V’landys says he will have final say on turning Rosehill Racecourse into housing

Powerful racing boss Peter V’landys has insisted there is no conspiracy over his connection to the proposed sale of the historic Rosehill Gardens racecourse, while revealing Racing NSW would have the final say over whether a deal to turn the track into a mini-city of 25,000 new homes goes ahead.

The Australian Turf Club’s proposed deal with the Minns government to redevelop Rosehill for housing has sparked significant resistance from some prominent members of the racing industry.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys says proceeds from any sale of Rosehill should be used for the best interests of the racing industry.Credit: Rhett Wyman. Images digitally altered.

Those opponents have seized on internal government documents they say show V’landys lobbied the government to divert funds from the proposed sell-off away from the ATC.

While the Racing NSW chief executive has publicly withheld judgment on the plan, minutes from a meeting he and then-Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding held with NSW Cabinet Office officials in November recorded the two racing bosses as being “very supportive” of the sale.

Most significantly for opponents of the sell-off, the meeting minutes reveal V’landys and Balding proposed legislative reforms to the ATC’s board and governance which would result in funds from the sale being distributed away from the club.

The documents state V’landys and Balding told the government to look at reforms to ensure the ATC was “governed by an appropriately skills-based board” as well as to “ensure the revenue derived from the ATC proposal is reinvested to benefit the racing industry as a whole”.

The revelations have sparked concerns among some ATC members over the role V’landys played in the Rosehill proposal and raised questions over where the billions of dollars expected to be raised from a sale would be spent.

High-profile members of the ATC including champion trainers Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse are finalising a Save Rosehill campaign which will also count Debbie Kepitis, owner of champion racehorse Winx, and former ATC chair Matt McGrath among its members.

The group plans to ramp up its opposition to the plan – which is being considered by the NSW government under the unsolicited proposals’ framework – and has welcomed a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the proposal.

“There has been a lack of transparency about how a proposal to sell off Rosehill has come about. So we fully support this inquiry,” a Save Rosehill spokesperson said.

Hayes-trained horse Mr Brightside at Rosehill. Waller is a leading opponent of the proposed sale of the racetrack.Credit: Nick Moir

V’landys says concerns about Racing NSW’s involvement in the deal are misplaced. He said the November meeting came after the proposal was submitted by the ATC and was sought for clarity “as a regulator should”.

“What I have said and said all along is we would be supportive if the money being quoted is correct and that is part of what the due diligence will look at,” he said.

“What was meant by ‘best interests’ is, we don’t want to see the money, if it goes ahead, spent just on members facilities and things like that.

“It’s got to be the best interests of the thoroughbred racing industry. The majority of revenue the ATC gets comes from the NSW racing industry, not from its members.”

‘We license the club, and we’re the regulator, so there would have to be some agreement.’

Peter V’landys, Racing NSW CEO

The NSW government has made easing Sydney’s housing supply crisis a central plank of its agenda since coming to power last year. The Rosehill deal was hailed as a “once in a generation opportunity” when it was announced by Premier Chris Minns and ATC chairman Peter McGauran in December, but Minns has conceded it may not go ahead if the racing club’s members do not support it.

V’landys did, however, reveal Racing NSW would have the final say over whether the sale goes ahead even if members supported it.

“The ATC still needs our approval if they go ahead with it. It’s not just the members,” he said. “We license the club, and we’re the regulator, so there would have to be some agreement.”

V’landys also indicated Racing NSW would consider pushing for a new racecourse in Sydney if the sale of Rosehill goes ahead.

Under the terms of the deal announced by the ATC and Minns in December, funding would be set aside to redevelop Warwick Farm into a state-of-the-art racing, training, member and spectator facility. The deal would include the government investigating building a new metro station at Rosehill while the course was developed into housing.

V’landys said Racing NSW had concerns about Warwick Farm’s suitability as a replacement for Rosehill, saying part of the process needed to include consideration of “an alternative” course. The historic brick pit at Sydney Olympic Park has been floated as a possible new racetrack, something he said remained a possibility.

“The thing for us is you want the best available racecourse that is conducive to competitive racing ... we need a lot of options, not just one,” he said.

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