The new chairman of Racing Victoria, Tim Eddy, picked a bad time of year to go fishing.
They might be biting in Western Australia, but not as savagely as Racing Victoria shareholders were snapping in anger in the Manikato Room of Racing Victoria’s Epsom Road headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Tim Eddy is the new chairman of Racing Victoria.Credit: Eamon Gallagher
Chief among their concerns, according to four industry sources who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, was that Eddy had agreed to a number of Racing Australia deals that stakeholders claim have sold Racing Victoria short.
He had sat in the Racing Australia boardroom, alongside representatives from every state, to hand group 1 status to pop-up races the Everest and the All-Star Mile. A process that is still under a cloud.
The RA board also voted in controversial “black type guidelines” that would allow any race in the country to be elevated to group or listed level if it attracted high-rating horses and achieved a high race rating. Racing Victoria has veto powers on Racing Australia changes.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the industry, an adverse reaction eerily similar to the unrest that bubbled over in Victoria on the eve of last year’s spring carnival.
This year it was Eddy, not former RV chief executive Andrew Jones, who was in the firing line.
The sources said Racing Victoria shareholders were angry they had not been consulted over changes they claimed made “Australia look ridiculous” and handed a NSW a considerable advantage.
Such was the alarm, they demanded a meeting, and an explanation. They filed into Racing Victoria headquarters on Monday afternoon for a briefing with Racing Victoria chief executive Aaron Morrison.
The briefing did not go well. One insider at the meeting said Morrison was stunned by the negative response.
“At the meeting of RV members at RVL last Monday, all the racing industry members expressed their anger that they had not been consulted and been blindsided on the proposed pattern changes,” the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association said in a statement to this masthead. Two other stakeholders said they were not consulted.
Eddy was not at the meeting. Two sources who wished to remain anonymous said he had gone fishing in the middle of the spring carnival, and he had done so when things were “a mess”.
One prominent owner-breeder, who did not want to be named, said that in their view Eddy’s role was no longer tenable, just four months after he took the job.
Eddy was contacted for comment.
The words of owners association chairman Jonathan Munz in June are starting to reverberate.
New Racing Victoria chief executive Aaron MorrisonCredit: Scott Barbour/Racing Photos
“Who are they trying to kid – everyone knows that RVL does not have widespread support for its failure to refresh the majority of the board and refusal to appoint a new outside chairman,” the billionaire owner said of Eddy’s elevation to the top job.
“I really hope that they do a better job, but the reality is that if RVL’s performance does not improve quickly and previous poor policies and decisions are not reversed, the industry will take action to remove further directors.
“In that case, all the spin and pretend unity in the world will not help them. Ideally, they immediately pivot and get it right, but time is ticking.”
Monday’s meeting pulled in representatives from all layers of the industry.
RV directors Sharon McCrohan, Tim Rourke, Kate Joel and Mark Player sat alongside members from the Victorian Racing Club, Melbourne Racing Club, Moonee Valley Racing Club, Southside Racing, Country Racing Victoria, the Australian Trainers Association, the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association, Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria and the Victorian Jockeys’ Association. Also present was Victoria Racing Club’s new chief executive Kylie Rogers.
The meeting heard the new guidelines would allow a scenario in which NSW could use its superior war chest to undermine the Melbourne Cup by creating a rival group 1 3200-metre staying race on the first Tuesday in November. It was a hypothetical scenario that did not sit well with the VRC.
“This is bad for Australian racing’s credibility,” one source said. “If we say all these races are suddenly group 1s, the rest of the world won’t accept it because you can’t have too many grand finals. It dilutes the standard.”
Suddenly, Racing Australia had agreed to so many upgrades the national calendar would be awash with another 87 listed or group races – or “too many grand finals”.
The Everest will be run on October 19.Credit: Getty Images
The sources said these changes would wreak havoc with the “racing pattern” – a national calendar of vital importance to the breeding industry because it ensures the best horses win the best events.
The two sources said Racing Australia also made a mistake in declaring the Everest and the All-Star Mile were already group 1 events.
“It has not been ticked off at an international level,” one source claimed. “It’s a con job by these people. They must think we are stupid.”
Racing Australia chief executive Paul Eriksson has dismissed this claim, saying the body had written approval for both races to be granted group 1 status.
Regardless, it has been a short-lived honeymoon for Racing Australia – an organisation that sat dormant for seven years because of the racing wars.
When Eddy and Morrison helped bring the body back together this year after breaking bread with Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys, they were met with pats on the back. But now the reunion and the subsequent decision-making has stirred unrest.
The two sources said that stakeholders have demanded that Eddy, with the support of Morrison, goes back to Racing Australia and winds back the new black type guidelines – a course of action that would set Victoria back on a collision course with NSW.
Sources said a lawyer for Racing Victoria had raised concerns that confining NSW to a racing pattern – an industry-determined calendar of black-type events – could be argued to be a breach of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s federal competition laws.
Morrison directed requests for comment to a Racing Victoria spokesperson, who confirmed to this masthead that the RV board and executive had met with shareholders on Monday and would take feedback to the Racing Australia board.
Racing Victoria later released a statement to this masthead.
“Rightly or wrongly, RV was respectful of the process and confidentiality obligations of the Racing Australia board,” the statement said.
“As we shared with our stakeholders, the changes proposed by Racing Australia are driven by the implications of national competition law and Australia’s unique federated model.
“There are issues that remain under discussion with relevant international authorities and our chair has been working along with the PRA [principal racing authorities] members of Racing Australia to address these.
Racing is again in a state of turbulence in Victoria.Credit: Getty Images
“RV respects and understands the further concerns raised by our stakeholders and will continue to consult with them as we work with Racing Australia on the guidelines.”
But, suddenly, the sport in Victoria is back where it was 12 months ago, with unhappy shareholders threatening a revolt on the eve of the spring carnival.
Racing Victoria announced a new-look executive team to support Morrison on Thursday, bringing in former South Australia Racing chief executive Vaughn Lunch as chief operating officer, appointing Peter Betson as executive general manager, strategy and corporate services, while Janelle Helleur will take the role of executive general manager, people and performance.
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