Rosehill, politics, the haters and his future: Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys reveals all
No topic was off limits this week when senior racing writer Ben Dorries sat down with Peter V’landys in the Racing NSW boardroom for an exclusive Q&A.
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No topic was off limits this week when senior racing writer Ben Dorries sat down with Peter V’landys in the Racing NSW boardroom.
The most powerful man in Australian sport, the CEO of Racing NSW and the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission bared his soul and spoke out on a range of major issues.
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THE ‘HATERS’
Peter V’landys almost wears it as a badge of honour when detractors label him a dictator.
“I think it’s a compliment, I wish I was a dictator,” V’landys says.
“The results speak for themselves, both thoroughbred racing and rugby league are in the best position they have ever been in.
“So, if I’m a dictator and I get those results and outcomes then I’m sure the participants aren’t really concerned, that is the bottom line.
“The biggest thing that I often get is people saying to me ‘you are not as bad as people say you are’.
“I’d say 90 per cent of the people that are haters, as you call them, have never met me.
“If they had met me and made that judgment, I would be concerned.
“But they have never met me, so they don’t know what I am, they don’t know my personality, they don’t know any attribute of me at all.”
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PVL THE POLITICIAN?
V’landys says he has been approached “many times” to run for politics but “that’s not my forte, I will leave that to others”.
However, he has opened up on his warm friendship with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“If you saw the real side of Anthony, you’d like him,” V’landys said.
“He is one of those guys you want to go to the pub with and have a beer with.
“Anthony is a very nice guy, he’s good to deal with and he’s a good person.
“I always look at people to see if they are a good person, first and foremost.
“He’s got an exceptionally good personality and he’s a very witty man.
“He has honoured his word in every situation I have dealt with him.”
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ROSEHILL INQUIRY HOSTILITY
V’landys wore plenty of barbs during the parliamentary inquiry into the potential sale of Rosehill racecourse, which Australian Turf Club members later voted down.
“It was hostile, but I tried to stay out of it, I did not make public statements,” V’landys said.
“The future will tell you if it was a good decision or a bad decision (not to sell).
“It will tell you whether we were builders … or were we destroyers?
“I could see commercially the financial benefits to it, but the Australian Turf Club Members voted against it and history will judge whether that was a good or bad decision.”
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MARK LATHAM and GAI WATERHOUSE CRITICISM
Latham went into attack dog mode against V’landys during the Rosehill inquiry, while racing’s first lady Gai Waterhouse was also outspoken and critical of some of the process.
Latham, who at one stage could have been Prime Minister, has encountered his own troubles in recent weeks over allegations from his former partner which Latham denies.
“I don’t take much notice of all those things,” V’landys said, of Latham’s recent troubles.
“I don’t think personal attacks are necessary.
“I think Mark in this instance deserves due process and natural justice as to the accusations that have been made against him.
“I don’t really worry too much what people say, because if you did you would be in the corner in the foetal position.
“Gai is entitled to her view and I haven’t spoken to Gai about it.
“The only thing I would say is when you make an opinion, make sure you are correct in facts when you make that opinion.
“Gai had her opinion, I don’t think she needed to get personal.
“If you get personal in an argument, I always think you are losing the argument.
“I never attack anyone personally, I will attack the issue.”
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THE EVEREST AND SPRING SURPRISE
The $20m slot race The Everest is V’landys’ baby and he predicts the 2025 edition featuring Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising will “break all records”.
He also hinted at a major surprise to shake up the spring carnival.
“Ka Ying Rising is a personality horse with a lot of charisma and the attention we will get from Hong Kong will be exceptional,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to Marc van Gestel, the chairman of stewards in Hong Kong who used to work in New South Wales, and I asked him if this horse was as good as they say.
“He said ‘every bit’.
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“There will be something (a surprise in spring carnival) but we will be making that announcement in the next couple of weeks.
“It is certainly going to be a major change, but we have to go through all the processes and we have to consult our partner the Australian Turf Club.”
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THE BEEFED UP $10m MELBOURNE CUP
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V’landys has previously taken shots at the Melbourne Cup, although he admits it commands its place in the Australian racing landscape.
But he doesn’t think the recent prizemoney boost will make much difference to the race.
“The Melbourne Cup is the Melbourne Cup – you could get two donkeys in it and people would still pay attention to it,” he said.
“The Cup has got tradition over many years, I don’t think it (the prizemoney uplift) will make any difference.
“It’s great for Australian racing to have an aspirational race like the Melbourne Cup.
“The thing for me though is that New South Wales last year paid over $400m in returns to participants.
“The closest any other state got was $110m less than us.
“The good thing for me is that $60m of our prizemoney goes to maiden races.
“We look after the bottom end of the industry, but we also look after the top end.”
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RACING VICTORIA SKIRMISH
V’landys has hardly been bosom buddies with Racing Victoria, but there appeared to be a thawing of the interstate cold war, at least initially, when Aaron Morrison took the helm at RV.
This is what V’landys now has to say about his Victorian rivals in racing administration.
“We get along pretty well with Racing Victoria and I think the chairman Tim Eddy is a good guy,” V’landys said.
“He takes your point of view on, and he certainly prosecutes his case if he doesn’t agree with you.
“We are not going to agree on everything.
“The one that is the sticking point at the moment is this racing pattern … but I am sure we will resolve that in the near future.
“I take my hat off to Racing Victoria for trying very hard in doing the best for their state, they have to appreciate that I have to do the best for New South Wales.”
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WILL HE WALK AWAY FROM RACING?
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A podcast earlier this year got tongues wagging when The Daily Telegraph’s Sports Editor at Large, Phil Rothfield, revealed V’landys was considering stepping down from one of his high-powered roles in rugby league or racing.
Most expected it could be his racing role rather than league role that he could relinquish.
But V’landys insists he has not yet made any decision – that will come in a roundtable conversation with his family later this year.
“What I have said in the last six years since I have been chairman of the ARL Commission and CEO of Racing New South Wales is that at the end of the year I sit down with my family and I look at how the year went, what my capacity is to continue doing both roles,” V’landys said.
“I will do the same process this year and I will determine at the end of the year if I will stay on at Racing NSW and if I stay on the League Commission.
“Whatever decisions I make, I will make at the end of the year.
“For the last six years I have done both roles, how long that will continue I will tell you at the end of the year.
“Racing in New South Wales is in the healthiest position it has ever been in.
“We pay the most to participants, people say how can you sustain the prizemoney?
“Well, we have $375m in provisions to ensure we can sustain both the prizemoney and capital upgrades.
“We have $375m in our balance sheet to ensure the future of the New South Wales racing industry.
“I don’t think there’s too many racing jurisdictions who can say they have that sort of money set aside.
“There has been a decline in (wagering) turnover, but we will still probably make a $10m profit this year.”
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GROUP 1 RACES AND THE GOLDEN EAGLE
V’landys concedes there “are probably too many” Group 1 races in Australia but says “the hardest part is telling a race club that you are going to have to go down to a Group 2 from a Group 1.”
However, he is adamant the $10m Golden Eagle for four-year-old horses deserves to join The Everest in the newly-minted Group 1 club.
“There is a pyramid and the Group 1s should be the grand finals and there should be less of them,” V’landys said.
“But at the same time you can’t stop innovation and the Golden Eagle deserves to be a Group 1.
“Horses have won Group 1 races all around the world after coming out of the Golden Eagle.
“If all goes to plan, it should be a Group 1 (before it is raced in the coming spring).
“Last year was exceptional and I don’t think there’s a race anywhere in the world that has produced as many Group 1 winners as the Golden Eagle.”
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RACING’S FUTURE
V’landys feels racing in Australia is in a better position to safeguard its future than most other countries.
He insists the younger audience which has been attracted to The Everest helps racing as a whole Down Under.
“I think we have done racing in Australia a big favour by promoting The Everest,” V’landys said.
“I think even the Melbourne Cup has had a resurgence from the young audience that we have been able to generate.
“We are promoting The Everest to the young person in Victoria just as much as we are promoting it to the young person in New South Wales.
“And that has become evident when you look at Victorian race meetings, they are getting a younger crowd.
“Racing has made a blunder worldwide where it hasn’t looked at that next generation.
“You look at other jurisdictions around the world like America, they have been complacent, and racing is on a massive decline in America.
“Racing will be lucky to survive in the next 10 or 20 years in America.
“In Australia, racing is now appealing to a younger audience not just for The Everest, but for the whole year.”
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JOCKEY HEROES
V’landys loved Racenet’s exclusive story in May about how 12 of the world’s best jockeys, including James McDonald, had banded together to form a Grand Prix style franchise-based global circuit which could revolutionise horse racing.
He hopes it gets off the ground next year – for a very good reason.
“I think you have to look outside the square and you’ve got to go with innovation,” V’landys said.
“It may succeed, it may not, but I like the fact that someone is having a go.
“We need to hero the jockeys.
“I’ve noticed in racing that we don’t have the heroes, in rugby league all the players are heroes.
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“The league players walk down the street and everyone wants a selfie with them.
“In racing you don’t have that same effect, unless you are really in the racing industry you don’t know our major players and our jockeys.
“If you have something that promotes that and makes them a personality or a household name you grab it, it’s a good thing.
“I saw a lot of criticism of the (jockey) concept, but those same critics think that just because you’ve got a racecourse people are going to turn up.
“They live in yesterday’s land, they don’t live in the future.”
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THE GIL FACTOR
Former AFL supremo Gillon McLachlan took over as Tabcorp chief executive last year and has embarked on a quest for a leaner but far more competitive business.
“I think he’s a brilliant operator,” V’landys said.
“The thing I like the most about him is that he’s out of the AFL because he was certainly a formidable opponent.
“I think he’s going to be a major asset to TAB.”
Originally published as Rosehill, politics, the haters and his future: Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys reveals all
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