This weekend marks the return to racing in Tasmania after weeks spent shuttered by coronavirus restrictions, but will the industry be able to recover?
Racing will return to Tasmania this weekend, but high-profile participants are continuing to question why the industry was shut down in the first place, and whether it can fully recover.Tasmania's was the only racing industry to be shutdown because of coronavirus restrictionsThe shutdown forced some jockeys to move interstate
"We never understood clearly why that had to be the case here, and it has done a lot of damage there's no doubt about that," he said.An estimated $14 million will be lost to the industry, mainly through the absence of race field fees. Last month, the State Government announced a $2 million assistance package to help the industry through the crisis.But the chairman of the Tasmanian Racing Club, Andrew Scanlon, said the increase was "underwhelming" and the industry had been promised a $4 million bump as a result of receiving 80 per cent of new Point-of-Consumption tax revenue.
Racing Minister Jane Howlett is expecting the industry will welcome a government cash injection. given the COVID-19 impact."I believe with COVID-19 and what's occurred out there, I don't believe the industry was actually expecting a stakes increase [this year], so I think this will go down extremely well within the industry," Ms Howlett said.
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