Invercargill racing industry watchdog Laurie Sutherland is concerned that New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is breaking its own constitutional rules and the Racing Board is breaching the requirements of the Racing Act.

The retired accountant said he wished to offer ''some considered feedback'' in response to the Southland Times Editorial of May 19 concerning a recent report by Greg Purcell, the new chief executive of NZ Thoroughbred Racing Inc which is the governing body of the thoroughbred racing code.

Mr Purcell's report highlighted a ''lack of confidence to invest and participate'' in racing.

''In a broad sense, those words encapsulate the thoroughbred code's present situation,'' Mr Sutherland said.

However, New Zealand's other two codes greyhound and harness racing were not in the same predicament, particularly greyhound racing, he added.

Over the last 14 years at least all three codes have operated in the same economic environment and with the same betting systems, yet the greyhound code has shown outstandingly the best results, he said.

Mr Sutherland can make all figures and comparisons available to any interested parties. He is not opposed to course closures as such but, if a course is consistently earning profits for its code, then why close it?

''The oil that keeps the entire racing industry going comes from the margin of net profit from public betting on horse and greyhound racing,'' Mr Sutherland said.

''From the tables of official Racing Board figures over 14 years, it can be calculated that betting participation on New Zealand thoroughbred racing has dropped 11.7 percent (and has currently dropped a further nine percent), harness racing has dropped 11.9 percent, but greyhound racing has jumped a massive 43.8 percent.

''It seems the next logical step is to compare how the governing body of each code treats and deals with its participants and clubs where the major difference is found.''

Each club is, of course, a sovereign entity in itself and passes on in turn most of its profit share as prizemoney to the owners who race their horses or dogs at the various clubs' racedays.

The greyhound code pays all its member clubs a closely similar percentage rate on whatever betting volume each club's race meetings generate.

''Their system is fair, equitable, honest, democratic and satisfying to all greyhound participants and produces excellent results accordingly,'' he said.

''The harness code operates in a generally similar manner if not quite as equitable as greyhounds but far and away more equitable than the thoroughbred code.''

The harness code has other factors impacting on its results in a demographic and perception sense, he said.

''However, in the thoroughbred code the governing body has failed badly over the 14 years to follow five fundamental principles that are almost universally accepted in all democratic societies.

''This governing body has knowingly and deliberately broken the principles of fairness, level playing field, equal opportunity, equality of all in the eyes of the law and payment and reward based on productivity,'' he observed.

The Racing Act requires the code governing bodies to ''aportion'' their share of the Racing Board's betting profits amongst their member clubs each year.

''Aportion means to give as due share,'' he explained.

For 2009-2010, the amount available as ''due share'' for all thoroughbred clubs was the equivalent of 6.83 percent of the total combined volume of off course and export betting generated by each club.

But the Board members of NZ Thoroughbred Racing Inc ignored the Racing Act and gave one favoured club 9.92 percent return and another unfavoured club a grossly unjust return of only 2.65 percent.

''That is a great example of how to lose friends and alienate people,'' he said.

''Inevitably, given that sort of action, there is now a perceived lack of confidence to invest and participate in thoroughbred racing.''

- The Southland Times

Sourced from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/racing/5133691/NZTR-is-breaking-law-claims-Sutherland