by HRV Media
In late 2016, the Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Board engaged an external consultant to identify opportunities for efficiency improvement and to create new revenue streams. Following on from that and his own appointment in January 2017, HRV CEO David Martin has continued to consult the industry in order to establish its strategic direction through the challenges faced.
One of those challenges is HRV’s increasing costs and declining revenues, which are impacting profitability and HRV’s ability to fulfil its role in the industry. Therefore, HRV recently made changes to reduce operational costs and align the organisation’s resources with the key strategic themes.
“As the governing body, it is vital that HRV has a sustainable financial model by which it operates. HRV lost money in 2015/16 and will do so again this year, so the Board and I needed to make some difficult decisions. We are very mindful of the impact of these changes on individuals and have offered support wherever possible,” Mr Martin said.
Going forward, HRV will focus on a combination of ‘functional strategies’ such as Marketing & Wagering, Finance, People, Racing, Legal and Integrity, and concurrently work with the industry on ‘Stakeholder Strategies’ for each of Owners, Breeders, Trainers & Drivers, Clubs, Punters and Government & Public. In all areas, decisions need to be based on putting the industry first.
Mr Martin advised that: “The intent is for the two sets of functional and stakeholder strategies to be integrated, jointly owned and reviewed as implementation occurs. Within this framework we have identified four key strategies that are vital for improving the future of our industry, namely Racing Product, Race Programming, Major Sponsorships and the Melton Masterplan. We have already seen an uplift in field sizes and races per meeting as a result of changes to race programming and handicapping. We have a long journey ahead to build the industry we all want, so it is important that we work together through difficult times to overcome the external challenges the industry faces.”
-ENDS-
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
