in recent times has been deteriorating to the extent he now has to take time out to ensure a full and proper recovery," V'Landys said in a statement. "Naturally we are very disappointed with Tony's departure but we also understand that his health is top priority and we wish him all the very best." 2009 MOST people who borrow money through Harvey Norman's finance arm can get a couple of thousand dollars to buy a couch or a plasma television. But people close to the founder, Gerry Harvey, can borrow a lot more - and not just for items sold by his retail outlets. Harvey Norman's finance arm, Network Consumer Finance, lent $1.25 million to the corporate watchdog's former chairman, Tony Hartnell, and six other partners of the Sydney law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell to buy 11 thoroughbred mares in December 2003. Details of the little-known business sideline were revealed in a Federal Court tax case that involves Mr Hartnell defending his claim for a $772,466 tax deduction for losses in a thoroughbred breeding venture in 2001. The case centres on deductions claimed for two breeding ventures run by Mr Hartnell between 2000 and 2003. Mr Harvey told Fairfax Media he knew his company had lent the money to Mr Hartnell and his partners. He said he lent money to a small group of people he knew well, but who found it difficult to borrow from a bank to buy horses. "I've just got a little band of people I do it for. I don't advertise that I do it - I'm not chasing that sort of [lending]." While the other partners of the law firm have settled their debts with the Tax Office, Mr Hartnell has taken action against it in an attempt to justify his deductions. The Tax Office claims the two breeding ventures were an elaborate set-up aimed at creating tax deductions. Under tax law, it says, interest payments are only deductible if the money borrowed is invested in a venture with a "real possibility of success". Mr Hartnell's horse ventures were never likely to produce a profit, it claims. But Mr Hartnell argues they had "a realistic prospect" and were not merely a "fly-by-night operation concocted at the end of the tax year to achieve a deduction". He told the court he was a serious breeding enthusiast and over the past two decades had bred champions including Victory Vein and Mahtoum. Mr Hartnell was made an officer in the Order of Australia for his services as inaugural chairman of the Australian Securities Commission. He was also chairman of Racing NSW between 2000 and 2004. He and the breeding ventures borrowed money from other sources, including the thoroughbred breeder Michael Sissian's company, Pioneer Securities. It lent the partners of Atanaskovic Hartnell involved $7.1 million in December 2000 to invest in bonds which bet on moves in the thoroughbred yearling market. Mr Sissian also managed the two breeding ventures with Mr Hartnell. Mr Sissian told the Federal Court that he had helped to arrange the $1.25 million loan through Harvey's Network Consumer Finance. The legal partners borrowed the money for three years, and paid $181,000 in interest to Harvey Norman. Mr Harvey knows the horse breeder because Mr Sissian sold his Hunter Valley stud, then-known as Segenhoe, to Mr Harvey and the adman John Singleton. Mr Harvey and Mr Singleton also own the Magic Millions thoroughbred sale company, and hundreds of racehorses. Mr Harvey said he had not bought any of the "index bonds" that were the subject of the case. Known as Akron Yearling Bonds, and worth $500,000 each, they allowed investors to bet on moves in the thoroughbred yearling market at the Inglis Easter sales from year to year. The Tax Office claims these bonds allowed Mr Hartnell and his legal partners to generate large up-front tax deductions. Mr Harvey told Fairfax Media: "I don't do any derivative actions with horses … I just don't do that sort of thing. Promoters and merchant bankers approach me with those things all the time. "I check with my lawyers first … mostly my lawyers say, 'Don't do it. It is not worth the risk.' " There is no suggestion he or Harvey Norman did anything wrong in lending the money. The court has sat for seven days on the case, which will return to court for a further four days on April 27. Mr Hartnell and Mr Sissian have given evidence. The Tax Office's counsel, David McGovern, argued that Mr Hartnell's horse-breeding ventures were deliberately complex affairs to disguise the real nature of the transactions and to create losses to avoid tax. They were "a nonsense". And the elaborate system of bonds used to finance the purchase and lease of brood mares really "had nothing to do with horses, or horseracing or breeding". One of the joint ventures had invested $350,000 in June 2001 for nine brood mares aged between 16 and 24. They were bought to breed racehorses but by 2003 only three foals were produced. Most brood mares are aged between four and 13. Once older their fertility drops steeply, according to the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. The Tax Office also points to the fact that the managers of the ventures and their accountant only gave "worst case" projections for the profitability of the ventures to the investors. When cross-examining Mr Sissian, Mr McGovern indicated he may choose to upgrade his case to the more serious claim that the joint ventures were a "sham" or a "masquerade". Justice Nye Perram warned Mr McGovern that he would need to put this claim "out in the open" if he was seeking to make it.
Melb Rebel
Guest
the rhetoric of the Racing NSW CEO is unbelievable and especially his aggressive and arrogant stand. Racing was very badly impacted in both NSW and Vic + nationally by two individuals. Nason from RVL/Tabcorp now gone and if we could just get rid of this joker Racing might have a chance. I cant see how Racing NSW can win as how do they come up with 1.5%. Is is 1.4% or 1.6% the debate is largely irrelevant. His comments to petrol pricing are laughable but do how that a properly regulated industry (IE high tax) will lead to price fixing and abuse of the customer. What about his throw away comment re the 99 year agreement re Tabcorp. Yes we know you did not negotiate it Peter, but you seemed to have made no attempt to regnegotiate it. Racing NSW attitude to the STC and AJC during the establishment of TVN should be readdressed and proof the participants in Racing NSW - whom he claims to represent should ask for his resignation at the end of Feb in conjunction with the court decision and before the Asian and Australia Racing Conference to be hosted and held in Sydney during April.
Jim Wilson
Guest
Scott You say 'racing in the Uk is vibrant ith enormous interest & turnover.' Could you provide some details of their turnover?
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Mike Dont know where you got the 38% figure from unless you are a mate of Peter V'Landys. The TAB pay approx 20% of GP in NSW but that is for a number of things, tote exclusivity on course operations, exclusice retail network etc. They are business partners with the racing industry which is why the industry is going so poorly compared to Victoria.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Thanx Mike, it should be f ever you required any proof why Horse Racing in NSW is struggling you only had to watch the C.E.O. Peter V'Landys, who was the special guest on the TVN’s Racing Review program on Sunday morning. Normally he would never expose himself on TVN with the highly intelligent and untouchable Racing Review compare Bruce Clark, who made the point several times that V’Landys argument “just does not stand up”. The Federal Court ruling is expected this week where Racing NSW wants to charge corporate bookies and exchanges 1.5% tax for the privilege to promote and bet on their product. The bookies are saying that this tax is not viable and have agreed to pay Racing Victoria 10% on profit (15% in the spring carnival). V’Landys incredibly refused to take the stand over the last two weeks in court and in fact has not even bothered turning up despite the pending landmark ruling. His TVN appearance looked like a last ditch effort to salvage something from the wreck, but Bruce Clarke kept reinforcing the point that the most important consumers in NSW Racing are the punters who fund the industry, despite V’Landys claims that his “only concern are the participants: owner, trainers, jockeys, stable hands, etc.” The boss of Racing NSW made a multitude of inaccurate comments (see Trackdata article) were irresponsible for someone in such a powerful and accountable position, and once when challenged by Clarke he commented “absolute rubbish Bruce”. I personally trade on UK Racing every morning after midnight and I can affirm that the racing is vibrant with enormous interest and turnover. There are currently six Internet radio stations that cover the four to five meetings every day and you can feel the excitement. V’Landys disgraceful comment that “U.K. racing would not have an industry if they didn’t have Sheik Mohammad” was typical of a man out of touch and struggling with the reality that his patch is drowning from his signature administration. It was refreshing to see a member of the media not gun shy by V’Landys standover commentary and set him and the viewers’ straight on some key points. For a prosperous future of Racing in NSW let us hope that Mr. Clark is not the only person to fall for his bluff and bravado this week.
Mike Talamont
Guest
Really Scott, I had to respond to your comments about v'landies innaccurafe comments when I read your report that bookies had offered to pay 10% of TURNOVER. If your innacurate reporting were true he would be a happy racing man. It seems that both TABs and bookies want the cherries picked. IThe 1.5% on turnover can't be the percentage base for revenue calculation. The TABs pay about 38% on revenue and if the race fields legislation was on top that would make another 9% for a total of 47% of revenue. Why don't Betfair agree to that figure and all will be equitable. Mike