• What a Difference a Decade Makes - NOT!!
  Why Can't the Thoroughbred Racing Industry in B.C. Get On Track
  
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  Those of you getting a little long in the tooth will remember 10 years ago when Jack Diamond and the B.C. Jockey Club were being held up as the villains in the industry. `Everything will be fine if we just get rid of Jack Diamond and let the industry manage itself !!' 10 years later, industry representatives are running Hastings Park, attendance is down, handle is down, and it is only a short time before purses will be down.
  
  How can things have gone so wrong? Does the blame now lie with the new managers? No, Jack Diamond is a well respected and benevolent man. The current management group are equally well intentioned. So why can't the racing industry get on track instead of apparently fading away without a whimper?
  
  I believe there are 2 fundamental problems with the management of horse racing and 1 fundamental problem with the industry itself.
  
  First the management of the industry. Regardless of who is running the PRA (Hastings Park), the CTHS or the HBPA, the industry will not move forward until someone has the responsibility, the authority and the will to do so. One cannot put 3 groups, with naturally competing interests, in a room and expect them to come up with the best solution for the industry as a whole. Each representative is only accountable to his or her group. The strongest group or individual will dominate and most times the industry as a whole will lose. The industry needs someone that, is accountable for, and has the power to arbitrate between the horsemen, the breeders and the track under the sole mandate of expanding the size and scope of live horse racing throughout the province. Until this happens horse racing will operate like a ship with no captain - ultimately heading for the rocks while the 3 first mates point fingers at each other.
  
  Secondly, thoroughbred horse racing, as old as it is in this province, has not weaned itself from outside support and as a result continues to blame outside forces for it's problems and look to outside sources for solutions. For decades racing was protected by being the only form of legalized gambling. Once the industry lost that protection, live racing did not venture out and compete in the entertainment and gaming industry on it's own merits. No, it turned to teletheatre, simulcast and off track betting to provide support. Now with the benefits of simulcast and teletheatre tapped out it is again looking for outside support to protect it from having to compete on it's own merits - bring on slot machines. The thoroughbred racing industry in B.C. will not return to any form of prominence unless and until it can compete for entertainment and gambling revenues on it's own merit.
  
  Why is the industry itself a problem? Mostly because it doesn't recognize how out of touch it has become with the expectations of today's business and society. This isolation has contributed to a culture that is out of step with both modern business practices and modern social values. Race horse owners support live racing but are not always treated with the respect and value required of successful businesses in today's economic climate. Employees are often not afforded the basic labour standards accepted in today's society. There are many other entertainment businesses eager to treat these customers properly and capture some of their entertainment money.
  
  
• The fence around the backstretch is no longer effective in just
  keeping the seedy elements of society out of racing - it has become
  a way of keeping the progressive elements of society out of racing.
  
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  Without substantial changes to the culture on the backstretch, the supply of horses (read owners) for live horse racing will dry up, not because people don't enjoy owning, watching and betting on horse races, but because society (through owners) will not continue to support the current culture and business practices on the backstretch.
  
  Enough of what's wrong! So what can the industry do? Lets start with management. First, somebody or some authority needs to be made responsible and accountable for growth and development of horse racing in B.C. Historically the commission's role has been regulatory and the structure of the commission is designed to address the regulatory aspects of the industry. Rather than create a new authority over racing, the quickest and easiest way to change the focus of the management of racing to a focus on growth and development, is to change the management of the commission by adding a Director of Growth and Development to compliment a Director of Regulatory Services. The commission can pass on the authority to the Director of Growth and Development to enable that position to arbitrate contested issues between the 3 industry groups and to initiate new programs to modernize and stimulate the industry. This initiative is inexpensive ( can be done within the current commission budget) and can be implemented quickly.
  
  Live racing supports 4 times the jobs and economic activity as electronic racing. Second, through discussion with all sectors of the industry in all areas of the province, develop a "Strategy for Expanding Live Racing in B.C." and give the new Director of Growth and Development the responsibility of implementing it. Live racing must aggressively compete in the entertainment and gambling industries. It must do so on it's own merits and not live off handouts from others. If managed in a manner consistent with it's competitors, I believe it can compete successfully.
  
  Third, if you would like to see change in the backstretch culture speak out. Demand that the commission expect as much from backstretch employers and employees as society expects in other businesses. Most professions require their members to attend professional development activities each year - why not horse trainers? When you rent a car, hire a financial adviser or buy a computer, you sign a contract outlining the terms and conditions of the business arrangement - why not for training horses. Whether you work for McDonalds, a local clothing store or a legal firm in the Bentall Center, there is a dress code that is appropriate for the situation - why not on the backstretch and in the paddock? There are many things that could be done - only the mandate, desire and authority to get them done are lacking. A Drector of Growth and Development, with the appropriate authority, could make these things happen.
  
  A number of years ago someone suggested to me that the industry may have to sink a lot lower before anything gets done. He has been right so far. Let's hope he doesn't continue to be right.
  
  
  Mark Robbins