Central control – Racing NSW to manage Sky Racing’s dedicated thoroughbred channel in national tote deal

Racing NSW will take charge of Sky Thoroughbred Central, and coverage of the state’s Saturday metropolitan meetings will continue on free-to-air television as part of a landmark agreement that paves the way for the long-awaited implementation of a national tote.

Tabcorp chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s “historic structural reform” of the national tote, which will see the merger of the NSW, SuperTAB and UniTAB pools from early in the racing season, pending final regulatory approval, has faced hold-ups from NSW administrators, including Peter V’landys.

The Racing NSW chief executive, who will begin four months of long-service leave on Thursday to act as executive chair of the National Rugby League, confirmed a string of agreements between the thoroughbred regulator and Tabcorp.

They include:

• Approval for the implementation of the national tote, which “has the potential to further grow revenues and provides more opportunities for punters through larger totalisator pools”.
• Racing NSW to manage Sky Thoroughbred Central, which will see new programs and initiatives to promote the NSW thoroughbred racing industry.
• International pooling, free-to-air rights for 52 Saturdays, currently broadcast on the Seven Network and continued funding of the Golden Eagle.

Many of the agreements will run through until 2031.

The first day of operation for the national tote could begin as soon as August. However, the concept requires approval from wagering regulators in each state, which could delay it further.

V’landys says the suite of agreements between Racing NSW and the wagering giant, which holds a retail monopoly, “future-proof the industry and ensure that our participants and clubs can continue to benefit from these important revenue streams”.

“Further to this, more revenue for the NSW thoroughbred racing industry is expected to be generated from the introduction of a national tote,” he said.

“The totalisator is an important part of the wagering market, and the national tote can further stimulate tote betting through larger pools which make the pools more elastic. 

“This ensures better value and more opportunities for punters.”

McLachlan said Tabcorp was ready to make the national tote a reality, claiming its introduction will “deliver deeper liquidity and more competitive pricing”.

“This will be a historic structural reform for the industry,” he said.

“A national tote has been put in the too-hard basket for too long – together with the racing codes we are almost there. 

“Change is hard, but there has been a genuine commitment from industry to get this right.

“I want to acknowledge all three codes in NSW for the way they have leant in and engaged with us to reach an outcome that will bring life back to the tote and leave a lasting legacy for the racing industry.”

There has been no indication in the public announcements made by Tabcorp or Racing NSW on Wednesday that the take-out rates for the parimutuel products will change under the one-pool model.

Sky Thoroughbred Central, the dedicated third racing channel that mostly covers thoroughbred racing from NSW and Queensland, has been perceived by some observers as favouring NSW at the expense of the broadcast of meetings north of the border.

After considering joining the Racing Victoria-owned Racing.com, Racing Queensland signed a 10-year agreement in 2020 to broadcast its races on Sky and Sky Thoroughbred Central.

That agreement included Brisbane Racing Club’s meetings conducted at Eagle Farm and Doomben. It is expected that viewers will not see any differences in the way Queensland racing is broadcast under the management of Racing NSW.

It is understood that Sky Thoroughbred Central was created primarily to broadcast racing in NSW, with the V’landys-led regulator holding a power of veto over editorial content on the channel.

The Straight has been told that formalisation of the agreement between the two bodies means that editorial and programming decisions for NSW racing will now rest with Racing NSW rather than with Tabcorp. As an example under the previous arrangement, Tabcorp would require written approval from Racing NSW to allow a Sky Racing 1 host to appear on Sky Thoroughbred Central.

V’landys promised the shake-up of Sky Thoroughbred Central would lead to significant innovation.

“Racing is competing in a modern media environment, and we need to keep improving how the sport is presented, promoted and consumed,” he said.

“This agreement ensures that the NSW thoroughbred racing industry has a platform to promote not just the races themselves, but also the horses and participants to showcase the sport to new audiences.”

McLachlan said Sky Channel would also have a new look next season.

“We’re changing more than the tote – the whole way we present racing for punters will change,” he said.