Drama over John Kanga’s Sandown tweets as fiery AGM looms

With barbs flying everywhere and people jumping ship all over the place, there’s been a new twist to the committee drama with controversial social media posts resurfacing.

Punters watching at Sandown. Picture: Getty

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With barbs flying everywhere and people jumping ship all over the place, there seems to be almost a daily update of ridiculousness to remind everyone what a shemozzle the MRC has become.

The latest confusion centres around property developer and ‘Save Our MRC’ front man John Kanga who is seeking to install a hand-selected Committee at the Melbourne Racing Club.

John Kanga (left) has become the front man of the ‘Save Our MRC’ campaign. Picture: Vince Caligiuri

Never mind that the ability to elect the Committee rests with the members or that voting in the Committee election starts next week ahead of (what we imagine will be a fiery) AGM at the end of the month.

Some things are too important to let minor details like this, or the fact at least one member of the Kanga team hasn’t actually been a member of the Club long enough to serve on the committee.

This is about saving Sandown, we are told.

Imagine our surprise then when some social media work from a while ago crossed our desk which seemed to paint Kanga as an unlikely proponent of selling, rather than saving, Sandown, describing it as “a positive for the whole racing industry”.

Racing action at Sandown. Picture: Getty

Imagine, Kanga supposed on Twitter (as then it was) “utilising the funds from one asset to develop many other income producing assets (training centres, racecourses) that the MRC members & industry participants will benefit from.”

Despite this well-reasoned view from a self-described “keen property investor, financier and developer for over 32 years” we don’t think a sale of Sandown is on the cards, given the surge in support for ‘Save Sandown’ candidates at the last Committee election is almost certain to continue next week.

With reputations getting trashed and otherwise genteel types in open warfare with one another, we are left to marvel at the racing industry’s clockwork-like ability for self-inflicted drama every year as the spring carnival kicks off.

Watch this space.