The music may soon stop, and important chairs (including the big one) will be filled in Victorian racing, but the landscape, and no pun intended, (though you will note why), remains anything but totally clear.
Obviously Racing Victoria is without a chair (Michael Hirst has agreed to continue acting as such until the end of this month) while a chief executive officer and a reshaped board is in waiting.
The Victoria Racing Club announced on Monday that they have a new CEO, Kylie Rogers to replace recently resigned Steve Rosich, to work alongside their dominant chair Neil Wilson.
Josh Blanksby announced the same day he was leaving the CEO role at the Melbourne Racing Club - believed to be a year earlier than expected - as a divided board deals with the issues of implementing the expensive Caulfield masterplan and awaiting a Sandown rezoning application with what, if anything, to do with that outcome.
Blanksby finishes at the end of August but soon after, current chairman Matt Cain will step down though not before another MRC committee election with Cain and Mark Pratt up for re-election and a Caulfield Cup size field of nominees expected.
Does this all point you to a vacuum of leadership in the racing industry in general, or the ability to first attract or then keep and work for it's betterment as a whole.
No problem at The Valley, CEO Michael Browell, in the job since 2008, or some six CEOs at RV ago, is about to launch Phase Two of the club’s $2b redevelopment (in partnership with Hamton Property Group) but is more relevant to the core business, to crunch numbers that will see the much expected realignment of the famous track and what a new grandstand will look like and cost (which is meant to come after next year's Ladbrokes Cox Plate).
So, let’s look further into some of this and possible outcomes.
Racing Minister Anthony Carbines had all but promised the industry that Gillon McLachlan would sail into the chair at Racing Victoria, but each passing day suggests the former AFL supremo is any closer to being comfy in it.
It is understood that while Gil would consider an advisory role at Epsom Road, he first wanted his private (day job) affairs in order, so he could “pay the mortgage” as he recently said.
One of those possible opportunities left on Monday when former Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti was announced Chairman at Crown Resorts.
It reopens the obvious door at Tabcorp and its vacant CEO role worth in the vicinity of $3m annually (plus attractive entitlements like shares), as opposed to what is said to be around $200,000 a year as a stipend to chair Racing Victoria.
Not that this would simply come down to dollars, but of course a consideration, though he is coaching the Prahran U-13’s footy team under the good bloke’s act.
With Gil cooling, the push is understood to have Tim Rourke elevated not just to the RV board (as will happen) but straight into the chair.
(Rourke will be announced with Mark Player, chair at Macedon Lodge, a long-term racing industry professional including previous times at RV as well as the Hong Kong Jockey Club.) Another board vacancy will also need to be filled by Carbines.
Rourke is CEO at CitiPower and Powercor, an owner of racehorses over many years, including the likes of Vigor, Barbaricus and more recently Young Werther.
Rourke would seemingly fit comfortably instead of Gil and ahead of current board member Paul Guerra (CEO at the Victorian Chamber Of Commerce).
If so with Rourke, he would have a say in the next CEO after Andrew Jones resigned earlier this year. Former Chief Operating Officer Aaron Morrison has been acting in that role since and has designs on making it permanent.
But names like Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll, Rosich and Blanksby have also been mentioned, there is no application process in place at the moment, though there are suggestions that a left field person (non-AFL, or racing), will soon emerge as favorite.
Not favorite though is for a flash new, state of the art, world class, insert the usual babble here, for grandstand at Caulfield.
Permission from Heritage Victoria and the Caulfield Reserve Trust for demolition of the current Sir Rupert Clarke Grandstand (opened in 1992) has been received by the MRC, but the board is grappling with the benefits of launching into a huge debt burden for a “Grand Pavilion” as part of the $300m Caulfield masterplan redevelopment.
The MRC recently opened its inner Heath track allowing up to 45 race meetings a year, options for night racing are still in limbo, the club losing $17m running racing, it’s business model propped up by the hugely successful Pegasus Leisure Group, operating hotel and club venues across the state.
But club management is already dealing with the mixed feedback, much of it negative, to its new mounting yard, participants areas and raceday stabling redevelopment, so a new CEO, chair and a still divided board, will first have to address that before thrashing through the bottom lines of costs and benefits for a new grandstand and the long-term debt it brings, or the more likely, redevelopment of the current one at a fraction of the price.
That’s even before the issue of Sandown and what to do with it once the government makes a final decision the clubs zoning application.
No such problems at The Valley though where the City Of Moonee Valley has approved planning permits for the redevelopment of a grandstand and clubhouse precinct that follows previous approval in relation to the existing racetrack and infield.
“It’s all systems go at the moment,” said Browell.
That is that the old grandstand goes after the 2025 Cox Plate to allow the next phase of the building development, along with the track being re-aligned with a new grandstand for the 2027 Cox Plate.
“We are about to go with costings on the track and all the civil works involved, before going to the market for pricing on a new grandstand and what it would look like,” Browell said.
The advertised grandstand has permits including an 83-room boutique residential hotel and a rooftop bar.
“It is no secret it is not getting cheaper to build, once we are aware of the others costs, we can price the grandstand and timing but there are options, it’s a flexible project, the design could change, it could be shorter, taller, longer, smaller but we will get the costs of the civil works first and have a better idea before going to market.”
Browell said he “wouldn’t have thought” there were any issues with the grand plans for a new Valley coming to a final fruition after so much planning and works over almost two decades.
“There have been some delays with EOI’s (expressions of interests) in relation to where the transferred meetings especially the Cox Plate will go, along with final submissions on the long-term home of the All-Star Mile.
“We will probably be in a position to have a much clearer view in the next four weeks, the infield is separate, but we are very happy with the overall development, and we will start selling the new apartments (about 350 from the next phase), later in the year.”
Browell revealed there were six submissions in relation to partnerships in developing The Valley infield, with the AFL making a bid “on behalf of a number of clubs”. A footy oval would fit beautifully in there.”
But it could be observed a ball-park investment of $500m across two clubs to build grandstands is in not only their best use interests, but also for the industry. (Racing Victoria already has their substantial investment in "Project X" and what do do with that for the future, and if, and it's a big if, Sandown is sold and the money that flows through a Memorandum Of Understanding between RV and the MRC.
If new leadership and a clear vision starts from the top down, and that could include rationalisation.
It follows, to look Southside Racing, the recent merger of the Cranbourne and Pakenham clubs, has shown the benefits of efficiencies in that model.
It would be no surprise if a new RV Board and a decisive chair, would visit such in some shape, exploring options with the metropolitan clubs (of which Southside Racing is understood to be seeking that racing status for the long-term future.)
Mentions of an AFL type membership model across the clubs and tracks seem sensible. As will a proper amalgamation of media rights with the VRC's Cup week to be brought back under the RV banner, once the latest deal with Channel 9 expires, finally. All under new leadership.
But that's another matter - there is always plenty.
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