Oakbank Racing Club committee to resign to settle Supreme Court action over jumps racing decision

A bitter legal fight between jumps racing stalwarts and a new committee trying to rejuvenate the iconic Oakbank Easter Carnival is over.

Oakbank Racing Club’s committee will stand down over its controversial decision to support a ban on jumps racing, the Supreme Court has heard.

Justice Laura Stein was told on Monday that legal action between three life members and the committee had been settled out of court.

The trio’s lawyer, Dick Whitington, QC, said a formal notice ending the court case would be lodged once the committee met three conditions of a deed of arrangement.

“It (the deed) requires certain things to be done,” he said.

The terms included the committee agreeing to stand down and call a special general meeting, where its 10 members could seek re-election if they wanted.

Frances Nelson QC and John Glatz in the committee room at Oakbank Racing Club. Picture: Matt Turner.

The committee also had to enable any member wishing to vote at the meeting to participate.

This followed a refusal by the committee to hold a special general meeting last year requested by 50 members.

The committee claimed most of the signatories were invalid as they were not members or had only joined to protest over the jumps racing decision.

This led to a refusal to approve memberships for anyone who signed a petition calling for a meeting, donated to a fund for a legal challenge or commented on social media.

A special general meeting convened for last Tuesday evening at the Oakbank racecourse was cancelled at the last minute because of confidential negotiations to settle the court case.

This involved an agreement that the committee would stand down and allow another special general meeting.

Frances Nelson QC and John Glatz (second right, front) when they are on the Oakbank Racing Club committee, together with legendary horse trainer Colin Hayes (far left, front).

The club’s lawyer, Mark Hoffman, QC, told Justice Stein that the meeting would be held on June 10, with notices to be sent to members on Monday afternoon.

“Two out of the three conditions are in effect,” he said.

“Notices for the meeting will go out this afternoon (Monday).

“Once that has happened, the steps have been completed.

“A notice of discontinuance should be filed this afternoon (Monday).”

The end of the legal action came as a two-day trial was due to start in the Supreme Court.

Former senior racing administrator Frances Nelson QC, former long-serving Oakbank chairman John Glatz and retired judge John von Doussa were seeking a court order declaring the committee “oppressive”.

They claimed the committee, led by Adelaide solicitor Arabella Branson, had failed to consult members before it agreed last September to a request by racing controlling’s body, Racing SA, to remove jumps events from the 2022 racing calendar.

This included the von Doussa Steeplechase and Great Eastern Steeplechase, which had been held for more than 140 years.

Oakbank Racing Club chairwoman Arabella Branson with committee members Chris Ditmar (third right) and former chairman Barney Gask (right).

Racing SA has said its decision to withdraw support for jumps racing will not be reversed, irrespective of what happened at Oakbank.

The special general meeting last week was due to vote on a motion to sack the existing committee and elect a new committee when it was abandoned.

About 40 members who attended were told by Ms Branson that the reason for its late cancellation was “confidential”.

It then emerged that negotiations were underway to resolve the legal dispute.

The court case began last November, when Ms Nelson successfully sought court orders granting her access to the club’s records, including minutes of its committee meetings and membership registers.

Both Ms Branson and Ms Nelson declined to comment when contacted on Monday.

The legal bill for the two court cases is understood to total tens of thousands of dollars.