Geoff Want’s dream to have whip free racing across Australia will be officially over today. As several state representatives will be formally notifying HRA at a meeting in Sydney this morning, that they can no longer support the policy in its current format.
Questions about HRA’s management has been a hot topic for some time and this will not stop the large group of people that believe the Chief Executive position is now untenable.
Back in 2008 Geoff Want went on the record and said “Andrew Kelly is highly regarded in the racing industry and has a fine record of achievement in racing and sports administration,” Geoff’s view was that Kelly had “a strong background in administration and marketing”.
Many www.harnessbred.com followers believe Kelly has never displayed these so called skills, however I don’t think he can be entirely blamed for this mess with the whip rule.
While I’m not going to share my personal view on Kelly, what l do know is that in 2008 when he took over in his highly paid role as Chief Executive of HRA, we had 8,238 mares served that year for a total of 5,052 live foals. Under his leadership that number has now collapsed to 5,722 mares served and just 3,471 live foals.
With factors such a falling prize money and the considerable number of breeders and owners leaving the sport every year, it is no surprise there has been the loss of so many trainers, drivers and great harness racing fans.
Attendances are way down at the tracks, betting turnover and revenue for the sport is under real pressure.
I now see why so many people are crying out for “Kelly Free Racing” before it’s too late.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
