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BREAKING NEWS
RACING IN A CRISIS
ROA President Paul Dixon has warned that racing was "in a crisis" after a further collapse in levy income to its lowest level in seven years.
He called on the Levy Board to take prompt action and said the big bookmakers had "manipulated" agreements over payments.
The levy yield for 2009-2010, final figures for which are still being collated, is expected to fall below £80 million, which would be a seven-year low even though in the intervening years the number of fixtures and races have increased by almost a quarter, to 1,426 fixtures and 9,628 races last year.
Paul Dixon said: "We are in a crisis. Racing as we know it cannot continue. We have been tinkering at the edges, putting on more fixtures and hoping that would increase the return from the levy, and the opposite has happened.
"It can't go on. We cannot ask people to buy and keep racehorses when they are getting only just over £1,000, less than a month's training fees, if they win a race. It's a joke."
Earlier this year the Levy Board announced a revised forecast of £87.4 million, following an earlier forecast of £91.1 million. That announcement was accompanied by expenditure cuts of £4.6 million for the remainder of 2010.
The board's contribution to prize money, originally expected to exceed £63 million and subsequently reduced to £57 million, was cut again, to £54.2 million. At the time, Douglas Erskine-Crum, the Levy Board chairman, said: "There won't be more cuts for 2010."
Resort has already been made to cash reserves and the latest estimate - which has not been confirmed officially - will impact on the budget for 2011.
Paul Dixon called for action by the Levy Board, of which he is a member, and highlighted the situation regarding thresholds.
Under the 48th levy scheme, covering the period from April 1 2009 to March 31 2010, betting offices were exempt from levy on the first £90,000 of gross profits from bets on British horseracing. Under the current 49th scheme, the threshold figure is £88,740.
Paul Dixon said: "Thresholds are outmoded. They were introduced to protect small, independent bookmakers but the Big Three bookmakers have manipulated the concession to suit their own ends. Sixty per cent of the shops benefiting from the threshold provision now belong to the Big Three.
"People think bookmakers pay ten per cent of their gross profits in levy but, because of the threshold, they don't. The Levy Board must do something about it."
48-HOUR DECLARATIONS DEAL 'A STARTING POSITION'
THE third and final year of an initial 48-hour declaration agreement between the Horsemen's Group and RUK racecourses will deliver more than £400,000 in special appearance money payments throughout the current Flat season.
Although this shows an increase on previous years, the Horsemen's Group new Chief Executive, Alan Morcombe (pictured), believes the figure is substantially lower than racing's practitioners should receive from this source.
"While the increase is obviously welcome," said Mr Morcombe, "I have no doubt it should be substantially more.
"Taking the additional costs imposed on the industry by 48-hour declarations, the loss in Levy which, of course, translates into lower prize-money, and the increased earnings that are now coming through from the sale of British racing picture rights overseas, I think we should regard this as a starting position."
Negotiations involving the Horsemen's Group and both the RUK and ATR racecourses on the next 48-hour declaration agreement are due to be completed in September of this year.
In the meantime, Alan Morcombe emphasizes the importance of trainers and owners noting the events to which the appearance money is being attached.
"It is important that trainers and owners are aware this money is available and make effective use of it," he said.