Horseracing director pushes for renewal amid NSW leadership clash

Mr Nichols led the British Horseracing Board from 2002 to 2006 and currently serves on the Asian Racing Federation.

“My view is that you need to revive and energise an organisation with new blood all the time,” he said.

“I was probably initially against having a ceiling on tenure, but I’ve come around. It’s about being around people who are younger than you, and they remind you of what you were like in your first four or five years, and it makes you realise people can stay too long in a role and stifle that energy.”

Racing Australia directors including Mr Balding and Mr V’Landys, who is also the NRL’s chief executive, met on Tuesday for a usual board meeting where the NSW leadership issue was not discussed.

Mr Nichols’ comments come as the NSW Opposition works with the crossbench to secure support in the upper house to dramatically strengthen oversight of Racing NSW, which currently sits beyond reach of the state’s corruption watchdog and does not appear before budget estimates.

The legislation passed the NSW lower house on Tuesday night with an amendment requiring the act to be reviewed. It is now expected that additional amendments to be introduced on Thursday will put Racing NSW – and its financials – under the purview of the state’s auditor-general.

A separate amendment was being drafted on Wednesday that would require a Racing NSW representative – usually the chief executive – to appear before the state’s budget estimates committee each year, again strengthening oversight.

Mr Balding, who is a former ABC managing director and one of Destination NSW’s longest-serving directors with a term of more than a decade, declined to comment on the proposed amendments when contacted on Wednesday. Mr V’Landys also declined to comment.

Continuity is priority

Sources close to the racing boss – who is best known for his plucky approach to the racing calendar where major NSW major events have been scheduled for the same day as the Victoria Racing Club’s marquee fixtures, including Derby Day – report he is quietly furious about the potential for a budget estimates showing.

NSW Racing Minister David Harris has repeatedly backed Mr Balding’s reappointment as Racing NSW chairman, reasoning that continuity is his priority, even though the move requires legislation to be rewritten for a third time.

While the extension has the support from some wings of the industry including the NSW Trainers’ Association, The Provincial Clubs Association and the Australian Turf Club, other groups are have objected fiercely.

Angry thoroughbred breeders have warned the government that its plan potentially breaches legislation. They have threatened legal action if the bill passes, and questioned why stability is incumbent on one person.

“There are seven board members. Is it seriously suggested that the reappointment of Mr Balding alone will facilitate ‘continuity and corporate stability’?” a letter sent to the racing minister stated.