VRC’s first female chairman Amanda Elliott on track with the winning formula for Flemington

THE end of Amanda Elliott’s marriage to well-known businessman John Elliott prompted her to begin a new chapter in her life — setting her on a path to one of the most prominent sporting roles in Australia.

• Flemington apartment towers racing ahead
• Amanda Elliott becomes first female chairman of VRC
• Flemington on form with family fun plans

DESPITE growing up in a family steeped in the tradition of thoroughbred horse racing and regularly attending the Melbourne Cup Carnival, Victoria Racing Club chairman Amanda Elliott was not naturally destined for the prestigious role she now fills.

In fact, the first female chair of the internationally recognised racing club has taken a long and circuitous path. It began with her working for Gough Whitlam in the Foreign Affairs office, to marrying at 23 and moving to Scotland, where she opened and ran two small businesses, through to her high-profile second marriage to businessman John Elliott and motherhood to daughters, Edwina, 35, (with her first husband, Scot David Drummond Moray), and Alexandra, 26 (whom she had with John).

It was not until Elliott found herself single and questioning her identity after her marriage to John broke down in 2001 that she set a resolve that has led her to one of the most prominent sporting roles in Australia.

Amanda Elliott in front of the Flemington straight. Picture: Ian Currie

“I learnt some pretty tough life lessons and eventually listened to the voice inside me telling me that I needed to learn to be on my own beyond the safe harbours of husbands, boyfriends and family,” she says.

“I found that combining liberty with maturity led to a sense of empowerment and the next chapter of my life. It came in the shape of the VRC.

“Putting myself out there solo in a public sense as I stood for election to the committee was hard and challenging. I longed for my father’s wisdom and counsel but sadly he was no longer with us.”

Elliott’s father, Ian Bayles, was vice-chairman of the VRC through the 1970s and 1980s. She says that though her father would have been proud of her, he could never have foreseen she would become the first female to lead the club.

This is no more tellingly illustrated than by the fact that until 1982, women were not allowed to become members of the VRC and were required to stand behind a white line in the members.

“The white line separated members from non-members, which happened to be women as well,” Elliott says.

“It was seen as slightly indelicate for women to be in the betting ring. They would have a bet on the tote or something like that, but certainly the white line meant that all of those male members would basically wave goodbye to their wives and go off and have a great day while the women were kept behind that line because they weren’t members.

“I guess I did stand behind the white line but I can’t remember being aware of it.”

Elliott’s sensational and timely election to the key role in February is seen to have ticked all the boxes for the modern VRC.

It is a nod to the significance of the tradition and history of the club, but Elliott is also seen as being progressive through her vision and the fact she is the first female elected to the influential role.

Victorian Racing Committee Chairman Amanda Elliott. Picture: Alex Coppel

Elliott was first elected to the VRC committee in 2002, the second female committee member in 140 years. In 2011, she became vice-chairman, making her the first female VRC executive office-holder.

Now as the dynamic and energetic chairman, she has a vision for Flemington beyond racing. She has set an ambitious target to transform the racecourse into a multifaceted sporting, dining and community hub.

The completion of the new $128 million world-class members’ stand by next year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival will start the evolution.

“I really want Flemington to be all things to all people and have a real community side to it,” she says. “We want to see the centre of the course completely landscaped and grassed and available for playing fields.

“It’s about reinventing the traditional crowd that comes to a race day and also giving both our regular attendees and new attendees the chance to think about the race day differently.

“We are going to have venues where they can virtually pop in early with their kids for a coffee and croissant, see some horses and go home by lunchtime, to the full experience of a long lunch in one of the fantastic new restaurants overlooking the track.

“Everyone wants to come to the four days (of the Melbourne Cup Carnival); we want them to come here every race day.

“So we will be raising the bar across everything in 2018 — it will be prize money, there will be racing initiatives as well, it will be membership, sponsorship, global alliances and some very exciting new digital media ideas.”

Victorian Racing Committee Chairman Amanda Elliott. Picture: Alex Coppel

Elliott is determined to maintain the Melbourne Cup as the pre-eminent horse race in the country, despite Racing NSW trying to steal its thunder.

In February, Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club announced “The Everest”, a 1200m sprint race with $10 million prizemoney on October 14, making it the world’s richest turf race. The Melbourne Cup’s total prize money is $6.2 million this year.

“It’s not Group 1 or graded or listed. It’s a sort of new idea that started in America where people can buy and sell trade slots in a race,” Elliott says. “Good luck to them. They are having a go to try to innovate and shine a light on racing and we all benefit from that.

“But in terms of me feeling that somehow the Cup is disadvantaged because the Everest is worth X and the Melbourne Cup is worth Y, absolutely not. The Melbourne Cup means much more than prizemoney alone.”

While her vision may be ambitious, Elliott believes she can carry it off.

“I have got more energy than you can possibly imagine. When I get passionate about something that I want done, it normally gets done,” she says.

While she is far from a chest-thumping feminist, Elliott is proud to be the first woman to take on the chairman’s role.

“The demographic of our club is now over 40 per cent female, so to have a leader who has a female gaze and perspective is important,” she says.

She is not the first member of her family to break down barriers for women in racing. Her godmother was one of the first women to broadcast tips on racing.

Amanda Elliott at the Melbourne Cup Carnival Lunch held at Cirrus Dining in Barangaroo. Picture: Christian Gilles

With former husband John Elliott.

“I grew up in a household where you almost had to whinny on a Saturday to be understood,” Elliott says. “In those days, my parents would be listening to the ‘wireless’ and Turf Talk.

“The first woman who ever did any kind of tipping or was seen to have some kind of knowledge was Jo Miller and she was my godmother.

“I was just a little girl but I remember thinking how important it was to hear her. I didn’t even understand what she was saying, but I knew it was important.”

And while Elliott is forging new ground as a woman off the track, the most prominent horses on the track over the past 20 years have also been female.

“Isn’t it interesting that arguably the best four horses Australia has seen in the last 20 years are Black Caviar, Winx, Sunline and Makybe Diva and they are all female. How good is that? There is something about the power of women.”

Elliott’s passion for racing extends beyond her heritage and role with the VRC. She also has a share in eight different horse syndicates.

“I used to breed and race myself, but not with very much luck,” she says. “I used to keep mares that weren’t much good but I just liked them. They never threw any progeny that did anything so I moved away from the breeding and just bought into various syndicates.

“I’ve enjoyed it, I couldn’t not have an involvement in racing because I love the sport.”

She may even have a couple of contenders during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

“I’ve got Libran, trained by Chris Waller in Sydney. He potentially might run. And I’ve got a filly with Anthony Freedman called Pageantry, and she might as well, fingers crossed.”

Elliott has fond childhood memories of her parents’ annual pilgrimage to Cup Week from their family property, Chatsworth Park, on the Goulburn River.

“My childhood memories … are as clear as if it was yesterday,” she says. “The pack-up of what seemed like a dizzying array of beautiful outfits, the endless hat boxes, my father’s suits all hanging in rows with shirts and ties to match.”

But that’s not her only special affinity with the race that stops the nation. Elliott met her second husband on a momentous day trackside in 1985.

“My father was vice-chairman of the VRC, it was the first-ever sponsorship of the Cup, a million-dollar race, the prince and princess of Wales were guests and I met my second husband,” she says.

“Going from life in the Small Glen in Perthshire, Scotland, to life with John Elliott was quite a change. I learnt so much about business, sport and politics, which were three pillars of his life, as well as the power of belief in oneself.”

Amanda Elliott with ex-husband John Elliott and their daughter Alexandra, then aged 13, at Southbank in 2003.

While she learnt skills that have helped propel her to her current position, Elliott admits the break-up was painful.

“The pursuit of challenge and achievements, his desire for success, to win at all costs, can be an extraordinary ride but it does come with a great risk personally and professionally,” she says.

“This period was very uncomfortable for me. Apart from the emotional side of things, the publicity and intrusion was something I really struggled with.”

But rather than wallowing in it and allowing it to consume her, Elliott used the experience to empower her. It’s a lesson she is sharing with her team at the VRC as it moves into an exciting new era.

“The magic sometimes happens outside the comfort zone and you’ve no idea what you’re capable of until you try,” she says.

“I felt that the team, even though doing a fantastic job, in some respects needed a bit of empowering in the bigger picture — to wake up every day and be excited to be going to work because of a unity of purpose.

“My belief in Flemington is reinforced every time I visit other racing jurisdictions around the world. People say, ‘Can we come? Can we do what you are doing?’ ”

Elliott’s blue-sky vision for a transformation of Flemington to more than just a race day venue is taking shape but will also take considerable time to fully realise. She has publicly stated she intends to step down at the end of her current appointment, at the end of 2018.

“When I leave, it will be knowing that not all the grand plans are realised because there are only 24 hours in one day, but that they are well on the way. I’ll feel so satisfied if that is the case and I’m sure it will be.”

[e-mail]