Deloitte to help Oz racing industry

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu set up a taskforce to help Australia's horseracing industry cope with the equine flu outbreak that prompted the government to cancel races and ban the movement of horses in some states.

The financial services company will advise businesses on managing the "immediate financial crisis" caused by the outbreak, Stephen Harvey, Deloitte partner and director of the Australian Racing Board, said.

A prohibition on racing that began on August 25 crimped earnings for companies including Tabcorp Holdings Ltd and Tattersall's Ltd, Australia's two biggest betting shop owners.

The Australian International 3-day Event was postponed and spectators were banned on Saturday from attending Sydney's first horserace in two weeks at Warwick Farm, about 30 kilometers from downtown Sydney.

"The future prosperity and perhaps even survival of many organizations would depend on how they now responded in the weeks ahead," Harvey said.

"They need to examine the short term cash flow outlook over the period of the current lock-down and understand how long can they operate under these circumstances."

Australia appointed former high court judge Ian Callinan last Monday to conduct an inquiry into the outbreak.

Horseracing is Australia's second-most attended sport after Australian Rules football and generates A$15 billion ($12 billion) a year in betting revenue.

The country accounts for 13 percent of horse races globally and A$364 million was offered in prize money in the year ended June 2006, an amount exceeded only by the United States and Japan, according to the Australian Racing Board.

Wagering revenue

Nationwide restrictions on racing and the transportation of horses contributed to a 12 percent slide in Tabcorp's wagering revenue in New South Wales and Victoria states last weekend compared with the same period a year earlier, Standard & Poor's said in a report last Monday.

"Any offers of help to people and companies that are being disadvantaged by this horse flu is great news," Gillian Rolton, director of the Australian International event and equestrian gold medalist at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics, said.

The Victorian government yesterday increased security along its border with New South Wales, where more than 2,000 horses have been diagnosed with the flu, Australian Associated Press said.

About 100 security guards will patrol the 28 crossings of the Murray River, which forms the border between the two states, the agency said, citing Victoria Premier John Brumby.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 09/11/2007 page16)