The bosses of Victoria's premier race clubs met at a billionaire's Toorak mansion. A merger was on the menu
The chairman of the super club would begin to rival NSW supremo Peter V'Landys for influence.
Members of both clubs would need to vote for a merger to happen.
It was suggested at the meeting that winning the support of MRC members could involve free membership of the new entity for at least two years, according to sources familiar with the discussion but not willing to speak publicly about a private gathering.
While Wilson took his vice chairman to the meeting with Munz, sources claim Kanga did not take the matter back to his board.
But, according to the sources, the relationship between the two clubs soured recently after sensitive information about the VRC's finances was leaked from a private Racing Forum, hosted by Racing Victoria, to the Herald Sun.
The newspaper's May 22 story – 'Desperate VRC raids Everest rival race for Melbourne Cup prize money' – angered members of the VRC committee and executive.
Munz declined to comment on the meeting, while Kanga and Wilson were contacted for comment.
Former Racing Victoria CEO Andrew Jones wrote a column for this masthead in November last year, suggesting 'it has been obvious to the racing industry for decades that Melbourne's clubs should come together'.
Such a merger would leave Moonee Valley Racing Club out on its own as it prepares to close its gates for 21 months in November to undergo a complete rebuild of its track and facilities.
The Valley rejected a behind-the-scenes push at Racing Victoria in 2015 for the MVRC to be absorbed into the VRC and the Cox Plate to be run at Flemington.
Wilson told this masthead in February that the VRC would return to profitability by 2026 on the back of a lucrative new media deal with Tabcorp and Nine (owner of this masthead), worth between $30 million and $40 million, a return to bumper Melbourne Cup week crowds and new sponsorship agreements.
The VRC announced a three-year partnership extension with Lexus in March, including Melbourne Cup naming rights until 2027, but Penfolds winery has pulled the pin on its lucrative spring carnival contract.
Kanga has publicly supported the prospect of a merger between Melbourne's metropolitan clubs in the past as way for the industry to become more efficient.
But his MRC board has come under scrutiny this week after removing chief executive Tom Reilly from office, and announcing that it had appointed Tanya Fullarton as chief operating officer.
Two sources not permitted to speak on behalf of the MRC told this masthead that COO role was not advertised and that Fullarton would be paid $500,000-a-year, plus bonuses.
Fullarton sits on the Thoroughbred Racehorse Association board alongside Munz.
MRC board member Barbara Saunders resigned on Monday in support of Reilly.
'I resigned because I had concerns about the lack of governance at the club and the removal of Tom Reilly from his position as CEO because, in my opinion, he was performing the role very well,' Saunders said.
The MRC released a statement on Monday night to say it had removed Reilly from the CEO role because 'sometimes things don't work out'.
Loading
'Tom was only CEO for three months and when things don't go as well as they should, it is best to pivot and move on,' Kanga said in the statement.
The MRC chairman said the board had appointed Fullarton as COO to 'work with me'.
Kanga swept to power as chairman at a board meeting in October last year, two months after he filed a motion for a special general meeting to remove committee members Matt Cain, Nick Hassett, Mark Pratt, Brooke Dawson, Scott Davidson and Jill Monk.
His Save Our MRC movement followed through on its promise to save Sandown Racecourse from development, move the new Caulfield mounting yard back to its original position in front of the members' stand as well as scrapping plans to build a new $250 million grandstand at Caulfield.
He signed off on an agreement to sell seven hectares of land beside Caulfield Racecourse to Mount Scopus Memorial College for $195 million – a deal that will clear the MRC's $160 million debt, money borrowed to build a new inside track, a new office block, subterranean tie-up stalls and a mounting yard that is no longer used.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
Indigenous art fair weaves legacy through every fibre
What started as a small market to support Aboriginal arts, crafts, tourism and bush food businesses now attracts vendors from the most remote corners of the nation. The Blak Markets began in Sydney's La Perouse in 2014, providing a space for Indigenous artists and small businesses to showcase their wares. It grew so popular they decided to open it up to arts centres from across Australia in 2017, said Peter Cooley, the chief executive of First Hand Solutions, which runs the market. "We got 11 arts centres from different parts of the country - Western Australia, the Northern Territory - making that journey over," the Bidjigal man told AAP. "It went crazy. People flocked knowing that there was going to be remote artists and art centres in town." The success of these markets made Mr Cooley think there was a need for an Indigenous art fair in Sydney. Now in it's sixth year, the National Indigenous Art Fair brings more than 30 remote art centres and almost 100 artists from across Australia together to showcase their works including textiles, fashion, ceramics, homewares and jewellery. Mr Cooley said there was something for everyone at the art fair, but admitted a soft spot for the weaved pieces. "You look at the master weavers and you see how they do their craft and their work and it's just like 'wow'," he said. One such master weaver is Regina Pilawuk Wilson, from the remote community of Peppimenarti, 300 kilometres southwest of Darwin. An internationally acclaimed Ngan'gikurrungurr artist and a cultural leader behind Durrmu Arts, Ms Wilson is known for her paintings based on weaving traditions. She began putting these works on canvas as a way to pass on her legacy, just as she passes her weaving knowledge on to younger members of her family and community. "When I was seven or eight, we used to help my mother get sandpalm and pandanus," she said. "She taught us how to weave and now I'm teaching lots of girls and young generations how to weave. "It is important to teach them so they can carry on what their ancestors used to do before the white people came to Australia." Wilson will host a weaving workshop during the art fair, using the same fibres her mother taught her to weave with, merrepen (sandpalm). The fair will be held in Sydney on July 5 and 6, marking the beginning of NAIDOC Week. Mr Cooley said with the 2025 NAIDOC theme The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy he hopes the art fair can leave a positive mark for all Australians. "We've just gone through a very difficult period since the referendum ... where we are still exposed to and feel a lot of racism, which seems to be very open these days," he said. "(The art fair) is a great way to put those perceived ideas of how people see us ... to put that to bed."
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Former Royal Australian Navy submariners take the plunge with local craft beer brand Deep Elite Brewing
After working underwater for more than a decade in submarines as part of the Royal Australian Navy, Brydon Maslin and Ryan Wilson are now the crew behind local craft beer brand, Deep Elite Brewing. By coincidence, the Adelaide-born brewers both joined the navy on March 10, 2008 but didn't cross paths until they joined the submarine force in Perth. They worked as marine technicians with the Australian fleet around the world, before settling in WA. Both dabbled in home brewing, before deciding to make beer together and joining local ale enthusiasts club West Coast Brewers. The duo started with basic plastic fermenters before transitioning to a stainless steel brewkit. Not one to do things by half, Mr Maslin soon had 14 taps of beer in his back shed so he could host parties, such as birthdays and Oktoberfest celebrations. They even handed out feedback forms so their mates could share their thoughts on the amateur brews. Mr Maslin jokes that the forms equated to research and development, making those early beers tax deductable. Deep Elite's campaign took what Mr Wilson calls a significant turn when they bought a single canning machine and hand-labeller to make beers for friends and family. 'Their encouragement led us to explore the idea of starting our own brewery,' he said. 'Deep Elite Brewing was born, inspired by our submarine background.' The former submariners secured a wholesale license to brew commercially and began contract brewing at Heroes and Villains, Bright Tank, Limestone Coast and Spinifex Brewery, where Mr Maslin is head brewer and Mr Wilson works on the production line. Their first official release as Deep Elite was a cherry sour, brewed at 3 Rivers Brewery in Mandurah and inspired by Mr Maslin's wife's German heritage. The 38-year-old confessed that he didn't drink beer until he travelled to the Black Forest and one of her relatives told him he'd better learn to love the national beverage. Today, Deep Elite is owned by Maslin and Wilson alongside Lee Tough and non-executive director Alan Donovan. Most investors in the brewery are former submariners, who also turn up to help on canning days when it's all hands on deck. Mr Maslin said their navy background has also helped them launch the nascent brand, as they often supply beers to veterans events. Often featuring seafaring puns and references, Deep Elite beers can be found in around 40 shops and a handful of pubs. Their Xtra Sticky Boy Hazy IPA featuring Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired can art earned high praise at the recent Beer and BBQ Festival in Adelaide. A Deep Elite venue is on the distant horizon, explained Mr Maslin, who is more focused on making the next beer — The Hunt for Red Hoptober, a tribute to the 1990 spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why James Cummings picked Hong Kong over ‘bricks and mortar' of Leilani Lodge
James Cummings said people and his passion for training, not the 'bricks and mortar' of his family's Randwick stables at Leilani Lodge, were key factors in his decision to accept a contract with the Hong Kong Jockey Club from September next year. Cummings' deal to join the famed racing district was announced on Wednesday, ending speculation about the 52-time group 1-winning trainer's future. The 37-year-old, the grandson of Melbourne Cup king Bart Cummings, was due to finish as Godolphin's head trainer on July 31 after the racing powerhouse's decision to move away from a private training model. Returning to the public ranks, Cummings was then set to face a battle with Ciaron Maher and the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott team to take over the 55-box stables of Leilani Lodge. Cummings' father, Anthony, was forced out of the stables in February after having his trainer's licence revoked because of his financial troubles. The Cummings family has occupied the stables since Bart established them in the early 1980s. The Australian Turf club has not announced a new tenant, but Maher, the nation's leading trainer, looks certain to get the nod after Cummings' withdrawal. Cummings said his decision to move to Hong Kong came without knowledge about who was getting Leilani Lodge. 'The ATC were very patient, and I respect the position they were in, and the decision hadn't been made at all. I never got that sense,' Cummings said. 'I wanted to know all the information that was on the table there, and I got to that position.' He said the potential to train out of Leilani Lodge again had been tempting but the need to provide clarity for staff and clients, given his chance in Hong Kong, was more important.
