‘I don’t see a positive future for the club under this Board’ – Dual resignations add to ATC turmoil

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Bayot and Natalie Hewson have sensationally quit as an Australian Turf Club directors, with Bayot delivering a scathing broadside at his former colleagues and painting a bleak picture for the future of the financially troubled organisation.

The shock departure of the pair, which is effective immediately, comes just days after the organisation sacked its chief executive Matt Galanos and continues upheaval at the ATC at both board and administration level.

A member-elected director of the ATC, Bayot’s decision to walk after more than four years on the board continues the tumultuous period for Sydney’s sole racing club which has been attempting to move on from the fallout of the failed $5 billion sale of Rosehill racecourse.

It was later confirmed that Hewson had also put forward her resignation, which leaves the ATC with just four on the board.

In confirming his resignation, Bayot told The Straight late on Thursday: “The actions of the board do not align with my personal values.

“The board lacks alignment, recently shown poor corporate governance and faces significant financial strain. I don’t see a positive future for the club under this board.”

Bayot was being touted as a possible successor to Peter McGauran, a proponent of the sale of Rosehill to the state government, as chair of the ATC in the lead up to a vote in July, but he lost out to then deputy Tim Hale, an ardent critic of the proposal to cash in Rosehill.

McGauran was believed to have been lobbying strongly for Bayot to get the chairmanship but the pair failed to get the numbers.

ATC parts ways with chief executive as fallout from failed Rosehill sale continues

Matt Galanos has been dumped as Australian Turf Club chief executive in a senior management shake-up under new chair Tim Hale.

The StraightTim Rowe

Caroline Searcy was subsequently voted in as Hale’s deputy of the ATC, which oversees Randwick, Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Canterbury racecourses.

Managing director of Facilities First and Serco Facilities Management, Bayot was first appointed as a director in May 2021, replacing Phil Morley who ended his term on the ATC early, before being re-elected in 2022.

Bayot’s departure so soon after McGauran’s decision to leave the ATC has created two unfilled vacancies on the seven-person board.

As well as Hale and Searcy, the member-elected director Annette English remains on the committee as does the government-appointed independent director David McGrath.

Since McGauran’s decision to stand aside in early July and Hale’s ascension, rumours have swirled that the ATC board wanted to make changes at executive level and that occurred this week with confirmation that the long-serving Galanos had been removed as CEO.

“Our members and the great sport of thoroughbred racing are at the heart of the Australian Turf Club. We are committed to building stronger connections, being more transparent, and creating new ways for our members to help shape the future of their club,” Hale said in a statement earlier this week.

“I want to thank Matt for his long service to the ATC, first as CFO and then as CEO guiding the club through some very challenging times. 

“We wish him nothing but the best for the future.”

Steve McMahon, the ATC’s head of corporate affairs and government relations, has been appointed as the club’s interim CEO.

A recruitment process to fill the role of CEO is expected to begin in earnest after the running of The Everest at Randwick on October 18.