Question Without Notice No. 118 asked in the Legislative Council on 21 March 2018 by Hon Colin De Grussa
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
RACING AND WAGERING WESTERN AUSTRALIA —THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPING AND RACE PROGRAMMING REVIEW
118. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the Minister for Racing and Gaming:
I ask this question on behalf of my colleague Hon Colin Holt, who is away on urgent parliamentary business. He lodged this question yesterday, but an answer could not be provided. I refer to the independent review of Racing and Wagering Western Australia's thoroughbred handicapping and race programming.
(1) What is the cost of the review?
(2) Was the request for services to undertake the review put out to tender; and, if not, why not?
(3) What are the terms of reference for the review?
(4) When will the review be completed?
(5) Will the review be made publicly available; and, if not, why not?
(6) Will the minister table the industry consultation plan for the review; and, if not, why not?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for notice of this question. The following information has been provided to me by the Minister for Racing and Gaming.
(1) I am advised by Racing and Wagering Western Australia that the contract value for the independent review is in the order of $75 000, with appropriate variations as required. The review will be wholly funded by RWWA.
(2) A tender process was not required, as exemption has been provided by the RWWA chief executive officer. An exemption was granted due to the limited number of consultants available to undertake the specialised work.
(3) The independent review process will commence this month, involving extensive consultation with industry stakeholders to ensure WA is employing a best-practice model for industry.
I seek leave to have the rest of the response to (3) incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
The following material was incorporated —
The review will include the following handicapping and programming elements:
Handicapping
� Merit based versus fixed win and place penalties
� Maximum ratings penalty for racing outside of class o Rating penalties for placing in listed 3 year old races
� Weight relief for unplaced runs
� Spread of weights
� Minimum weights
� Minimum and maximum top-weight policy
� Handicapping templates V
� Dual rating system (Metro and Country)
� Lifetime minimum rating for horses that have reached certain prize money
� Consider what system of handicapping would assist in maximising field sizes for WA thoroughbred racing
� Determine if the current handicapping policies and methodology are maximising attractiveness of racing product to the punter
Programming
� Restricted class races
� Ratings based races V
� Benchmark races
� Racing opportunities in each class/band and region
� Number of black type races versus horse population
� Minimum class standard for Prime Metropolitan Saturday race meetings
� Review programming for lead up races in preparation for major races
� Consider if the current race programming system is adequate
� Establish whether the available data is being maximised
(4) Any recommendations for policy changes to the programming system will be communicated with industry with a view to implementation from the beginning of the new racing season on 1 August 2018.
(5) While the review will not be made public, any recommendations for policy changes from the review to the programming system will be communicated with industry with a view to implementation from the beginning of the new racing season on 1 August 2018.
(6) The minister will not table the industry consultation plan. However, consultation with relevant industry participants and representative bodies is underway, including the newly formed Thoroughbred Racing Committee, a subcommittee of the RWWA board comprising key participants of the thoroughbred racing industry. Any recommendations for policy changes to the programming system will be communicated with industry, with a view to implementation from the beginning of the new racing season on 1 August 2018.