Reilly departs MRC, Fullarton to assume role as Chief Operating Officer

Tom Reilly’s short tenure as CEO of Melbourne Racing Club has come to a sudden end, with chairman John Kanga announcing his departure on Monday night, four months after Reilly stepped into the role.

Kanga issued a statement to select media outlets that there had been a parting of the ways. Contacted for further details of the situation by The Straight, both parties confirmed the news but did not wish to add anything further.

Significantly, Tanya Fullarton, who has worked in a variety of roles in racing, including as vice-chair and executive officer of TROA as well as heading up her own marketing company, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect.   

“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Tom was only CEO for three months and when things don’t go as well as they should, it is best to pivot and move on,” Kanga said in a statement.

“Everyone can be assured that we have put a management structure in place to ensure a smooth transition. I will spend substantial time at the Club as Chairman, as I did before Tom Reilly was appointed and am pleased to announce that we have appointed Tanya Fullarton as Chief Operating Officer to work with me.”

Kanga said that Fullarton was the right person to help him guide the MRC through this period.  

“Tanya has an excellent reputation and deep experience and relationships across the racing industry,” the chairman said.

“She has in excess of 30 years commercial experience at a high level, with a skill set incorporating and including event management, business management, administration, marketing and sponsorship and has grown her management consultancy business over recent years to provide a series of important roles and services for corporate and racing clients.”

While the sudden exit of Reilly, who was recruited from Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, is a major twist in the short but dramatic time Kanga has held the chairman’s role, he insists that the club continues to make giant steps.      

“In my short time as MRC Chairman, we have successfully turned the Club around, restoring the confidence of members and industry participants and making common sense decisions,” he said. 

“This was immediately implemented by me in the months after I was appointed last October.”

He cited the decision to preserve Sandown and end the Caulfield masterplan, the relocation of the Caulfield mounting yard to its original position and the sale of a land to pay off club debt as key achievements.

“Tanya and I, plus all of the MRC management team, will ensure this continues into the future. In that regard, I have recently acknowledged that our racetracks need to improve and have made it my priority to turn that around,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is something we have inherited,” he said.

In an unusual end to a statement, which began by announcing the departure of his CEO, Kanga then confirmed that the club had engaged the manager of private training centre Pinecliff as a consultant for track management.

“He has brought on board the best team of outside agronomists available to advise on turf and soil maintenance and management. I am confident this will result in significant improvement and ask that everyone is patient while this occurs,” he said.

Pinecliff is a training property at Mt Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula. It is owned by prominent racehorse owner and TROA chairman Jonathan Munz.