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From the Chief Executive |
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Dear Members
Firstly, let me wish all of you a very Happy New Year as we build up to what promises to be an outstanding 2009 Tooheys New Autumn Carnival. To help everyone get in the spirit of things, I would like to extend a free guest pass to all of our members to attend the upcoming Sunset Sessions race meeting. We are taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather and daylight saving with the first race at 3.55pm and the last race at 7.55pm on Friday, February 6th.
Looking forward, this year’s Autumn Carnival will encompass three super Saturdays with David Jones Derby Day on the Easter long weekend, Emirates Doncaster Day the following Saturday and Schweppes Sydney Cup Day which falls on Anzac Day. We intend to commemorate ANZAC Day with appropriate acknowledgment of our past and present servicemen and women.
We are in the advanced stages of planning for this year’s Autumn Carnival Members Cocktail Party. We hope to see as many of you as possible on Wednesday 8th April 2009.
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2009 Tooheys New Autumn Carnival Racing Highlights
The Carnival promises to showcase some of the country’s most exciting thoroughbreds. We are expecting (at this stage) that Takeover Target will clash with Apache Cat in this year's Group One TJ Smith Stakes over 1200m. They clashed in this race last year, and it was officially rated the highest quality race of the year, nationally! We are looking forward to champion 3yo filly Samantha Miss running in the Oaks or perhaps the Doncaster Mile or Derby, depending on her autumn performances and what her trainer Kris Lees deems most suitable for her. Unfortunately, it looks like Weekend Hussler will head to Dubai and miss the autumn in Sydney. Sebring
is on his way back from injury, and the next few weeks will be critical to his autumn campaign. We are also expecting big things in autumn from Melbourne Cup winner Viewed (JB Cummings) and spring G1 stars Thesio and Northern Meteor (Waterhouse) and the Graham Begg trained All Silent.
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Royal Randwick Racecourse and Tracks
Our tracks, both grass and dirt, are in peak condition and we have made further substantial improvements to the training facilities at Royal Randwick with the construction of eight new horse walkers.
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Master Plan Delivers Functional Taxi Boulevard for Autumn Carnival Members and Guests
Stage 1 construction work is on schedule and ahead of budget. Subject to favourable weather, the new Oaks Drive taxi boulevard will be complete and fully functioning by Autumn Carnival. This will be a vast improvement for members and guests travelling to and from Royal Randwick by cab on Carnival days. Tenders for the Race Day Stalls are being assessed and work will commence shortly and is due for completion mid-year. This new precinct will greatly enhance the opportunity for interaction between racegoers and horses before and after races.
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Although Stage 1 will begin to solve long, outstanding deficiencies/problems, there is plenty more to be done to provide better member benefits and upgrade the amenities. The success of this project to date is testament to a period of stability for the club, and the direction and support of the Board who, over the last eighteenth months, have demonstrated the resolve and determination to deliver on the much needed improvements.
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AJC Club Cost Management
We are well prepared to manage your Club through the economic downturn. We have taken the responsible approach and reviewed every aspect of our controllable costs. This includes greater efficiency from our service contracts, exercising greater purchasing power, staffing efficiencies and generally doing more for less.
Club administration cost efficiencies have been implemented which will result in savings of up to $2m per annum, and we will continue to seek further efficiencies across all areas of the business. Furthermore, incorporation has been a major step forward for the club, bringing us into line with best practice with our peers, such as the VRC.
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AJC Members and Guests Customer Survey
There is nothing more important than direct feedback from our members, and all racegoers. To this end, we commissioned a survey of over 1000 attendees at the 2008 Spring Carnival. Of the 1,055 respondents, 657 were members, 149 of which were young members.
We would like to thank all those members who took the time and effort to complete the questionnaire. Results were very encouraging with high overall ratings on the raceday experience at Royal Randwick, and with intention to return. Clear areas for improvement are transport, amenities and increasing the variety of catering. These elements are firmly in our sights as immediate priorities. The quantitative survey results are available on our website www.royalrandwick.com
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Membership
An encouraging trend is that the number of membership applications and renewals are set to exceed previous years. This gives us an indication that you support our efforts to improve the service and amenities that are provided to members and their guests. We are particularly pleased with the number of new members who are applying after positive experiences at recent Carnivals and race days.
Please keep the feedback coming in, we want to maintain the momentum and improve on all our efforts to ensure we deliver you a fantastic Autumn Carnival for 2009.
Happy Punting!
Yours Sincerely,
Norman Gillespie
CEO
Australian Jockey Club Limited
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