KEY POINTS:
A $9 million budget package committed by the Government to New Zealand's racing industry has been slammed by the Problem Gambling Foundation.
The money, earmarked for some stakes races, was announced by Racing Minister Winston Peters and will be split proportionately between three codes - gallops, harness racing and greyhounds - over three years.
Problem Gambling Foundation chief executive John Stansfield said it was "obscene" that the racing industry would get more taxpayer money on top of the pokie funding and tax concessions it already got.
"A week or so ago the Child Poverty Action Group published a damning report on child poverty in New Zealand," Mr Stansfield said.
"Every school in the country is crying out for more funding. The list of things this money could be spent on goes on and on."
Mr Stansfield said there was little evidence more investment in the industry was benefiting racing or the country and it was more likely to end up in the hands of the "champagne crowd" who were rich enough to have horses in top races.
But New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing spokesman Simon Cooper said that was not the case.
"I think the perception from Problem Gambling seems to be that racing is populated only by rich people and why should they get more money ... "
"But the perception is different from reality in that most investors in racing are there on a relatively small budget, not a large budget."
He told NZPA a recent survey said most people racing horses were involved in small hobby-type syndicates.
"There are of course rich people in racing, but the key thing is that it's (investment) bringing more horses back into training and it's bringing breeders back into the game and increasing the horse population."
He said the money from the Government also had to be matched dollar for dollar by the industry.
Mr Cooper said the racing industry was at least as big as the fishing industry and employed about 18,000 people in New Zealand.
"It's critical we don't perceive it as a rich sport, it's an industry," he said.
The industry had been under-funded over the years but there was evidence initiatives such as tax breaks were already helping revive it.
- NZPA
