President José Vecchio Filho explains that, as the bets are being made over the internet and most bettors are formed by an older audience, they are not very familiar with this tool, reducing the number of bets.
With authorization from the City Hall of the Capital, the races continue to be disputed every 15 days, following the sanitary protocols, the distance between the employees and without the presence of a public. With races taking place on Fridays, the racecourse will host races on July 3rd.
As a result, there was also a decrease in the number of races, previously held weekly. "Our revenues have plummeted. We don't have the frequency of audiences all over Brazil, nor the physical agencies that pick up the bets, in addition to our experience in online gambling being incipient. It may be that in 10 years, the physical agencies do not even exist, however, it is a process that migrates slowly," he states.
Vecchio is keen to emphasize the need to keep horses active, comparing the animals' daily lives with high-performance athletes. "Horses need activity to keep pace. If they stop abruptly, they have a colic process and die. The pace of work can even be slowed, but by no means suspended. If the animal stops competing, it loses all physical conditioning, needing 30 to 60 days to recover," he explains.
Vecchio also recalls that the pandemic hindered the start of construction work on the real estate complex, with commercial and residential buildings, which will be developed in part of the Jockey Club area. The venture is a partnership with Multiplan, a holding company of Barra Shopping Sul.
"The laying of the cornerstone and the construction of the showroom would be done in March and concluded in October. Thus, this period should be delayed by at least six months after the end of the pandemic," he explains. About 50% of the stables area has already been demolished, where the commercial building that will be controlled by the Jockey will be developed.
Currently, the Jockey Club has 110 employees, 70 of whom are fixed in the daily routine, and another 40 who attend on race day. Vecchio says that salaries are being paid on time, no layoffs were made and that the federal government's decision to postpone tax collection is helping a lot to keep accounts controlled. In addition, there was a cost reduction due to the little use of the physical structure of the racecourse.
Source: Deivison Ávila – Jornal do Comercio
