A Message from NSWROA President Tony Mitevski

So much has happened in the weeks since I took the reins as President of the NSW Racehorse Owners Association in early March.

With COVID-19 taking a firm grip on all our lives, racehorse owners, along with other industry participants, have been bracing themselves in preparation for the impact that COVID-19 will have on the industry and sport we all love.

Unlike many countries, Australia has continued to race, albeit without crowd attendance. As of writing, there has only been a minor hiccup of several days whilst an industry participant was tested for the virus and thankfully returned a negative result.

As an avid racegoer myself, it has been strange to say the least, to be watching Sydney’s premier racing carnival through the lens of a television camera, rather than experience the thrill and atmosphere of the race track. This however, is a necessary change and a small price for us all to pay to ensure the health of our community.

Another ‘first’ to emerge from this period is the running of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale online, which was embraced positively by both vendors and buyers alike, which I think is typical of the great spirit of the Australian horse industry. Having travelled all over the state to inspect the yearlings, many bloodstock agents graciously offered to provide their inspection notes to prospective owners free of charge. This is a further example of how our industry pulls together during difficult times.

Racing Australia and the various national and state industry bodies have been liaising with the Government to ensure the continuation of racing, with great effect to-date. We have been able to achieve this through the continuing strict compliance with the COVID-19 regulations, including segmentation of regions within states to limit jockey movement.

Racing NSW has also announced prizemoney reductions, firstly to the Championships and now to racing state-wide. This is a necessary step to help offset the losses that will be incurred due to the significant reduction in funding via wagering, created by the lockdown of pubs, clubs and TAB outlets. Race clubs are also experiencing significant drops in revenue via loss of race day ticket sales, sponsorship and functions.

The Australian Federal Government is assisting businesses and sole traders to keep operating where permitted and keep their employees adequately paid. In our industry and particularly pertinent to racehorse owners, that equates to ensuring that our horses continue to receive top quality care.

At our meeting on April 6, the NSWROA Board made the decision to scale back our annual NSW industry awards from the Racing’s Night of Champions gala evening to a much smaller ceremony, the size of which will be dependent upon whether the rules regarding gatherings have been relaxed at that time.

While we acknowledge that the winners of the various awards need to be announced, it is not appropriate in the current economic climate to hold a large ceremony, which in any case, due to crowd restrictions, would have to be conducted at much later date in the year than the traditional August date.

As owners, who in the main, view racing as a leisure activity rather than a chief source of income, we need to be mindful of the pressure on industry participants during this unprecedented time.

Please stay safe, stay home where possible and look out for each other.