Photo: President Peter Francis and Vice President/Treasurer John Fokerd
The Association's Annual General Meeting was held last Wednesday, 20th June in the Cuvee Room, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 members and chaired by President Peter Francis. Vice President/Treasurer, John Fokerd presented the Annual Financial Statement which was adopted by the members.
The NZTBA Council has 11 members and is comprised of five representing the Northern Region, three from the Central Region, two from the South Island and one Studmaster Branch representative. Councillors elected serve a two-year period after which they are required to retire by rotation.
This year retiring councillors were Mark Chitty, Vicki Pascoe, John Fokerd and Myles Gordon. All retiring councillors were returned unopposed and the Council for 2012-13 was declared as:
Northern Region: Mark Chitty, Peter Francis, Chris Luoni, Vicki Pascoe and John Thompson
Central Region: Murray Brenton-Rule, John Fokerd and John O'Brien
South Island: Chris Dennis and Myles Gordon.
Studmaster Branch: Mark Baker
At the conclusion of the formal part of the meeting, New Zealand Racing Board member Dr Alan Jackson addressed the members for about 40 minutes sharing his thoughts and views about the state of the industry.
With the help of a power point presentation he illustrated the detailed and complicated funding maze of the racing board and the three codes that are part of it. As well as the normal problems facing any business in the worldwide economy at the moment, the board's income is largely reliant on the turnover of domestic racing, international racing and wagering on sport. Sport wagering is the only form to show any significant increase in the past year.
The racing board has finally appointed a new Chief Executive Officer Chris Bayliss and Jackson believes one of the hardest challenges facing him is how to grow the boards revenue. He is hopeful that Bayliss with a new set of eyes looking over the operation of the board will make a difference to the bottom line of the board's books.
In the meantime the racing board has about eight projects underway to try and increase revenue streams including new betting software and the results from these projects should be evident soon.
Jackson believes that the main issues facing the thoroughbred industry is the lack of stake money, the inability to provide sufficient good product on consistent tracks and the lack of good facilities for participants to enjoy the races from. He stated that NZTR whom he has represented on the racing board are aware of the challenges and would require a further $25million to be able to fund the code to meet those challenges.
- NZTBA
The NZTBA Council has 11 members and is comprised of five representing the Northern Region, three from the Central Region, two from the South Island and one Studmaster Branch representative. Councillors elected serve a two-year period after which they are required to retire by rotation.
This year retiring councillors were Mark Chitty, Vicki Pascoe, John Fokerd and Myles Gordon. All retiring councillors were returned unopposed and the Council for 2012-13 was declared as:
Northern Region: Mark Chitty, Peter Francis, Chris Luoni, Vicki Pascoe and John Thompson
Central Region: Murray Brenton-Rule, John Fokerd and John O'Brien
South Island: Chris Dennis and Myles Gordon.
Studmaster Branch: Mark Baker
At the conclusion of the formal part of the meeting, New Zealand Racing Board member Dr Alan Jackson addressed the members for about 40 minutes sharing his thoughts and views about the state of the industry.
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| Dr Alan Jackson addresses the meeting |
The racing board has finally appointed a new Chief Executive Officer Chris Bayliss and Jackson believes one of the hardest challenges facing him is how to grow the boards revenue. He is hopeful that Bayliss with a new set of eyes looking over the operation of the board will make a difference to the bottom line of the board's books.
In the meantime the racing board has about eight projects underway to try and increase revenue streams including new betting software and the results from these projects should be evident soon.
Jackson believes that the main issues facing the thoroughbred industry is the lack of stake money, the inability to provide sufficient good product on consistent tracks and the lack of good facilities for participants to enjoy the races from. He stated that NZTR whom he has represented on the racing board are aware of the challenges and would require a further $25million to be able to fund the code to meet those challenges.
- NZTBA
