VRC’s Melbourne Cup prizemoney announcement sets off turf war again after ‘silly little man’ jibe
The volatile turf spat between Victoria and NSW reached flashpoint this morning after Victoria Racing Club chairperson Amanda Elliott lashed out at Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys.
Infuriated Victoria Racing Club chairperson Amanda Elliott turned a bubbling feud with Racing NSW into a bonfire on Wednesday describing Peter V’landys a “silly little man making silly decisions”.
Elliott’s comments came as the VRC announced it was lifting the Melbourne Cup prizemoney to a record $8 million.
Elliott’s stinging personal attack was in response to Racing NSW announcing a $45 million prizemoney boost last week to lure the best horse and jockeys to Sydney during Melbourne’s spring carnival.
“We actually do have a national responsibility to the sport of racing in Australia,” Mrs Elliott told RSN.
“We all know that we have geographic boundaries that sometimes gets a bit pushed and pulled and we’re all doing our best for our own jurisdictions, but at the end of the day, the Australian racing industry is the one we care about.
“So this kind of single-minded determination to knock off Victoria just infuriates me to be honest.
“I think it’s just a silly little man making silly decisions. I mean we all understand how important prizemoney is, don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day, racing is about so much more than prizemoney.”
A disappointed V’Landys took umbrage the “cheap shots” on Wednesday but Elliott received the backing of prominent racing figure Nick Williams, son of six-time Melbourne Cup winner Lloyd Williams.
“So Peter V’landys starts a war, but gets precious when someone fights back!!!” Williams posted on Twitter.
“Someone who I might also say made some very valid points regarding a (lack of) collaborative approach. I’m all for innovation but not at any cost. He may be able to walk over most, but not the VRC.”
V’Landys is credited with putting racing on the map in Sydney, and attracting younger audiences, with the $13 million The Everest (1200m) and $7.5 million The Golden Eagle (1500m).
“I never resort to personal abuse about someone’s appearance,” V’landys said.
“I always do my best to play the ball, not the player.
“It’s a comment she’s made that she’s got to live with. Someone’s appearance and self-esteem is out of bounds for me and I’m not going to criticise her because I’d be a hypocrite if I did.”
New figures reveal the Melbourne Cup pours almost $1 billion into the Australian economy.
The latest prizemoney increase for the Cup is seen as an attempt to bolster the success of the sporting treasure.
And — in a salvo to desperate NSW racing chiefs trying to buy their way to major event relevance — Elliott said the Melbourne Cup would never sell its soul.
“Connections cannot buy a place in the Lexus Melbourne Cup, it has to be earned,’’ she said.
It comes as the Herald Sun can reveal that for every $1 dollar spent on the Melbourne Cup in Victoria, $1.09 is poured into the national economy by Aussies in every state and territory.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup contributed $934 million in gross economic benefit nationally, a new study has found.
It pumped a record $447.6 million in gross economic benefit to Victoria — unrivalled by any other Australian sporting event — with more than 300,000 attending the Cup Carnival.
“We take great pride in the economic contribution Cup Week makes to Victoria, but it extends
well beyond its home state with a gross economic of close to a $1 billion nationally,” Mrs Elliott said.
This year’s record prize pool will see the winner to pocket $4.4 million plus $250,000 in trophies.
“At $8 million, the Melbourne Cup is the world’s richest handicap and the world’s richest staying race,” Mrs Elliott said.
“It is the race every Australian owner, trainer and jockey wants to win, and internationally, has become one of the most sought after prizes in world racing.’’
Kerrin McEvoy’s Cup success will be celebrated when the People’s Cup tour hits his hometown Streaky Bay in August.
The three-time Melbourne Cup winner will be joined by wife Cathy, sister of trail blazing jockey Michelle Payne, and their four children Charlie, 10; Jake, 9; Rhys, 6; and Eva, 2.
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“It will be fantastic to be part of the build up and help spread the word knowing the Melbourne Cup has been such a big part of my career,’’ McEvoy said.
“I’m pretty honoured to win it once let alone three times. Growing up in a horse racing family it was a dream at a young age.
“The kids now have an understanding of the specialness and enormity of what it means to compete.”
The McEvoys will be announced as the Cup Tour ambassadors at Flemington today.
Locals in Streaky Bay are campaigning to build a life-size statue of champion jockey McEvoy on the foreshore.
Originally published as VRC’s Melbourne Cup prizemoney announcement sets off turf war again after ‘silly little man’ jibe
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