‘The board was unwilling to admit they got it wrong’: Why John Kanga orchestrated spill motion for Melbourne Racing Club board

He ‘would prefer to be an unknown’, but John Kanga says he was forced to push for a board spill at the Melbourne Racing Club when member concerns were ignored despite ‘months’ of behind-the-scenes lobbying.

Melbourne Racing Club executive committee member John Kanga and his wife Stephanie attend the 2024 Victorian Racing Awards at the Plaza Ballroom in Melbourne. Picture: David Geraghty / Racing Photos

John Kanga would prefer to be an unknown but has accepted fighting for a cause often brings unwanted consequences.

His name and face have flown into the public domain from the moment he decided he’d had enough of what he described as “division and disarray” and costly mistakes by the Melbourne Racing Club.

Kanga has moved to bring on an MRC board spill at a special general meeting at which he wants to remove several of his fellow board members, replacing them with a ticket of five.

Kanga has been on the MRC committee since filling a casual vacancy last year but has already seen enough to believe things need to change.

But who is John Kanga?

A married father of a teenage son and daughter, Kanga started his career as a commercial banker at ANZ. He and his wife Stephanie started their own finance company, the Spring Street-based Metropolitan Capital, which focuses on major equipment finance and special situation fixes.

Over the years, he’s established childcare centres, a childcare enterprise software business and even sold a CBD hotel.

As a racehorse owner, the likes of Russian Camelot and Group 1 VRC Oaks winner Miami Bound have given Kanga the highest of highs on the racetrack.

It’s all a long way since starting life in Clifton Hill as the son of Greek parents before an encounter with a former top racecaller at a service station led to his passion for racing.

John Kanga poses with jockey Billy Egan and trainer Dominic Sutton after winning a race at Flemington with Detroit City. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

• MRC chairman rejects bullying allegations as board split deepens

“I used to work in a service station in Mount Waverley when I was about 15 or 16 and Johnny Russell was a customer,” Kanga said.

“I used to have the races on the radio and John took me to the races.

“An uncle had taken me to the races earlier and that’s how I got my love of racing.”

As Kanga’s businesses thrived, it enabled him to enter in horse ownership, which opened doors to industry investors and participants.

Over the years, he’s acted as a mentor for Melbourne Cup-winning jockeys Blake Shinn and Jye McNeil, offering career and management advice.

McNeil’s four-year-old son Oakley, to whom Kanga is godfather, even gives a greeting of “Kangaaaa” when he sees the businessman at the races.

John Kanga with his godson, Oakley McNeil, the son of jockey Jye McNeil. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

Kanga is known to have dropped everything to go to the aid of jockeys or their family members, including one such instance in which he paid for the brother of a jockey to be flown by helicopter to a Melbourne hospital after the hoop sustained serious injuries in a skiing accident.

However, Kanga didn’t want to discuss such generosity.

He wants to see everyone in the racing industry thrive – not have his name up in lights – which is why he decided to take on the rest of the Melbourne Racing Club committee.

“I’m just an ordinary bloke,” Kanga said.

“I’m a racing lover and I want racing to flourish. I want the industry to flourish and I want the Melbourne Racing Club to flourish obviously.

A serving committee member at the Melbourne Racing Club is leading a motion to spill the board in protest over matters including the controversial new mounting yard at Caulfield.

EXCLUSIVE via @bendorries76https://t.co/2LlK9lbslE

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) August 22, 2024

Kanga said the public manner of the battle for control of the Melbourne Racing Club – occurring as Caulfield prepared to host Saturday’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes Day, featuring the latest clash between Pride Of Jenni and Mr Brightside – wasn’t ideal for the club or the industry.

He would have preferred a bloodless coup behind closed doors, perhaps even change by concession and consensus.

He said running a racing club should be akin to umpiring an AFL game involving his beloved Collingwood, with the action out in the arena of battle the focus rather than the administration.

“Racing administrators do not need to be front and centre,” Kanga said.

“I prefer my name not to be known, my face not to be known and our actions as a board to reflect what we represent.

“Unfortunately, we’re a bit like umpires at the moment because we’re being noticed.

“We should not be noticed.”

"It's unbelievable to think that it was ticked off."

Grahame Begg has slammed the design and placement of the new Caulfield mounting yard.https://t.co/g3fNE2ZNEw

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) August 29, 2024

Kanga’s battle for change at the Melbourne Racing Club is based on three pivotal issues.

He wants to continue horse racing at Sandown whilst developing excess land, he wants to scrap the MRC’s plans to build a $250m grandstand he describes as a ‘white elephant’ and he wants to return the Caulfield mounting yard to its original position following its $65 million relocation 200m from the winning post.

Melbourne Cup winning trainer Sam Freedman was among those deriding the new mounting yard, describing it as having “ruined the race day atmosphere”.

An overwhelming majority of racing participants from around Victoria have been against the sale of Sandown from the outset while the new Caulfield mounting yard, which only opened earlier this year, has drawn fire from nearly all quarters.

Powerful owners Rupert Legh and Col McKenna immediately announced their support for Kanga’s move while O’Brien and fellow leading trainers JD Hayes and Sam Freedman also publicly supported the proposed change.

Horses parade in the controversial new mounting yard at Caulfield. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

The Australian Trainers’ Association, which normally stays out of club politics, released a statement earlier this week throwing its support behind Kanga’s push.

Kanga said it was time the Melbourne Racing Club started listening to stakeholders rather than blindly sticking with the Caulfield Racecourse “Masterplan”.

“Number one, the mounting yard could have been addressed months and months ago,” Kanga said.

“But the board was unwilling to admit they got it wrong and thought they could bluff their way through.

“It’s disappointing, not a good idea and a waste of money but unfortunately, that is what happened.

“I got on the Board, worked out what had happened and was planned and have tried to fix it.

“When the new mounting yard opened, the problems were obvious to everyone. They’re systematic problems. The members, jockeys, trainers and owners were all unhappy.

“There is urgency now. That’s why the members have got behind it, the industry has got behind it – we have been galvanised and are united.”

Two MRC board members have dramatically switched allegiances to support John Kanga’s move for change, reports @bendorries76.https://t.co/K0ABD6X2F4

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) August 28, 2024

While the contest to run the Melbourne Racing Club has surged into the public domain, Kanga said the discussion had not descended into an open slanging match – even when he handed outgoing chief executive Josh Blanksby and chairman Matthew Cain a petition of more than 150 MRC members calling for the special general meeting.

“I was professional and I wasn’t disrespectful,” Kanga said.

“But I am going to strongly advocate and have clearly detailed the problems and changes required publicly to members.

“It is really clear that the board is trying to stall holding the special general meeting we have requisitioned.

“They are also trying to silence and threaten me by saying I am in breach of the committee code of conduct in making public comments.

“Fortunately, I don’t bully easily. The Rules specifically allow me to requisition a meeting and I have done so.”

Originally published as ‘The board was unwilling to admit they got it wrong’: Why John Kanga orchestrated spill motion for Melbourne Racing Club board