from www.breednet.com.auVictorian Owners Association(TROA) Chairman Andrew Lafontaine has criticised Racing Victoria Limited(RVL) Chairman Michael Duffy and RVL CEO Rob Hines for settling with corporate bookmakers only weeks before the hearing of the Racing NSW court case which today confirmed the right to charge Corporate Bookmakers a much higher fee than the recently negotiated Victorian deal.Mr Lafontaine said: "RVL has locked Victorian racing into a 2 year deal with Corporate Bookmakers

from www.breednet.com.au

Victorian Owners Association(TROA) Chairman Andrew Lafontaine has criticised Racing Victoria Limited(RVL) Chairman Michael Duffy and RVL CEO Rob Hines for settling with corporate bookmakers only weeks before the hearing of the Racing NSW court case which today confirmed the right to charge Corporate Bookmakers a much higher fee than the recently negotiated Victorian deal.

Mr Lafontaine said: "RVL has locked Victorian racing into a 2 year deal with Corporate Bookmakers based on an inadequate gross profits model which will now see Victoria many millions of dollars worse off for this period. TROA has always maintained the position that Corporate Bookmakers must be charged under a turnover model set at an appropriate level. TROA wrote to RVL at the end of August expressing our concerns about locking Victoria into a 2 year deal with corporate bookmakers based on a low percentage gross profits model. RVL had not bothered to consult with shareholders and we only learnt about this major development through an article in a newspaper. We asked that RVL not make any legal commitment until it was discussed with Shareholders. Our view was that no deal should be done until the outcome of the NSW court case ,which was only two months away, was known. Our concerns were dismissed and despite several requests, we were not given copies of the legal advice or any financial data or modelling to support RVL's deal with corporate bookmakers, which in our opinion was done with undue haste.

"We now find ourselves in a position where following the success of the NSW court case, Victoria will potentially forgo millions in additional revenue over a 2 year period from Corporate Bookmakers at a time when NSW is looking to increase prizemoney across all levels while Victoria continues to race for $12,000 at country meetings. Owners deserve better than this. We have been critical of Mr Duffy's performance in the past and I believe that this puts further pressure on him to retire from the RVL Board prior to the forthcoming RVL election. He has been there since 2001 and it is now time for him to go. We are also concerned about the lack of transparency and consultation with shareholders by RVL under Mr Hines. TROA will therefore immediately call for an urgent consultative meeting of RVL and all shareholders to further discuss these matters."