Broadcast: 30/05/2003


IAN HENSCHKE: Harness racing has never been the sport of kings in SA. But those with a long involvement in the industry are now looking towards an even poorer future. 'Stateline' has been told that a report predicts a $1 million loss for the sport in two years time. It's brought calls for rationalisation within the industry, with a proposal to close nine country race tracks.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: The bright lights and electric atmosphere of a night at the races paints a glamorous picture. But as the years go by, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make a living out of it.

ROSS SUGARS, TRAINER: To run a professional outfit of about 20 horses in work, and maintain enough income for three people to sort of live off is just beyond reality at the moment.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: Ross Sugars has been training in the harness racing game for 40 years, but isn't sure how much longer this will be his job.

ROSS SUGARS: Frankly I don't know what will happen. It is frightening to believe what's going to happen to the industry. It'll just -- I think it will end up grinding to a halt.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: The harness racing industry gets most of its funding through a deal with the TAB. When the local TAB was sold to Queensland, the deal provided for ongoing funding of harness racing. Currently, it gets its proportional share of all TAB profits, but from July next year the system is changing to a performance-based payment scheme. And with a forecast downturn in TAB turnover, harness racing could face cuts. Stateline has been told that a business plan commissioned by Harness Racing SA predicts those cuts could lead to $1 million loss by 2005.

MARK CAREY, HARNESS RACING SA: No, no, I don't know where you have got that from.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: Mark Carey is the chief executive of Harness Racing SA, which is the sport's governing body. He's playing down concerns about potential losses.

MARK CAREY: Whilst there is the rumours and the the downturn that people are concerned about, I'm confident that moving forward we can do that and the industry can get through.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: But Bronte Giorgio's not so sure. As president of the harness racing club at Globe Derby Park, he's already suggesting the industry may need to rationalise.

BRONTE GIORGIO, SA HARNESS RACING CLUB: There's just too many venues and not enough money to keep, to sustain the lot of them.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: He thinks the industry should give up trying to hold race meetings in small unviable country centres for two years, instead focusing on the larger ones at Port Pirie, Mt Gambier and Globe Derby. That means the nine other country clubs would either hold their meetings at those main centres or face close.

BRONTE GIORGIO: All we're saying is, use this venue to save your own venues, otherwise we'll all go down in a screaming heap.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: One club which already holds some meetings at Globe Derby Park is Strathalbyn. Secretary Paul Davis says the club's also had to sign a sponsorship deal and establish tenants on the property to keep running. He's urging other clubs to do the same.

PAUL DAVIS, STRATHALBYN RACING CLUB: So we've gone out and said OK, we have to treat it like a business. We have to increase our market share in terms of dollars, otherwise our business won't see the future.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: Mark Carey's confident country clubs won't have to close, so he's encouraging them to improve their performance.

MARK CAREY: The board is trying to work with a lot of those clubs to see if they can lift their game in respect to getting on-course revenues for their clubs.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: In the meantime, Bronte Giorgio fears the $1 million loss could come out of racing prize money.

BRONTE GIORGIO: Unless a miracle happens in 2005, the industry will just be decimated here. You just can't possibly race horses for $1,000 races. It's just not viable.

ROSANNA MANGIARELLI: If that happens, it's feared the better prize money offered interstate could draw trainers away, and only add to the industry's problems.

BRONTE GIORGIO: I'd like to still think I'll be in the industry, whether it's still here in SA, or as many SA's high-profile people in recent time have done and gone interstate and tried their luck there and they've been quite successful. So maybe for my children's benefit maybe that might be the way that we end up going.

MARK CAREY: Sure things are tough, and things are going to get tougher as we go along, but if we all work together I'm sure we can come up with the right result for harness racing.