The Rosehill vote is more than just a decision on the future of the western Sydney racecourse, it is judgement day for the strategy led by Australian Turf Club chairman Peter McGauran and executive Steve McMahon, as well as a poll on the state of NSW racing under Peter V’landys.
Peter McGauran’s sizable bet that he would convince the Australian Turf Club membership that Rosehill is surplus to requirement will either pay off in spades or backfire spectacularly when those members decide if $5 billion is the right price for one of Australia’s great racecourses.
The idea that the sale of Rosehill could be the panacea for all of the ATC’s financial woes may have originated from its senior executive Steve McMahon, but it was McGauran who stood front and centre of the concept from the moment it became public knowledge in December 2023.
And it will be McGauran who will bear the major consequences. Should the vote fail to gain majority support then surely his position as ATC chairman, a role he has held since August 2022, is untenable.
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