Jumping ship: Two MRC board members switch sides as move to overthrow committee gains momentum

A move to spill the Melbourne Racing Club Board appears to be gathering momentum with two board members switching to now support the spill being led by John Kanga.

Melbourne Racing Club board members Alison Saville (left) and Caitrin Kelly (right).

There has been a dramatic power play in the push to spill the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) board, with a pair of committee members switching allegiances to support John Kanga’s move for change.

MRC executive committee members Alison Saville and Caitrin Kelly initially signed an MRC statement which rejected the “disruptive motion’’ by fellow committee member Kanga who is leading a board spill.

But now, in a letter to fellow committee members which was released by Kanga’s Save Our MRC Group on Wednesday, Saville and Kelly said “we regret signing the committee joint statement and feel we were pressured into signing it at short notice”.

In the letter, Saville and Kelly allege that there has been a “longstanding poor culture and toxic atmosphere within the MRC executive committee” and further allege “there have been previous instances of bullying”.

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“We retract our signatures and endorsement of the statement dated Friday 23rd August made by the MRC Committee that was critical of the requisition of a special general meeting (SGM) of MRC members lodged by John Kanga last Thursday 22nd August,” the letter signed by Saville and Kelly, and publicly released by the Save Our MRC Group, said.

“We regret signing the Committee Joint Statement and feel we were pressured into signing it at short notice.

“We consider that there is a longstanding poor culture and toxic atmosphere within the MRC Executive Committee and there have been previous instances of bullying.

John Kanga (left) is leading a move to spill the Melbourne Racing Club board. Picture: Getty Images

“We now reject the Committee Joint Statement and support Mr Kanga’s SGM and his Save Our MRC Group.

“In particular, we support Mr Kanga in relation to the three essential changes that need to be made at the MRC, which we believe are being opposed and impeded by the committee.

“(They are) Moving back to the original Caulfield mounting yard area as soon as practicable, scrapping plans to build a new grandstand at Caulfield Racecourse; retaining racing at Sandown Racecourse while optimising the development potential and value of the surplus land.”

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Saville and Kelly’s statement reads further: “Nothing can be more democratic than the members voting on whether to remove Executive Committee members that are not considered to be listening to genuine member concerns that we are trying to resolve.”

Kelly, who was raised on an Irish dairy farm and has a long passion for racing, including once riding track work for Gai Waterhouse, is a pediatric intensive care nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

Saville, who has owned racehorses for more than two decades and is an accomplished equestrian rider, is the chief financial officer within her family business.

Last week, News Corp revealed Kanga was leading an MRC board spill in protest against matters including controversy over the new Caulfield mounting yard.

Kanga, who raced former Group 1 star Russian Camelot, insisted the MRC was in “disarray” over what he claims are costly failures of the new mounting yard and jockey rooms at Caulfield as part of a new $64m precinct and the committee’s proposal to build a “white elephant” new grandstand.

In a message to MRC members on Wednesday, the MRC executive committee wrote: “The timing of Mr. Kanga’s motion seems designed to override the Club’s election process this year and cause confusion and instability. As a matter of good governance, we strongly oppose such tactics.”

The message to members continued and said the Caulfield mounting yard would be reviewed at the end of the spring carnival and any potential construction of a new grandstand was “currently on hold and has been for some time”.

A general view of the new mounting yard at Caulfield. Picture: Getty Images

The new Caulfield mounting yard generally has drawn the ire of participants, members and punters while the size of the new jockeys’ room has caused frustrations.

MRC rules require Kanga’s special general meeting to be convened “forthwith”.

The latest drama has hit the headlines in a week where the MRC will stage the first Melbourne Group 1 of the new racing season, the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.

Alison Saville and Caitrin Kelly's letter, publicly released by the Save Our MRC Group.

Originally published as Jumping ship: Two MRC board members switch sides as move to overthrow committee gains momentum