Straight Up – Lynch jumps ship in PRA shuffle and Group 1 question over The Everest

In this (bumper) edition:

In a week where the uproar over the pattern caused Aaron Morrison a fair share of headaches, his mission to revamp the Racing Victoria executive took a major step forward.

The first indication came when Racing SA announced on Wednesday evening that its CEO Vaughn Lynch had resigned and would be returning to Victoria early in 2025.

Within 18 hours, Lynch was announced as Chief Operating Officer as part of a new-look executive team that also includes Peter Betson as Executive General Manager, Strategy & Corporate Services and Janelle Helleur as Executive General Manager, People & Performance.

Significantly, Lynch will be the executive responsible for racing matters, while Paul Bloodworth will be promoted to Head of Racing, an operational role.

Racing Victoria executive revamp takes shape

Vaughn Lynch appointed COO

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It’s the biggest suite of changes Morrison has executed since his appointment in August. Let’s hope, for his sake, it lands a bit better with participants than the proposed changes to the Black Type Guidelines put forward by Racing Australia.

It’s a big week for Racing NSW, with the staging of The Everest at Group 1 level for the first time. But will it be internationally recognised as a Group 1?

A couple of days out from the $20 million race and we are all none the wiser. How did we get to this point and what needs to happen to clear things up? We’ve taken a look.

Is The Everest really a Group 1?

The Pattern palaver which has Australia none the wiser

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The whole pattern uncertainty prompted Hall Of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse to caution against the large scale upgrade of stakes races, describing it as “pernicious inflation at its worst”.

Meanwhile Racing NSW has provided detailed information about its equine welfare program and funding after a request from the Rosehill parliamentary inquiry.

Brisbane Racing Club held its annual general meeting on Wednesday, a nnouncing that three existing board members had been re-elected, while introducing Karl deKroo, who will assume the CEO role next month, to the members.

It all sounds fairly pedestrian and regulation, but one voice in the crowd was keen to have his concerns over the conduct of the BRC board heard. Wally Gleeson, whose son Simon left the board earlier this year, raised a few uncomfortable points and has promised to continue his campaign for greater transparency.

Things could certainly get interesting in Queensland racing politics if a change of government happens, as expected later this month.

The ACT holds its election this Saturday and that too will have consequences for the local racing industry, especially when it comes to the cost of insurance.

Finally, a $1 million filly took the headlines, breaking records at this week’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale, while a huge pinhook result could prove a life-changer for emerging trainer Darrell Burnet.