Where’s Gil? Rumours swirl as Racing Victoria chairman deadline looms

The ongoing delay of Victorian Racing Minister Anthony Carbines to confirm the future make-up of the Racing Victoria board has raised suggestions that former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan is out of the running to become the new chairman.

It has been over 12 months since the last permanent chairman, Brian Kruger, announced he was stepping down from the board. Eleven months since his departure, his role as a director has still not been filled.

A second spot on the board has been empty since Greg Nichols departed in March, while current interim chairman Mike Hirst will leave his directorship on May 31.

It has been long suspected that the decks were being cleared for McLachlan to assume the chairmanship, with businessman Tim Rourke and bloodstock figure Mark Player to come into the two other vacant seats.

However, while McLachlan was officially interviewed for the board earlier this month, there has been no indication from the Racing Minister as to whether the respected sports executive will become a director.

As recently as three weeks ago, he was seen at a racing function at the Warrnambool carnival in the company of Racing Victoria board members and in discussion with interim CEO Aaron Morrison.

But as the deadline for Hirst’s departure looms, rumours have been swirling that McLachlan has changed his mind, with other opportunities emerging.

Trainer Wayne Hawkes put those rumours in the public domain on Wednesday, telling radio station SEN his sources had said McLachlan was cold on the Racing Victoria opportunity. He also linked the former AFL CEO to the vacant chief executive job at Tabcorp.

But while Hawkes was the first to publicly discuss the conjecture over McLachlan’s intentions, suggestions have been doing the rounds for several weeks.

The Straight understands McLachlan recently travelled overseas to discuss another opportunity, although an executive position elsewhere (not Tabcorp) would not preclude him from serving as chair for Racing Victoria.

It leaves the Racing Minister and Racing Victoria with the possibility of a delicate question, If not McLachlan, who?

There are three options. One would be to nominate one of the current board directors as an interim chairman, as it did with Hirst, with a view to renewing the search for a replacement.

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The second would be to make a current board member the permanent chair, while the third would be to select a new board member from the candidates Carbines has spoken to over the past six months.

The problem with the first option is that it only prolongs the uncertainty that has dogged RV through a tumultuous 12 months. The problem with the second and third ones is that they would be both be seen as ‘second best’ options and may lack the authority to make a significant stamp on the role.

The board, led by whichever chairman, has the pressing matter of finding a replacement CEO for Andrew Jones, whose tenure caused division and rancour among participants.

Another key executive, Ben Amarfio, has also left, with scrutiny on others brought in by Jones. Participants spoken to by The Straight have insisted an executive reset is the best way forward for Racing Victoria.

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Interestingly, Jones indicated he had opted to leave his role so McLachlan could make that reset.

Eyebrows were also raised on Tuesday when the ‘interim’ administration announced the full fixture of race dates for 2024/25 before a chief executive or chairman was confirmed.

The future of the All-Star Mile remains up in the air, with only a date and not a venue locked in for the autumn feature. It is under review and its future is unlikely to be known before the appointment of a new chief executive.