Racing Victoria board survives TROA challenge

The Racing Victoria board has survived a challenge to five of its directors, with a motion to have them removed defeated at a Special General Meeting on Wednesday.

A petition from Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association (TROA) had prompted the meeting which brought together the various member stakeholders as set out in the Racing Victoria constitution.

The future of five of the eight existing board directors was voted on with a two-thirds majority required for it to pass. The five directors voted on were acting chairman Mike Hirst as well as Kate Joel, Paul Guerra, Tim Eddy and Ross Lanyon.

The Straight believes that several parties abstained from the vote, leaving TROA to go it alone with its three votes for change from the 35 to be counted. There were 17 votes against TROA’s motion and 15 abstentions.

It is believed that among those abstentions were at least two of the metropolitan clubs, while another metropolitan club voted against the proposal.

Hirst told media after the meeting that it was time for the Victorian industry to move forward and work together.

“I think it’s time for everybody to move on,” he said.

“The biggest challenge we have as an industry is trying to grow the pie, everybody is very keen to have a bigger slice of the pie but we all benefit from the fact of having a bigger pie.”

The meeting did not deal with the future of Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones, who as CEO also sits on the board. He has been a prime target of TROA chairman Jonathan Munz and the expectation is that his role will come under further scrutiny.

However, Hirst endorsed Jones’s position as chief executive.

“Management is the responsibility of the board and the board alone … of course Jones has the support of the board because he’s still here, but the reality is that that’s not something at the behest of members,” Hirst said.

“It’s entirely a matter for the board.”

As things stand, there is one vacant position on the board left by the departure of previous chairman Brian Kruger, while Hirst has announced he will step down on May 31. Long-serving board director Greg Nichols is also expected to leave.

That will leave three director spots for Racing Minister Anthony Carbines to fill.

The expectation is that former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will go through the Racing Minister’s approval process and join the board for one of those positions, and then be elected as chairman by the board.