ATC looks to boost board numbers ahead of Racing NSW legal stoush

The Australian Turf Club will soon begin formal interviews with candidates to fill a member-elected vacancy on its board as it prepares for a court hearing which will shape its future.

Applications for the member-elected position, left vacant by the resignation of Ben Bayot in September, have closed with formal discussions with candidates to begin in the next few weeks.

Two independent director positions on the ATC board also remain vacant after the departures of Peter McGauran and Natalie Hewson. 

NSW Racing Minister David Harris yet to call for applications to fill those positions despite an expectation new appointees would have been in place from February 1.

The ATC had successfully argued in the Supreme Court Of NSW hearing in December that it could proceed with new appointees to the board despite Racing NSW’s attempts to put the club into administration. 

The ATC board has been operating with four directors since September, the minimum number required to meet quorum, as a split of the board was caused by the failed sale of Rosehill and its fight to remain independent in the face of being placed into administration.

Tim Hale, the ATC’s chair, confirmed to The Straight on Thursday that nominations for the member-elected vacancy had closed.

But Hale would not say how many applicants there are nor did he put a timeline on when a decision will be made on who the successful candidate will be.

The Straight believes there are at least five candidates for the member-elected position. 

Hale and his fellow directors Caroline Searcy, independent David McGrath and Annette English met at its monthly board meeting on Wednesday,

The departures of Bayot and Hewson in September precipitated a crisis at the club, who also parted ways with previous chief executive Matt Galanos. 

The ATC was issued with a show-cause notice by Racing NSW the following day as to why it shouldn’t be placed into administration, a process which led the regulator to action the threat in December.

The club immediately took the matter to the NSW Supreme Court, with an injunction granted by Justice François Kunc until the case is heard in February. 

A proponent of selling Rosehill racecourse, McGauran quit in July, less than two months after ATC members voted in majority against the plan to offload the inner western Sydney track to the government for at least $5 billion.

The two open independent director positions are appointed by the NSW Minister for Racing through a selection process. 

After questions were put by The Straight to the Racing Minister’s office this week, a spokesperson said Harris had called for nominations for selection panel members who will recommend who the independent directors on the ATC should be.

In order to select the independent directors, a panel is composed of a person nominated by the chair of Racing NSW, an incumbent independent director already on the ATC board and an elected director nominated by the ATC board.

“The Minister for Gaming and Racing has written to the chairperson of Racing NSW (Dr Saranne Cooke) and the board of the Australian Turf Club seeking their nominations for people to constitute a selection panel to appoint independent directors, in accordance with the Australian Jockey and Sydney Turf Clubs Merger Act 2010,” a spokesperson for Minister Harris said in a statement.

“The Minister notes that in accordance with its Constitution, the ATC Board retains a quorum of directors to enable it to continue functioning.”

Given the current legal action between Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club, it looks unlikely to be a quick process. 

In an advertisement posted in 2022 calling for expressions of interest to fill independent director positions on the ATC board, the government indicated the selection panel must be satisfied that successful applicants have “experience in a senior administrative role or experience at a senior level in one or more of the fields of business, finance, law, marketing, technology, commerce, regulatory administration or regulatory enforcement”.

At the Supreme Court hearings in December, Justice Kunc granted the ATC an injunction which prevented Racing NSW-appointed administrator Morgan Kelly from assuming control of the club.

The ruling also allows the ATC to function as normal until the outcome of the case.

Racing NSW and the ATC will return to court on February 19 and 20, with a directions hearing scheduled for February 6.

Simultaneously, the Minns Labor state government is also conducting a review into the Thoroughbred Racing Act which is being overseen by former Liberal health minister Brad Hazzard.