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44.
AJC Defends State of Racing In NSW
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13/08/2002 |
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The Australian Jockey Club has hit back at criticism levelled at the NSW racing industry in a recent newspaper article.
AJC chief executive Mr King said the article, written by Peter Horwitz and published by the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, was unnecessarily negative and selective to the point of being misleading.
``As a club, we enjoy a healthy relationship with the media and we always welcome constructive analysis,” Mr King said. ``But I think that particular article painted an unnecessarily negative picture and made selective comparisons between NSW and Victorian racing in order to stir up some controversy.”
Mr King said the AJC spent only 3.8 per cent of revenue on administration last financial year, a figure lower than the previous year.
``We generate $37 million in revenue in addition to TRB distributions and all of that is internally sourced,” he said. ``That allows us to pay out $34.4 million a year in prize money and subsidies – more than any other racing club in Australia – representing a return to owners of 108 per cent of net TAB distribution, which is one of the leading figures in the industry.”
The article also inferred the industry had witnessed few changes since a series of meetings were held from last December, with a view to instigating widespread reform. That is accurate in one sense – subsequent reform only came into effect from July 1 this year, leaving little time for evaluation.
``During that short period, the average number of starters for AJC meetings in July increased from 10.15 to 10.42 and there has been two nine-race programs in the Sydney metropolitan area during August – one by the AJC and one by the STC,” Mr King said.
``Minimum prize money for Saturday Sydney metropolitan races is $45,000 and that is the same amount paid by the Melbourne Racing Club and Moonee Valley Racing Club despite the fact that Victorian galloping receives an additional $41 million in TAB distribution compared to NSW.”
AJC Release
By: Racenet
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