More time for ATC members to decide on $5 billion racecourse sale

A new date has been set for members of the Australian Turf Club to vote on the $5 billion sale of Rosehill Racecourse to make way for 25,000 new homes.

A new date has been set for members of the Australian Turf Club to vote on the $5 billion sale of Rosehill Racecourse to make way for 25,000 new homes.

Members were originally set to vote on April 3rd but that date has now been pushed back to May 27 to allow more time for details on alternative arrangements to be fleshed out.

ATC chairman Peter McGauran said further information both for and against the sale would be sent to 11,500 members before they take part in the new vote. More than half have to agree for the sale to go ahead.

“This vote is one of the most significant in the Club’s history,” he said. “We want to ensure that every Member has time to consider all of the information, ask questions, and make their own decision with confidence. We remain focused on a respectful and open process.”

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on January 18, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

A vocal campaign against the sale has been led by breeder Julia Ritchie who has argued members need to know more about alternative arrangements for racing, training and stabling horses before they can decide.

“If they could present us with more information and have done appropriate due diligence, Members would be looking at a totally different position,” she has said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has welcomed the offer of the land that would help ease the Sydney housing crisis but has warned ATC members that it is a once-only offer dependent on the decision being made before the new Metro station is built.

“The government is only going to build a metro through the line … once. It can’t happen again. So it’s not as if the organisation will be able to revisit this opportunity in 10, 15, 20 years’ time,” he has said.

Originally published as More time for ATC members to decide on $5 billion racecourse sale