The State of Origin invite that ended racing’s cold war between Victoria and NSW, and paved the way for The Everest to gain Group 1 status

With The Everest set to finally attain Group 1 status, it can be revealed Racing Victoria and Racing NSW were engaging in peace talks during the State of Origin at the MCG.

NSW demolishing Queensland on hallowed Victorian turf was the unlikely backdrop for peace talks to all but end Australian racing’s civil war.

The Blues’ unanswered 34-point ambush on the hapless Maroons in the first half of State of Origin II at the MCG on June 26 certainly boosted the mood in the private function.

About 40 Australian leaders of industry - rugby league, racing, wagering and media - attended the intimate cocktail style event as guests of Australian Rugby League chair Peter V’landys.

Invitees included newly appointed Racing Victoria counterpart Tim Eddy and then interim chief executive Aaron Morrison.

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Respected RV director Eddy had been in the top job for six days, with Morrison two months into a caretaker position.

In separate interviews with this masthead, after respective appointments, Eddy and Morrison vowed to work on the relationship with Racing NSW.

Previous administrations, not limited to Victorian, talked the talk but invariably failed to make any inroads and only further paralysed Racing Australia.

A functioning national body is critical to the effectiveness of any federated sporting model.

The gracious Origin invitation was significant.

A sign of mutual respect, firstly and most importantly but also an opportunity to walk the walk and build the foundation for collaboration between NSW and Victorian racing.

As Blues playmaker Mitchell Moses parted the Maroons and paved a path for a NSW Origin Series victory, V’landys, Eddy and Morrison laid down the groundwork for a better racing future in a relaxed and cordial setting behind glass at the MCG.

Eddy spoke to V’landys briefly on the phone days before the Origin encounter.

A short and direct conversation, the morning of a Flemington winter race day, centred on finding common ground.

It would be folly to think the state bodies would agree on everything, but there had to be an agenda item or two where progress could be made.

Peter V'landys will finally get his wish for The Everest to have Group 1 status. Picture: Richard Dobson

Their only other interaction, as recalled in an exchange on Origin night, was 15 years earlier when Ernst & Young performed a role for Racing NSW in 2009 looking at the potential merger of Sydney’s two big racing clubs to ultimately, in 2011, create the Australian Turf Club.

Eddy, then a managing partner at EY, was involved in the process.

While not immediately obvious at the MCG, V’landys and Eddy renewed the connection over canapes.

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Morrison, in his previous role as RV chief operating and financial officer, also had some past dealings with V’landys but no baggage from Victorian administrations past.

V’landys, it is understood, has Eddy and Morrison in high regard as people and professionals.

Sources close to V’landys said the Racing NSW chief executive respected Morrison’s commercial acumen and how he was not approaching his role in a territorial way.

The respect from Morrison and Eddy is mutual.

The clean slates allowed for an open dialogue the past 12 weeks and ultimately progress.

A breakthrough could be made in coming weeks with V’landys’ brainchild The Everest set to finally attain the Group 1 status it deserved.

The Everest in eight years has become one of the highest rated sprints in Australia along with marquee Flemington events the Newmarket Handicap and Champions Sprint.

RV’s answer to The Everest, the All-Star Mile, will also attract an upgrade as part of a wider review currently before the Australian Classifications & Ratings Committee.

The ACRC could meet as early as Thursday to assess a suite of races for reclassification, up or down, including The Everest and All-Star Mile.

Racing Victoria chief Aaron Morrison (pictured) and NSW counterpart Petr V’landys have managed to find common ground.

A tick of approval could trigger an Everest upgrade in time for next month’s race.

The Asian Pattern Committee, which has representation from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Southern Africa, must also approve changes.

Whispers at the Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan last month suggested The Everest and All-Star Mile would be announced forthwith but the process could not be done in time.

V’landys and Morrison were at the conference as speakers.

Their job in the Group 1 status stakes has purely been to lobby for the best interest of their racing jurisdictions and clear a path for the due process to take place.

The final call rests with pattern committees, who in Australia at least had not met properly since 2018 due to the NSW-Victoria feud and their power to veto each other.

The cold war has thawed since, there is goodwill and want to unite Australian racing as the sport nationwide faces headwinds, especially with a decline in wagering post the Covid boom.

The cost of living crisis has compounded the slump.

V’landys and Morrison, who spoke on the “State of Play” panel in Sapporo were in furious agreement on the need to work together.

“We have a competition outside, that’s our competition,” V’landys said.

“Yet we seem to fight among ourselves all the time.

“We have a civil war happening in the racing industry, while our competitors take that advantage. If we unite as an industry, we should be taking those competitors on.

“We should be taking sports betting on, we should be taking on other forms of entertainment.

“What are we focused on? Fighting among ourselves. The sooner we stop doing that and sabotaging ourselves, the better the industry will be.”

Morrison endorsed the need for a united front against “common challenges”.

Actions have spoken louder than words.

Welcome to racing’s Collaboration Era.

Originally published as The State of Origin invite that ended racing’s cold war between Victoria and NSW, and paved the way for The Everest to gain Group 1 status