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BARRY DENT

When Barry Dent almost had youth on his side, he could well have been taken for a jockey. It may be a challenge to think of the prospect now, 50 years on, but not at the time.His father was a rider in the Hawkes Bay area and Barry has a photo of himself as a lad leading a horse around as a lad leading a horse around at a Southland Race Meeting. The horse was trained by Rex Cochrane who was the first to win 1000 races as a galloping trainer in New Zealand. "A journeyman jockey," says Barry. "Won nothing of note, as far as I call recall.

But neither the picture nor the profession did enough to push young Dent into the world of thoroughbreds. In fact, it had the opposite effect because he's lock, stock and barrel involved in harness racing and he's due next month to mark his first year at the helm of the Met and much the same time as being a Board Member of HRNZ.

It's all quite a step from Riverton, Charlie's home town, and Gore where his mother Pearl(Youngman), living a few doors from the Cochranes, and from a family that includes Ross and Robyn Jones from Kina Craig. By the time Barry was born, in the early 50s, Charlie and Pearl were back from the Bay and Charlie was into grocery shops and supermarkets. Barry's brother Graeme went into the navy, specialising in weapons, and Barry makes frequent trips to Adelaide to see him.

Barry decided on going to university, with the idea of being a teacher, but to get through he needed a job. Being a volunteer fire fighter, it seemed logical to do the work for pay. "So I started uni and stopped, and stayed in the Fire Service for 33 years, until I retired in 2004."

But the service did more than provide a career; it placed him in the company of Dunedin fire fighters Ray Hansen and Ken Campbell, both keen racing men who were soon to start a partnership with Dent, that has continued for more than thirty years. "Our best horse and one of the first, was Liberty Vogue, who won seven or eight. We bought him off Bruce Stirling as a three-year-old, but we tried a few and there were plenty of poor ones."

He recalls some huge fires, notably the Arthur Ellis mattress fire and the Edmunds Hardware Store. "It was a job where you'd go to work and never know what's going to happen next."

In 1982, Barry took promotion and moved to Christchurch where his role as a Fire Officer put him in charge of an engine and a four-man team. Later, and before he retired, he was senior station officer with responsibility of five engines and crew. "I think the grass fire at Bower Ave was one of my biggest. There were more than twenty engines, and the north westerly made it so hard to head off. But later it was mainly computer work and I hardly got on an engine, and this affected my decision to retire when I did at 50. One of the saddest events was being sent to a plane crash at Harewood knowing a small plane had disappeared in thick fog. You had a good idea what happened before you got there."

He also transferred his Forbury Park membership to the three Addington clubs and with encouragement from Bill Andrews joined the Met committee in 2004. From there he became a director in 2007, deputy chairman from 2010 to 2013, and chairman a year ago. "But the funny thing is that I never had any aspirations to be involved in administration at any level. Over time, it changed and I thought that if I can put something back into racing I will."

Being an owner is another avenue. He has an interest in Poppy Melba, Dolly McD and her progeny by American Ideal and Bettor's Delight. He has raced and sold with David Emerson, Bruce Almighty and Master Pip and has been involved with Pearl in every Met syndicate. She is also in Tas Man Bromac - there is a family connection there, with Nathan Williamson - and since she moved to Christchurch 15 years ago she has never missed a Cup.

Ten years ago, when Barry left the Fire Service, he stayed to run the superannuation side of the service, which suits him because it gives him a day a week to deal with his racing activities. And these also include his roles as President of both the Canterbury Trotting Owners Association and the Christchurch Trotting Club.

He says his Met position is a continuation of what has gone before. "Not a lot has changed. Our strategic plan and our business plans are in still in place. There are no surprises. We must drive costs down so there is a better return for owners." Barry is pleased with the income from events and buildings because the racing side of it "is just holding its own."

"How do we grow betting? Static turnover means it limits a club's ability to grow stakes. The Met has increased stakes by over $1 million in the last two years but it has been generated from other parts of our operation."
The only frustration he has is the time it is taking to amend the constitution which will allow more sophistication in a variety of ways.

Where Barry takes extra pleasure from his position is through the ability to meet with all the players - owners, sponsors, trainers and members. "it is a co-ordination role of all our functions but at another level." And while the big challenge is to increase the size of fields - "Because no-one wants to bet on small fields." He knows it is a steep challenge. "We have to concentrate on our big days, getting those fields out early to attract betting, and continue with our race series. And we would like clear skies and a good fine day for the Cup. It is our turn for it, and an easterly is not the answer."

Credit: Mike Grainger - Harnessed Oct 2014

DAVID RANKIN

David Rankin had never been on a racecourse until he was 45. Yet he recently stepped down after five years as chairman of the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club having directed a transformation which makes Addington the number one racing complex in New Zealand by asset strength.

Typically he gives the credit to his Board and executives. "It's not about me," he says. "It's about the processes we put in place and the people who carried these out. It was giving the Club a full business philosophy which turned things around."

Rankin remains on the Addington Raceway Board but retired from the chairman position for health reasons. "Last April out of the blue I suddenly developed problems with an eye closing of its own volition. Then with both eyes open I had trouble focussing. While the cause of that was being established I had to undergo an operation to relieve excessive levels of calcium caused by a thyroid problem. I was found to have myasthenia, a neuro muscular weakness. I could do nothing physical at all. It could be a real effort for my neck to hold my head upright. Treatment has stabilised the problem and it can go into remission for long periods so here's hoping."

He has a strong accountancy and business (managing-director Livingstone Real Estate) background, and is a son of notable Canterbury rugby coach of a former era, Jack Rankin. But his entry into both racing and administration was almost by chance. "Mike Grainger was a school friend of mine and he got some of us in to a syndicate. There were 10 originally but the first horse didn't make it so it was down to five by the time we tried our second horse. That was Straven which won five and had eight placings from 13 starts before we sold him to America. It was a great start for me. I was at a (Boys High School) reunion when Jim McGee sitting next to me suggested I should join up at Addington. After a year on the committee I stood for the Board and three years later became chairman (2008) on the death of John Penney. So it was fast tracking all round."

Rankin had looked at the philosophy behind the Addington business and didn't like what he saw. "We had historically spent nearly everything we earned. We were often posting profits before depreciation which are not real profits at all because it is not money in the hand to re-invest. When we lost the industry facilities funding through the Racing Board we were in trouble. We were not reinvesting enough in our core business. It got to the stage that when we went into a joint venture with the industrial complex we got $2m and had to use it all to pay off debt. We had major cash difficulties in 2008 and when the tax cuts came into force ours went largely into stakes. It was not sustainable."

"We had some tough years. I refused to present a report which posted profits before depreciation. In 2012 we wrote off $840,000 in depreciation to get everything back on track and still had a positive cash flow of $1.8m - enough profit to build the new bar complex out of income."

The club targeted the right people to bring about major change. "Shane Gloury did an outstanding job as a change manager. He came from Melbourne and took on the challenge to alter the culture of the place. It was a tough assignment especially given the challenge of the horse barn situation which wasn't good and greeted him on arrival. Our Events (catering) operation, for example, was to some extent stifled by tradition. There was a resistance to change. Now we have enthusiastic Events leaders coming up with their own innovations to improve the product. That was a huge change for us and a credit to Shane."

"You must remember that racing is only 47 per cent of ourincome now. We have people wanting to come to Addington because of the catering and it has boosted our income. To survive from a racing aspect we must grow in other areas. It is a true success story. This was all done without significant staff changes and when Shane had to leave us Dean McKenzie came and has been a stunning CEO. Dean is an experienced delegator, prepares in great detail and empowers the staff to come up with their own thoughts and feelings. He utilises their skills. That gives them enthusiasm and pride in achievement. Money can't buy that."

"Brian Rabbitt has played his part on the racing side too. Our average field size at this year's Cup week meetings lifted on last year while the national average went down. It is essential we have more horses racing here and the programming of events and innovations like rewarding owners of horses who support our meetings (Met Multiplier) which has made that difference. The success also reflects the value in having an expert accounting and administrative figure at the top - one who keeps the focus where it should be.

"I don't know a lot about racing. I have never pretended that I did. But that wasn't really what we needed at the time. I have great faith in our succession plan. Barry Dent (new chairman) has my full confidence. Behind him is Brent Smith who was not really into racing either and was a bit reluctant to come on board because of time constraints. I told him not to worry about coming to the races every week, it was his financial skills we needed. Now Brent is as keen on the racing as anyone. Recruiting these sort of people has been satisfying."

Rankin makes the point that Addington is now the most valuable racing centre in New Zealand. "We have $87m in assets. Ellerslie by comparison has $61m and Alexandra Park about $47m. It is pleasing to see that Alexandra Park is now following our move to use assets for greater income because I know they will make a lot of progress from it. The old idea when you got into trouble was to sell something. We are currently getting around $1.5m profit from our business centre enterprise and that will only grow. We have two blocks yet to develop one of 4000 sq m and one of 2000 sq m and that is the future. And of course we have income from the Twigger Stand leases as well."

While Rankin acknowledges the earthquakes have been a blessing for Addington Raceway in a number of respects, he resists the idea they are the reason for the Club's success. "We were paid $11m for the public stand. The Racing Board took $6.1 of that for the barn and we have the other $5m still invested. We haven't used it. Our gain is that there are more people in the area now."

Rankin's real estate expertise enables him to predict the future of Addington's non racing situation. "If you drew a line around a 3km radius from Riccarton Mall, for example, spending there is estimated at around $1.2b a year, the largest amongst suburban malls. So increases in people in a 3km radius around Addington now plus our ace in the hole, parking, means initiatives like our new bar complex are virtually guaranteed to succeed. The bar is already running ahead of budget."

As a result Rankin dismisses any possibility of racing moving from Addington in the forseeable future. "It would cost us $60m to build a new complex from scratch and the figures from racing income just don't add up. The Sydney and Melbourne Clubs who moved out of the city got a lot of money but are struggling to get a business income over 7 days off the ground. You can build a hotel but will people want to stay in it out there? And that land would have been even more valuable in a few years. Our great advantage is our position. Why would you consider giving that up?" The latest boost is the decision of the Canterbury Rugby Union to lease the old administration office at Addington for its offices meaning the admintistrative staff will all move into the present racenight administration area.

Considering David Rankin came to power on the edge of a severe economic downturn his time in charge can only be described as a huge success. He is confident that will continue because of the processes put in place by he and his team. He gives a lot of credit to his wife, Kath. "She is brilliant with people and I am not. She committed to the challenge and has been a great asset to me in that respect. She remembers names and takes a real interest in the people she meets. I am more reserved and organisation is more my thing. We make a great team."

May we see the Rankin name in national administration over time? "I have not thought about seeking that but I would not count it out all going well on the health front. I love a challenge. At the moment I am just looking for a bit more luck with my horses. The public makes them favourite a lot but they always seem to run second." That changed at Timaru on Saturday when Nigel McGrath produced another winner for his patron. It may have been appropriate that its name was All Cash and Burning followed the next day at Motukarara.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in HRWeekly 27Nov13