Racing NSW will put aside A$2M ($1.54M) for a horse welfare program "to be funded by a levy on a new prizemoney package" that was announced on Tuesday, according to Chris Roots of THE AGE. The "fully funded sustainable package" in conjunction with the Australian Turf Club includes taking Saturday Sydney prizemoney to a minimum of A$100,000 ($77,000) a race, provincial prizemoney to a A$30,000 ($23,000) minimum a race, "and a lift in feature race stakes across the state" from Oct. 1. The package will draw on more than A$18M ($13.8M) in additional income from a revised Race Fields fee schedule, "the digital rights to racing in NSW sold to bookmaker William Hill and tax parity." However "in a sign of the times, Racing NSW reacted to the state government shutting down the greyhound industry" by putting aside 1% of the A$204M ($157M) in prizemoney to "look after horse welfare." Racing NSW will form a new department, including vets and staff to retrain racehorses and place them within the horse community "beyond their time on the track." The welfare scheme was a centerpiece of a package "that takes racing in NSW to a level beyond any other open jurisdiction in the world." The benefits "were spread across the three sections, metropolitan, provincial and country" (THE AGE, 9/6).
