Forbury Park keen to be part of industry’s future
FORBURY Park Trotting Club says it had no warning it was going to lose race dates and future consultation must be open, fair and transparent.
A draft racing calendar for the 2002021 season was released last week and Forbury Park missed out.
The club’s board and management had a meeting earlier this week to discuss its next move.
It said the proposal to withdraw racing from Forbury Park was a shock and there were not sufficient reasons to justify the decision.
The club acknowledged, in a statement yesterday, the racing industry was facing many challenges and it wanted to be part of the future.
Change was needed to sustain the industry and increase the rate of return to participants.
‘‘The racing calendar is only a part of any future; solutions must be sought to remedy the ongoing financial stability of the industry, its administration, customer engagement and a robust and open review of the funding model to codes and clubs is needed.
‘‘As is an urgent release of proposed 202021 season funding so that the rate of stake payments can be ascertained and participants can cost the value of taking part in an industry that has experienced eroding financial returns for many, many years.’’
The club said the process must be open, fair and transparent and supported by real consultation, financial modelling and strategic planning so that all stakeholders can assess the suggested outcomes of any change.
‘‘That had to be done before we can determine if there is support for it and if there will be tangible improvements on returns and financial sustainability long term.’’
Forbury Park was encouraging all those affected by the current proposals, be it the loss of race licensing, increased costs of travel to participate or reduced rates of return, to question the decisions being made and determine for themselves the value in them.
Submissions to the Racing Industry Transition Agency need to be made by the middle of next month with the final calendar released on July 3.