By Danny Russell
A push led by billionaire horse owner Jonathan Munz to overhaul the Racing Victoria board will be put to a vote on Wednesday at a special general meeting that could cost five directors their jobs.
Munz is chairman of the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association, which has lodged five resolutions with Racing Victoria calling for the majority of the seven-person board to be dismissed at Wednesday’s meeting.
Racing owners association chairman Jonathan Munz.Credit: Martin King
Munz, the billionaire owner of The Everest-winner Giga Kick, would not comment ahead of Wednesday’s meeting but has been highly critical of the state’s racing management in the past seven months.
In December, he released a statement accusing the executive of being “lazy and incompetent”. In that statement, he blasted a new one per cent levy on prize money, pointed to an alleged $10 million in spending wastage, called for Racing Victoria CEO Andrew Jones to be sacked, and said the majority of Racing Victoria board members needed to be replaced. His organisation lodged a letter with Racing Victoria in December calling for Wednesday’s special general meeting.
Jones, who declined to comment when contacted by The Age, came under fire from some in the racing industry over changes to the spring carnival, including prizemoney cuts, and floating novel concepts such as a new whip-free racing series contested by teams, dubbed “the Big Bash of racing”.
As CEO, Jones’ future can only be decided by the board and will not be on Wednesday’s agenda.
The RV board is comprised of Melbourne’s three metropolitan racing clubs (Victoria Racing Club, Melbourne Racing Club and the Moonee Valley Racing Club), which have five votes each, Country Racing Victoria (10 votes) and the another 10 votes are split between the owners’, breeders’, jockeys’ and trainers’ associations, as well as bookmakers and jumps racing.
To pass a resolution, the Racing Victoria constitution says two thirds of Racing Victoria members need to vote in favour – at least 24 of the 35 votes.
The five resolutions call for the removal of acting chairman Mike Hirst and directors Kate Joel, Paul Guerra, Tim Eddy and Ross Lanyon. All current board members have been appointed by the state racing minister, Anthony Carbines.
The vote on Hirst will be obsolete, given he announced last week he would be standing down from the board by the end of May. An RV spokesperson said Hirst, who was recently announced as chairman of AMP Ltd, would not comment ahead of the meeting.
The Age first reported that Racing Victoria faced an uprising from disgruntled stakeholders early in last year’s spring racing carnival.
At the time, asked about those agitating for his removal, Jones defended his executive team and his efforts to modernise the sport.
“We have been in constant dialogue with the ATA (Australian Trainers’ Association) and other member associations on a wide range of issues,” said Jones, who was one of the architects of cricket’s Big Bash League.
“The fact that we don’t always necessarily agree doesn’t mean we don’t consult. We take account of a wide range of perspectives, and ultimately make the best decisions in the best interests of the entire industry.”
Representatives of the three metropolitan clubs – the VRC, MRC and Moonee Valley – were meeting to discuss their position on Tuesday night, according to a source familiar with the negotiations who would not be quoted because no decision had been made.
Two sources linked to country racing, who also would not be quoted ahead of the vote, expected CRV to vote against the resolutions. If a Melbourne club also opposes the resolutions it will be enough to save the board members.
If all five resolutions are voted down at Wednesday’s meeting, it will clear the way for Carbines to name a replacement for ex-chairman Brian Kruger, who stepped down last June.
A special interview panel has provided Carbines with a shortlist of candidates to fill the Kruger vacancy.
When Carbines’ office was asked what impact Wednesday’s meeting could have on appointing new board members, a Victorian government spokesperson said: “An open and competitive recruitment process is currently underway, and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Munz’s statement on December 27 last year came as TROA chairman described a new one per cent levy on prizemoney (about $3 million), to subsidise horse trainers for workcover costs, as a reflection of “lazy and incompetent management from RVL”.
“TROA wants to support trainers in these areas, but the money needs to come from RVL’s general budget and not taken out of the pockets of owners,” Munz said in the statement.
He added: “The RVL board needs a major refresh too, with the majority of directors needing to be replaced.
“They have enabled and encouraged this situation and if anything, are seen as more culpable, given that they appointed and have failed to manage and control Jones and failed to respond to concerns about the damage being done to the industry.”
