South Australia’s leading trainer will soon move at least half of his horses from SA to Victoria as the states racing industry continues to get impacted by the local governments POC tax grab.
McEvoy stated that the decision was brought on by the inability to make money in the state with stagnant prize money and rising costs.
“That’s why I’m building in Ballarat, I’m finding it too hard to make money in SA,” McEvoy said on RSN.
“The cost of employing staff and the cost of running a business with no chance of getting reward for your hard work, I’ve had to look elsewhere because I’m losing money.
“That’s why my focus will go to Victoria where the stakes money is higher.”
“Sadly, I’m thinking my stable numbers will go down by half which is pretty significant for the state of play in South Australia,” McEvoy mentioned.
“I’m sort of their biggest client and probably have about a third of their runners (which will affect) field sizes and each-way betting.
“It’s a move that racing doesn’t need and I don’t need but I’ve got to think about my business and my customers – and my customers are saying they want to race in Victoria.”
The move is set to cripple the already struggling state with Phillip Stokes and Lloyd Kennewell having already moved their primary training bases to Victoria in the past year.
