Australia
www.australian-racing.net.au
The racing
industry in Australia
The development of
Thoroughbred racing in Australia
The history of horses
in Australia began when the First Fleet landed at Sydney in 1788,
arriving with a stallion, three mares and three yearlings that were
obtained at the Cape of Good Hope en route from England. Seven years
later a shipment of good quality breeding mares from the Cape was
imported, forming the founding elements of the Australian bloodhorse.
However, it was not until 1799 that the first notable step to improve
the breed of horses in the colony was made with the arrival of the
English-bred stallion, Rockingham, from South Africa. In 1802,
Northumberland became the first stallion to be imported direct from
England. The establishment of the Australian breed of racehorses was
also influenced by the importation of a number of Arabian horses from
Persia and India.
The first official race
meeting was held in Hyde Park, Sydney, in October 1810. It was
organised by officers of the 73rd Regiment, being conducted
over three days and consisting of three heats of two miles each. Horse
racing gradually became organised and fell under the control of
formally established racing clubs, the first of which was the Sydney
Turf Club (not the same as the current club of the same name), founded
in 1825.
Captain Henry Rous, an
influential figure of the British Turf, visited Australia in 1827 and
provided an important stimulus to the establishment of Australian Turf
institutions modelled on the English system. It was not until 1840 that
the Australian Race Committee was formed, and by this time the Arabs
had lost their dominance to the English bred horses. In 1842, the
Australian Race Committee became the Australian Jockey Club. The sport
spread rapidly throughout Australia to such an extent that the
development of a racecourse was a feature of almost every new
settlement. Major race clubs were established in every State by the
1860.
Current size of the
Australian Thoroughbred racing industry
From humble beginnings,
the racing industry in Australia has developed into a large and
important component of the nation's economy. A comprehensive study on
the Australian racing industry for State Racing Ministers in which the
racing industry was divided into nine main activities: administration,
breeding, owning, training, riding, veterinary, farriers, clubs and
race gambling, estimated that racing contributed 0.5% to Australia's
Gross Domestic Product ($2,400 million) and directly employed 132,000
people (in 1990/91). In terms of contribution to Gross Domestic
Product, the report found that the racing industry was of similar size
to the agricultural output of the high rainfall zone and the iron and
steel smelting industry (in 1990/91). Many ancillary activities were
not covered by the nine sectors investigated; the important association
with racing of pharmaceutical companies, media coverage, transport
services, accountants, tourism, catering, and feed companies
illustrates the close relationship of racing with the rest of the
Australian economy.
Name of Racing Authority: Australian
Racing Board
Postal Address: Level 7, 51 Druitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61) 2 9551
7700 Fax: (61) 2 9551 7708
E-mail: arb@australianracingboard.com.au Web Site: www.australianracingboard.com.au
Chairman: Mr Bob Bentley
Chief Executive: Mr Andrew
Harding
Regional Racing Authorities:
Racing Victoria Ltd, Mr Robert Hines, Chief Executive Officer, 400 Epsom Road, Flemington, VIC, 3031,
Tel: (61)3 9258 4248, Fax: (61)3 9258 4743,
E-mail: information@racingvictoria.net.au
Queensland Racing, Mr Malcolm Tuttle, Chief
Operations Manager, PO Box 63, Sandgate QLD, 4017, Tel: (61) 7 3869
9777, Fax: (61) 7 3269 6715, E-mail: info@queenslandracing.com.au
Racing & Wagering Western Australia, Mr Ray Bennett, Chief Executive Officer,
14 Hasler Rd, Osborne Park WA 6017, Tel: (61) 8 9445 5544, Fax: (61)8 9244
5914, E-mail: info@rwwa.com.au
Thoroughbred Racing SA Limited, Jim Watters, Chief
Executive, GPO Box 2646, Adelaide S.A. 5001, Tel: (61) 8 8179 9802,
Fax: (61) 8 8350 0080, E-mail: avantrigt@satra.org.au
Tasmanian Thoroughbred Racing Council, Mr Rod
Thirkell-Johnston, Secretary, GPO Box 743, Hobart TAS 7001, Tel: (61) 3
6233 4313, Fax (61) 3 6224 4691, E-mail:i.stephenson@totetas.com.au
Racing NSW , Mr Peter V'landys, Chief Executive,
PO Box 1010, Mascot, NSW 1460, Tel: (61)2 9551 7500, Fax (61)2 9551
7570, E-mail: racing@racingnsw.com.au
Darwin Turf Club, Mr Des Friedrich, Chief Executive, GPO Box
589, Darwin, NT, 0801, Tel: (61) 8 8941 1566, Fax: (61) 8 8981 4493,
E-mail: dtc@darwinturfclub.org.au
Canberra Racing Club, Mr Peter Stubbs, Acting Chief Executive, PO Box 1, Watson,
ACT, 2602, Tel: (61) 2 6241 3888, Fax: (61) 2 6241 5697, Email:
canberraracing@thoroughbredpark.com.au
Statistical:
| Racing Season |
|
1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006 |
| Number of Raceclubs |
|
355
|
| Number of Fixtures |
|
Flat 2,752 |
| Number of Races |
|
Flat 19,821 |
|
|
Jumping 142 |
| Number of Runners |
|
Flat 194,462 |
|
|
Jumping 1,258 |
| Number of Horses in Training |
|
31,248 |
| Number of Trainers |
|
5,056 |
Principal Races: (by value)
| |
Name
|
|
Racecourse
|
Distance
|
|
|
Prize Money
|
| 1. |
Melbourne Cup (H'Cap)
|
|
Flemington
|
3200
|
|
|
$4,550,000
|
| 2. |
Golden Slipper Stakes (SW)
|
|
Rosehill
|
1200
|
|
|
$3,023,775
|
| 3. |
Cox Plate
|
|
Moonee Valley
|
2040
|
|
|
$2,240,000
|
| 3. |
Caulfield Cup
|
|
Caulfield
|
2400
|
|
|
$2,290,000
|
| |
The BMW |
|
Rosehill |
2400 |
|
|
$2,021,975 |
| 6. |
AJC Derby
|
|
Randwick
|
2400
|
|
|
$1,912,000
|
| 3. |
Doncaster Derby (H'Cap)
|
|
Randwick
|
1600
|
|
|
$1,935,360
|
Financial
Total Prizemoney (Local Currency -
Australian Dollar): $383,961,237
Exchange Rate to US$ US$1 : A$1.53
| Betting |
|
Totalizator |
|
Yes |
|
Off Course |
|
Yes |
|
|
Bookmakers |
|
Yes |
|
Off Course |
|
Yes (limited) |
Total Betting Turnover A$11,700 million
(2004/2005)
Principal Bet
Types Win Place Trifecta
Betting Deductions - Govt Tax
Bookmakers turnover tax rates range from 1.33% - 2.17%
TAB turnover tax rates
range from 15% - 28%
Report on Racing Activities
The 1990s have seen
sweeping changes in Australia's racing industry. Pre-1992 the Principal
Clubs that control and supervise the industry in each State while
recognised by statute still remained true to the racing club model.
From that time either legislative or internal reform has taken place in
almost every Australian State and in 1996 the control functions of the
Australian Jockey Club, Australia's oldest Principal Club, were
transferred to a new body, the NSW Thoroughbred Racing Board.
The TABs, first
introduced in the early 1960s, have also undergone significant change.
Victoria's TAB was the first to be privatised, with NSW following in
1998 and privatisation being considered in several other jurisdictions.
In Victoria and NSW TAB privatisation has meant significant increases
in industry funding and has been accompanied by comprehensive industry
planning. At a national level the Australian Racing Board has replaced
the Conference of Principal Racing Clubs and the National Office of
Australian Racing as the national administration body for the
Australian industry.
In recent years there
have also been significant changes in programming, first with the
popular introduction of Sunday racing and, more recently, with the
introduction of nightracing at the Moonee Valley Racing Club and the
Sydney Turf Club.
