John Kanga has big win in MRC board bid as members voice anger over Sandown

John Kanga nearly scored a coup is his bid to overthrow the MRC board at a packed annual meeting at Caulfield.

Melbourne Racing Club challenger John Kanga got a major boost to his bid to overthrow the board, but the future of the club and a $1bn development remains in the balance.

Two new board members, Sheamus Mills and Cameron Fisher – who are aligned to Kanga – were ratified at a packed annual meeting on Thursday night at Caulfield.

But the chair’s role remains deadlocked.

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A board meeting on Friday will decide who wins the right to take over the club.

Outgoing chair Matt Cain was met with anger over plans to sell the Sandown racecourse, which could be worth at least $800m, and plans for a new $250m grandstand at Caulfield.

An angry crowd shouted over him “you’re gone” when Cain refused a bid to put the ­future of the 112ha parcel of land to a vote immediately.

'THE BOARD WAS UNWILLING TO ADMIT THEY GOT IT WRONG'

He ‘would prefer to be an unknown’, but John Kanga says tells @BradWWaters he was forced to push for a board spill at the @MelbRacingClub when member concerns were ignored despite ‘months’ of behind-the-scenes lobbying. 👇… pic.twitter.com/sFgMD4la5E

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) August 30, 2024

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Colin Little, a former trainer who won the Cox Plate with El Segundo, wore a red ‘Save Sandown’ badge and demanded a final decision be brought forward.

“I see no reason why members can’t vote on Sandown now,” he said, to applause.

Debra Coombs said: “The changes we’ve had don’t seem to take into account the interests of members.”

Other members suggested the club already had plans to spend the money from the Sandown sale.

But Cain said no decision could be made on Sandown until the rezoning was approved, which was expected early next year.

Outgoing MRC chair Matt Cain. Picture: Jason Edwards

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“I want to make it clear that the current rezoning process is purely a planning process. So that all options regarding Sandown can be considered,” Cain said.

“To be crystal-clear, any ­decision to cease racing at ­Sandown will be down to a vote of members.”

Mills won 1651 votes and Fisher won 1592 votes – more than 600 votes ahead of their nearest challengers.

That gives Kanga a block of five votes, along with his other aligned board members Caitrin Kelly and Alison Saville, out of 10 possible votes.

Kanga, who has been on the board less than two years, was on the cusp of a coup.

MRC board members Alison Saville and Caitrin Kelly. Picture: Jason Edwards

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But the final vote would come down to the Mornington racecourse nominees.

Cain finished up after 15 years on the board, and Mark Pratt resigned.

Tim Guille, who was on the MRC board and also the Mornington Racecourse Board, also was expected to resign.

Kanga went to the Victorian Supreme Court to get an injunction to allow him to vote on the chair’s role on Friday, after he was threatened with a disciplinary hearing.

The MRC meeting was held amid a tense backdrop.

Board members Kelly and Saville had been threatened with defamation after they claimed the club had a “poor culture” and “toxic atmosphere”.

Originally published as John Kanga has big win in MRC board bid as members voice anger over Sandown