The Melbourne Racing Club says it will not proceed with a special general meeting to vote on a board spill, claiming a motion filed by an incumbent director is “not legally valid”.
In a notice to its membership on Thursday that coincided with the release of the 2023/24 annual report, the MRC said its executive committee would not consider John Kanga’s bid to overhaul the board.
“The executive committee, excluding members with a conflict of interest, has reviewed a motion received by committee member John Kanga in detail and concluded that it is not legally valid,” the notice read.
“As a result, we will not be holding a special general meeting to address the motion.”
Kanga, with the backing of high-profile owners Rupert Legh and Colin McKenna, called for a board spill over what he says is membership unrest surrounding the MRC’s masterplan for Caulfield and proposed redevelopment of the club’s Sandown racetrack.
He established the Save Our MRC Group, prompting a motion for a special general meeting where he hoped to unseat five board members with his own ticket for change.
Kanga wanted the special general meeting to be held before the club’s annual general meeting on September 26.
But the move triggered a series of legal threats before a club election to vote for two board vacancies caused by the retirement of chair Matt Cain and Mark Pratt.
Kanga accused the committee of stalling tactics when it became obvious that a board spill before the annual general meeting could not happen during the election process.
In a statement, Kanga said he called for a special general meeting to unify the embattled race club.
“The claim from the current chair that the motion I put forward, for the club to hold a special general meeting, is not legally valid is simply incorrect,” he said.
“The requisition was clearly in line with the MRC's rules and entirely valid.
“It is disappointing, but hardly surprising, that some of the executive committee have sought to find ways to prevent the members having the opportunity to vote at an SGM to take action on key issues such as moving the mounting yard, retaining racing at Sandown and preventing hundreds of millions being spent on a white elephant of a grandstand.
“I understand a huge amount of the club's money has already been wasted on legal fees and spin doctors as the chair and others have tried to delay and defer an SGM. Personally, I don't think this is the best use of the club's money.
“The aim of the SGM was to create a board that was united on the key issues that members have identified. Obviously, there is an election on at the moment and there will soon be new committee members at the MRC.”
"The claim from the current chair that the motion I put forward, for the club to hold a special general meeting, is not legally valid is simply incorrect."
- John Kanga
In one of the most significant elections in the club's history, four of the six candidates support the continuation of racing at Sandown.
Of that quartet, leading bloodstock figure Sheamus Mills has been joined by Peter Brown and Cameron Fisher in opposing the MRC’s plan to bulldoze and replace the existing Rupert Clarke grandstand at a cost of $250 million.
The demolition of the glass-fronted grandstand is part of the MRC’s masterplan for Caulfield, which has been beset with issues since the first stage was completed at the start of the year.
Costing $64 million, work included a repositioning of the mounting yard and the construction of a new male jockeys’ room.
Warwick Barr
It has been nothing short of a public relations nightmare for the club with its three-day Caulfield Cup carnival fast approaching, prompting Kanga to fill a spill motion.
The MRC has already been forced to renovate the jockeys’ room, which has cost a reported $640,000, while calls to have the mounting yard relocated to its original position on the racecourse in time for the club’s marquee spring meetings have been rejected.
Cain briefly addressed concerns about the suitability of the new mounting yard in his final message as chairman in the 2023/24 annual report.
“Following this year’s spring carnival, we will review the new mounting yard to ensure it continues to meet our members’ and participants’ expectations,” he said.
Cain said he was leaving his position as chair after two years at the helm and 15 years as a director, confident the MRC was in “robust financial health” with net assets of almost $630 million, despite an $8.8 million loss on its racing operations.
He foreshadowed a rezoning of Sandown for potential redevelopment would strengthen the club’s balance because it would create options for the club while insisting MRC members would have the final say on the racetrack’s future.
His departing comments on Sandown come as a government-appointed committee completed its month-long hearing into the rezoning and redevelopment proposal.
The Sandown Racecourse Advisory Committee wound up its inquiry on Monday and it will prepare a report for state Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny by no later than November.
Kilkenny’s decision on the proposal is expected to be handed down in early 2025.
The sale of Sandown can only be approved by an MRC members’ vote.
Bren O’Brien
