Media Release - Club Funding for 2019/20 Season

12 August 2019

MEDIA RELEASE

CLUB FUNDING FOR 2019-20 HARNESS RACING SEASON

Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) today announced that funding to clubs for the 2019-20 racing season remains unchanged (on a race-by-race basis) from 2018-19.

This has been achieved due to the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) maintaining funding to the codes at a consistent level.

Ken Spicer, Board Chair, said “We are delighted to be able to hold funding at existing levels and congratulate the new board of RITA for ensuring that distributions to the codes has allowed this to continue”. 

All clubs are now bulk-funded by HRNZ and set their own stakes levels.

It is the expectation of the HRNZ board that all clubs set stakes at a level that matches or betters the 2018-19 season.

This season all clubs will pay stakes monies to the first five place getters (in line with the rating system) as well as making a payment to all starters. The minimum stake remains at $6,000 with most clubs choosing to pay well above this level.

HRNZ has confirmed it will not continue with the first totalisator win supplement for the 2019-20 season.

This initiative, introduced in March 2017, has largely been funded from reserves, in anticipation of new funding coming into the industry.

There is an expectation that all codes will see several new sources of funding coming on stream later in the season (reduction in the Betting Levy, Race Fields, Point of Consumption) enabling a later review of this decision, however there is no certainty as to exactly when these funds will become available.

“We know how popular the first winners supplement has been, however as a Board we must ensure we are acting in a fiscally responsible manner. HRNZ is keen to restore the first winners supplement as funding allows,” said Spicer.