SA Harness Racing Club members weigh calling in administrators
A special meeting of members is set to decide the future of South Australia’s peak harness racing club amid growing financial problems.
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Members of South Australia’s peak harness racing club will vote whether to put it into voluntary administration.
SA Harness Racing Club president Ann Mowday has called a special general meeting for April 9 to discuss its growing financial problems.
Ms Mowday has sent a letter to members saying she will vote against any move to put the club into administration, despite it owing $3.1 million and facing insolvency.
Ms Mowday also told members the meeting would vote on whether to accept a new loan of $2 million from a private financier, replace the club’s existing committee and force the sport’s controlling body, Harness Racing SA (HRSA), to pay $273,985 in outstanding meeting fees.
Her letter was sent to members as she broke her public silence to strongly attack HRSA and its recently appointed chairman, former Port Adelaide Football Club player George Fiacchi.
“Instead of pointing the finger at our club, HRSA’s new chairman needs to concentrate on his own organisation’s poor governance record and unenviable financial performance,” she said. “Until it paid some of its outstanding bills to us earlier this month, HRSA owed the SA Harness Racing Club almost $400,000 for its use of our asset, Globe Derby Park.”
The future of Globe Derby Park was been shrouded in uncertainty since a developer who bought a $5.5 million parcel of land failed to pay an outstanding debt of $2.48 million.
GIC managing director Michael Vidale has been given until March 27 to repay the amount, which originally was due to be paid by December, 2018.
The club has been relying on the money to clear its debts, which include overdue loans to a former club vice-president and a credit union.
The Advertiser has been told four committee members only learnt the night before their monthly meeting that the new loan of $2 million had been negotiated, with Globe Derby Park put up as security.
The meeting last week discussed whether to put the club into voluntary administration, with the committee divided.
In her letter to members, Ms Mowday said she did not believe the appointment of an administrator – who would take over running the club and forensically examine its finances – was “appropriate”.
Mr Fiacchi last night told The Advertiser that repeated requests for the club to hand over its financial records to HRSA for independent assessment had been refused.
“We can only presume the reason for not supplying their financials is they are trying to hide something,” Mr Fiacchi said.
