RACING editor Bart Sinclair talks to incoming Racing Queensland Limited chairman Kevin Dixon after his first week in the position.

What are your first thoughts on RQL?

It would be nice if we could simply say times are tough and things are tight. A lot of the problem is structural and it will be harder to correct in the long term. An example is the business model RQL built. It is far more expensive than the industry can afford. In the re-structure, all business will be carried out with an eye to greater productivity.

Can you provide an example of what you are trying to achieve in the way business is conducted at the Deagon headquarters?

The centralised approach to managing race clubs and their facilities produces an end product which is of a higher quality. However, it is one the racing industry in this state can't afford. We get around the financial problem by moving the delivery of racing services back locally and accept that involves compromises in the way that is done. Under the previous RQL model, Rockhampton is a classic example. To maintain and run the facilities at Callaghan Park has been costing about $1 million a year, or a lot more than when the Rockhampton Jockey Club did it themselves.

Where do you start to rein in costs?

The first thing we did was cut board fees by 50 per cent. That's dropped in day one from $525,000 to $262,5 ... [Read More]