Racing in Victoria is at the crossroads with the governing body releasing a three-year strategic plan to inject new life into a mature market that is under increasing threat from new wagering operators.

Racing Victoria (RV) chief executive Bernard Saundry described the plan, drawn up with input from the racing clubs, as a road map which sets out its priorities and key objectives for the future that include increasing betting turnover and restructuring the racing calendar.

"It's a simple articulation of what we want to achieve as an organisation to ensure future success and growth," Mr Saundry said.

He said that unless the industry was ready to innovate and embrace change, then it would not achieve growth across wagering, participation, engagement and funding that the sport needs to prosper.

Annual turnover of $5 billion is growing at just 1 to 2 per cent annually and RV wants to boost that to 3 to 5 per cent.

This will involve changes to the racing program over summer and early autumn to draw bigger crowds to the racetrack.

RV also wants to encourage more women to join the industry either as trainers, jockeys, apprentices or racegoers, saying racing was a sport where men and women can compete on equal terms.

Mr Saundry said there were 9000 racehorses in Victoria and it was important that they started more regularly, targeting an average number of 10.5 horses for each TAB flat race.

RV chairman Rob Roulston said technology had had a dramatic effect on the industry which for the past 50 years had been travelling smoothly collecting 5 to 6 cents in every dollar wagered.

"Corporate bookmakers setting up in other states have captured a large share of the market using technology putting our margins under threat," Mr Roulston said.

He said the strategic plan was developed as a response to the rapidly changing market and those states that fail to act quickly will soon find themselves out of the market.

"This is an attempt by us to say the market has changed, we have to get smart, we have to have very clever, innovative technology-based solutions to grow the pie, because our margins are being cut."