A recruitment firm has been appointed by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia to hire a replacement for its outgoing long-serving chief executive Tom Reilly.
Brisbane-based company u&u will undertake an extensive global search for the powerful breeding lobby group’s next CEO, a role that also encompasses leading marketing arm Aushorse.
Reilly, a former journalist and editor of the Sydney Morning Herald who led TBA and Aushorse for a decade, was appointed as the Melbourne Racing Club’s CEO just prior to Christmas.
The firm, founded by racehorse owner Craig Sneesby who has a share in three-time Group 1-winning mare Zougotcha, has recently run the recruitment process to appoint the CEOs of the Brisbane Racing Club, the Victoria Racing Club and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
“With their recent involvement in recruiting around the racing industry, u&u were a logical choice,” Aushorse chairman Antony Thompson told The Straight.
“The positions they’ve been able to fill has flushed out some really good people that may be of interest to us and … they're able to cast a really wide net within the industry or (finding) people with a love of the industry who may not work in the industry.
“It'll be a really thorough process and I'm sure we'll be able to find the next Tom Reilly to take us forward as we do have plenty of challenges in the industry and we do need that strong dynamic person who's able to guide us through the challenges as they're thrown at us.”
Bren O’Brien
Under Reilly’s leadership, TBA was instrumental in establishing the Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group to develop an equine welfare strategy in the wake of the scandalous late 2019 ABC 7.30 report into the treatment and killing of racehorses at knackeries.
It also lobbied strongly on a range of political issues related to the racing and breeding industries, which has brought it under scrutiny by some sections of the industry.
TBA, under Reilly, has also been involved in the politics of racing, which included extensive campaigning for the non-reappointment of then Racing NSW chair Russell Balding for another two-year term on the board beyond the maximum 10 years.
The NSW Labor government backed away from reappointing Balding in the dead of night by withdrawing the proposed legislation in late 2023.
Aushorse Investor’s Guide 2025
- More Races worth $1 million+ than Europe & America combined
- More than 140,000 Australians involved in racehorse ownership
Reilly has also been able to cultivate a bipartisan relationship with federal politicians, establishing the annual TBA-hosted event with the Parliamentary Friends of Primary Producers in Canberra during his time.
“When Tom took on the role, coming from outside the industry with a fresh pair of eyes, he had a look at the industry and identified some areas where he thought were deficient and certainly, as a one of the major industries in Australia and a huge employer, he thought our relationships with government were not good enough,” Thompson said.
“We lacked the political lobbying and associations that the industry really deserves, so Tom made that one of the things he wanted to improve and he's worked very hard on that and done a great job.”
"We do need that strong dynamic person who's able to guide us through the challenges as they're thrown at us.” - Antony Thompson
British-born Reilly was appointed as TBA CEO in 2014 following American Chauncey Morris’ resignation.
Former federal Coalition government minister Peter McGauran, the current chairman of the Australian Turf Club, was TBA CEO from 2008 to 2011.
Thompson said TBA and Aushorse would not be rushed into making an appointment, but is hopeful that the recruitment of Reilly’s successor would take no longer than six weeks.
“But we're not tied to that,” he said.
“Tom's going to help us through this transition and he's keen to see the new CEO make a smooth transition and Tom's going to be involved with that process as well.”
Staff Writer
TBA chairman Basil Nolan credited Reilly with developing a range of initiatives during his tenure as well as helping navigate some challenging periods for the industry.
“I don’t think anyone has worked harder in the past decade for the benefit of the industry: whether it was ensuring breeding continued in COVID, starting our education programs like Fast Track and TBA Learning, through to providing the strongest representation for breeders with politicians and racing administrators,” Nolan said.
Reilly, in his final weeks in the job at TBA and Aushorse, made a mercy dash from the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast to Melbourne on Tuesday to assist in the massive clean-up efforts at Caulfield following a deliberately lit fire that caused extensive damage to the Norman Robinson grandstand.
