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This was published 6 months ago
The moment a billionaire lost his bid to topple Racing Victoria’s board
By Danny Russell
Jonathan Munz prowled around the foyer of Racing Victoria (RV) headquarters on Wednesday morning, wearing a suit and sunglasses, mobile phone pinned to his ear.
The billionaire, who made a fortune alongside his father in a plumbing supplies company, was busily canvassing votes. The phones had run hot late into Tuesday and started ringing again on Wednesday.
Racing owners association chairman Jonathan Munz.Credit: Martin King
Munz, the chairman of the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association (TROA), had a clear purpose: he needed to garner enough support to oust five directors at the looming special general meeting – a meeting forced by his hand.
Two hours later the uprising had spectacularly failed. He lost the vote 17 to 3, and the five under-siege directors – acting chairman Mike Hirst, Kate Joel, Paul Guerra, Tim Eddy and Ross Lanyon – had survived.
For the past seven months, Munz had been agitating for change. He wanted the board to be refreshed and he wanted RV chief executive Andrew Jones gone.
“We want a return to normal and good management. And that’s all we want,” he said.
As Munz continued to pace the floor and then stepped outside through a revolving door to make more calls, the racing industry’s key stakeholders began to file into the building, preparing to cast their votes.
Outside, through the adjoining line of trees, sat the empty Flemington racecourse, which hosted more than 80,000 people for last year’s Melbourne Cup. Munz’s champion sprinter Giga Kick won the group 2 Danehill Stakes on its famous straight in the spring of 2022.
Like Giga Kick, Munz still believed he had a winning kick. Until 8am, there were at least 23 of 35 possible votes still up for grabs. He would need 24 to spill the board.
Behind the scenes, frantic meetings were taking place involving Melbourne’s three metropolitan clubs – the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) and Moonee Valley.
Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones.Credit: Getty Images
Racing Minister Anthony Carbines was also linked into calls. There was a sense of nervousness that Munz could marshall enough votes to win the day.
Two sources with knowledge of the vote, but who would not be named due to confidentiality, said support for the resolutions waxed and waned. The VRC and MRC were split internally but were considering siding with Munz’s rebel push, while Moonee Valley was still debating its final position.
Adding to the drama, the special general meeting was to be chaired by Hirst, whose head was on the chopping block.
Hirst, a grey-haired businessman and former managing director of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, had announced last week that he was leaving the board by the end of May. But a vote of no confidence on Wednesday would end his tenure immediately.
Once in the boardroom, each of Racing Victoria’s 11 stakeholder members were handed a pencil and individually named ballot cards that contained three squares: against, for and abstain. But by then, Munz’s race was run. He had not only been overtaken, he had been swamped. The final tally was 17 against, 15 abstain and three in favour.
The big swing came when Moonee Valley decided at 8.15am to vote against the spill. Holding a total of five votes, they joined Country Racing Victoria (10 votes), the Victorian Jockeys’ Association (one vote) and the unions (one vote) in opposing the resolutions. Munz could no longer win.
This caused a domino effect. The VRC and MRC then opted to abstain, as did the Australian Trainers’ Association. They could not be seen to be backing a losing horse. In the end, Munz’s TROA, which holds three votes, was the lone supporter of the resolutions.
As the messages were relayed to the four directors who had survived the cull, Hirst stepped through RV’s foyer and stood on the same patch of ground where Munz had earlier made his calls. As a passionate owner and breeder, Hirst lamented that he had been unable to talk to his trainer about his runner in the first race at Sandown because of the morning’s events. For the record, Jammin Jimmy ran third.
Board member Mike Hirst survived the attempted spill on Wednesday.Credit: Arsineh Houspian
Hirst then spoke about the outcome of the meeting.
“It was a pretty strong defeat – 17 to three – but the 15 [abstained votes] is just a reflection of the fact that there were a lot of people who did not want to be involved in this process from the start, and that’s how they ended up voting,” said Hirst, who is to take over as chairman at financial services company AMP.
The 35 votes cast on Wednesday comprised Melbourne’s three metropolitan racing clubs (the VRC, MRC and Moonee Valley, with five votes each); Country Racing Victoria (10 votes); and the final 10 votes split between the owners’, breeders’, jockeys’ and trainers’ associations, as well as bookmakers and jumps racing.
The outcome now clears the path for Carbines to appoint a board member to replace former chairman Brian Kruger, who resigned in June last year. Carbines has been presented with a shortlist of candidates by an interview panel made up of racing industry members.
The search will also begin for a suitable candidate to replace Hirst, a spot that two inside sources – who would not be named because discussions were confidential – say has been earmarked for former AFL chief Gillon McLachlan, if he decides to apply.
A third board position will become available when director Greg Nichols’ 12-year tenure expires.
Munz, still wearing sunglasses as he departed the scene of his defeat, was beaten but unbowed. He said he was disappointed by the result, but there were now three new positions on the board to effect change.
“The only thing in relation to the vote was that yes and abstain [a total of 18 votes] beat no [17 votes],” Munz said.
He then reiterated his call for Jones to be sacked. The RV chief executive has come under fire from Munz, and others in the racing industry, over changes to last year’s spring carnival including prizemoney cuts, and floating novel concepts such as a new whip-free racing series contested by teams dubbed “the Big Bash of racing”.
“All the problems that are there still need to be fixed,” Munz said. “Andrew Jones needs to go. I would expect him to be gone reasonably soon. I hope so.”
Before he left, Munz had one last parting shot, a grab at a moral victory: “The vote clearly indicates that the ‘Nos’ were in the minority.”
Jones declined to comment when contacted by The Age. As for Hirst, he said Jones had the backing of the board.
“In any company, management is the responsibility of the board, and the board alone,” he said.
“Jones has the board’s support because he is still here, but the reality is that’s not something that is at the behest of members. It’s entirely a matter for the board.
“It’s a thing the board will have discussions about, as we do on an ongoing basis. I don’t think there are any pressing issues there.”
When asked for comment, Carbines would not be drawn on the possibility of appointing McLachlan.
“The decision from this morning’s meeting was clear and we will continue to support the board to deliver the best outcomes for everyone in the racing industry,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.
“An open and competitive recruitment process is currently under way to fill the board vacancies, and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Andrew Jones and Gillon McLachlan were contacted for comment.
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