A public relations firm has been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court as Racing NSW attempts to uncover documents of an alleged plot to exile it from Racing Australia.
High-profile communications company Cato & Clive had been seeking to set aside a Racing NSW subpoena calling for access to documents detailing an alleged media campaign against Racing NSW.
However, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Cato & Clive must join five Principal Racing Authorities (PRA) at a summons hearing later this year. Cato & Clive declined to comment.
The bitter feud on the Racing Australia board has rumbled on for years and the distrust between the factions has fractured the industry, with the warring parties unable to agree on issues ranging from whip use to animal welfare initiatives and even the racing calendar.
One aspect of the bad blood between the two heavyweight states of NSW and Victoria revolves around a row over governance protocols in 2017. Racing Australia board minutes recently obtained by the Herald show two Racing Victoria representatives – director Greg Nichols and then chief executive Giles Thompson – were asked to leave a Racing Australia board meeting after fellow directors expressed reservations about a previously undisclosed conflict of interest.
Sources speaking to the Herald on the condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the meeting said Racing Australia had spent 15 months over 2016 and 2017 discussing whether to buy racing data business Bloodhound Australasia and a similar market leader, New Zealand-based Arion Pedigrees.
Racing Victoria director Greg Nichols and former chief executive Giles Thompson.
It was not until the September 2017 meeting that the Racing Australia board was told by Thompson, who had only taken over as Racing Victoria boss months earlier, that Racing Victoria had struck an agreement in 2014 to buy Bloodhound Australasia, which trades as Kelly Brothers.
According to Racing Victoria’s 2018 annual report, the Kelly Brothers deal was formally completed in November 2017, although Racing Victoria had been incurring the costs of the business since 2014.
The minutes record that the other board members accused Racing Victoria of “unconscionable conduct” in having access to sensitive commercial details for Arion Pedigrees, a competitor to Kelly Brothers.
Racing Victoria was officially censured after the meeting and Racing Australia subsequently wrote to the state regulator to further express its concerns.
The Kelly Brothers issue caused a major breakdown in relations between the states, with the meeting in which Victoria’s delegates were asked to leave held only weeks before the first running of The Everest at Royal Randwick.
The $10 million event, which was instantly the world’s richest turf race, was programmed in the middle of October at a time when Melbourne’s spring carnival traditionally dominated the Australian racing landscape.
Thompson did not return calls on Wednesday and Nichols referred the Herald to Racing Victoria’s current chief executive Andrew Jones.
“This is an issue Racing NSW complains about frequently,” Jones said on Wednesday. “It was before my time, but I will say the RV people involved have a different view of the matter.
“In the spirit of goodwill, I offered a constructive way forward early in my tenure. RNSW chose not to pursue it and instead took legal action against every state PRA in Australia.
“So unless something changes, Bloodhound will stay on the list of unresolved matters.”
When asked about the Kelly Brothers issue, Robert Pearson, Racing and Wagering Western Australia’s director on the board in 2017, said: “There was controversy at the time, but the exact nature of it would need to be verified with other people.”
Former Racing Australia chair Frances Nelson declined to comment, as did Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding. Racing Queensland’s director Steve Wilson, who was on the board at the time, could not be contacted on Wednesday.
Racing Australia comprises members from the state regulators and is responsible for the national rules of racing, race programming, horse welfare and information services, such as official pedigree records and race fields.
Racing Australia has been widely described as dysfunctional in recent years, with the two biggest states, NSW and Victoria, at loggerheads and holding a power of veto in affecting any change to the rules of racing or welfare initiatives.
The organisation has been rocked by a spate of resignations, with former chairman John Messara and chief executive Myles Forman quitting last year over the impasse between the states.
Tasmania’s representative Robyn Whishaw described the board as “toxic” in her resignation letter earlier in 2023.
“Put bluntly, there are only so many times you can bang your head against a brick wall before you choose to stop,” Whishaw wrote.
Racing NSW launched legal action against Racing Victoria and four other states – Racing Queensland, Racing South Australia, Racing and Wagering Western Australia and Tasracing – earlier this year and the matter returns to court in May.
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