Bren O'Brien

Chairman Peter McGauran insists the Australian Turf Club remains in a strong position despite a divisive vote over Rosehill, a racecourse he described as “nothing precious apart from its history and its location and the fact that we own it”.

The argument over the future of Rosehill may have been settled, but the way forward for racing in Australia’s biggest city is far from clear. Bren O’Brien wonders if the toxicity of the debate will continue to cloud real progress.

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.

The historical statistics tell us that you have a better chance of sourcing a stakes winner from one of Australia’s two highest-grossing yearling sales than you do from the two biggest weanling sales. But as Run The Numbers reveals, that is not the case with the current crop of two-year-olds.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club conceded an issue with its betting pools late in Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting cost around HK$350 million in turnover, while Australian punters were shut out of betting on commingled pools.

Online and postal voting has closed for Australian Turf Club members ahead of the landmark vote on whether to proceed on a $5 billion sale of Rosehill racecourse.

Predictions of a massive surge in state government revenue from the new Victorian Point of Consumption Tax rate have proven optimistic, with the state budget revealing a $139 million reduction in revenue expectations over the next four years.