Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Racing New South Wales have given the Australian Turf Club an extension of three weeks to the Show Cause notice issued to them on September 19. The new deadline is set for October 24, six days after TAB Everest Raceday, the height of Sydney’s spring racing carnival.
In a media release from the ATC on Tuesday morning, ATC Chairman Tim Hale welcomed the decision, and said that it allowed the ATC to properly devote their energies to the spring carnival. The decision had been requested by the ATC.
Tim Hale | Image courtesy of Australian Turf Club
“We had asked for this extension until after TAB Everest Day and we are very pleased this has been granted,’’ Hale said in the press release. “It allows ATC further time to respond in more detail to Racing NSW’s notice, which we will do with diligence and integrity.
“Importantly, our teams can focus on delivering a world-class racing carnival and raceday experience for our members and customers at the peak of spring.’’
“Importantly, our teams can focus on delivering a world-class racing carnival and raceday experience for our members and customers at the peak of spring.’’ - Tim Hale
TTR reached out to Racing NSW and Racing NSW's Chief Executive Officer Peter V’landys for comment on the reasons for granting the extension and did not receive a reply in the time frame of the article.
Racing NSW’s Participants ulletin
In a follow-up to the Show Cause notice, Racing NSW Chair Dr Saranne Cooke issued a Participants Bulletin on the evening of Monday, September 22, that outlined the principal racing authority’s reasons behind the notice.
The bulletin alleged that RNSW has been heavily subsidising the ATC with both operating and capital funding, that it had bailed the ATC out on numerous occasions, and that the PRA was concerned about governance going forward.
Clarification of financial points in the bulletin
As a follow-up to the bulletin, TTR reached out to Racing NSW Chief Operating Officer Graeme Hinton for clarification on some of the numbers outlined in the release, as some of the figures appeared to conflict in comparison to figures in the RNSW Annual Report 2024.
Graeme clarified that the $153 million figure in the bulletin was ATC prizemoney that was funded by Racing NSW, and that in 2025, Racing NSW paid the ATC a further $12 million to offset declining contribution from the TAB, thus taking the total figure to $164.7 million mentioned elsewhere in the bulletin. It was also reported that TAB distributions to the ATC had fallen from $80.7 million in 2015 to $68.6 million in 2025.
The ATC 2023/24 Annual Report lists total revenue of $371 million, with the TAB distributions being $87.225 million, a steep improvement on Racing NSW's report of TAB distributions in 2025, and Racing NSW subsidising prizemoney by $146.23 million.
In response to being asked where Racing NSW sourced the additional $153 million, Graeme said, “Racing NSW, through its own initiatives and pro-activeness, has been able to procure a number of additional revenues for the NSW Thoroughbred Racing Industry which are used to contribute to prizemoney and provide additional funding to race clubs.”
In the Annual Report, it is outlined that 65% of TAB distributions came from “new or revitalised spring races” such as the G1 The Everest and the $10 million Golden Eagle, all of which are run at ATC tracks; Hinton clarified that this percentage referred only to the wagering from the top 20 most wagered races in the state, not the wagering turnover statewide.
Racing NSW's Annual Report lists total TAB distributions for the state as $165.5 million, with a total wagering turnover of $481.3 million for the 2023/24 season.
Both Racing NSW and the ATC’s annual reports are yet to have been prepared for the 2024/25 year.
Events leading up to the Show Cause
In the week leading up to the Show Cause notice, ATC Chief Executive Officer Matt Galanos departed the organisation, and board members Ben Bayot and Natalie Hewson both tendered their resignations. The ATC’s head of corporate affairs and government relations Steve McMahon has been promoted to interim CEO.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Bayot’s chief reasons for leaving were concerns about governance within the ATC, and reported that he called it “untenable” to continue to be part of a “dysfunctional board”.
The previous chair Peter McGauran departed the board in July, prior to the expiration of his term in January 2026, and was replaced by Hale. In his exit statement, McGauran said that he “remained convinced” that the aborted sale proposal of Rosehill Gardens, where 56% of members voted against the sale, was a “lost opportunity” for the club.
Peter McGauran | Image courtesy of NSW Parliament
McGauran also highlighted that, in his time as chair, the ATC had gone from a financial deficit of $6.9 million (in the 2021/22 financial year) to an operating surplus of $570,000 in 2023/24.
In addition, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the ATC owed $30 million to Commonwealth Bank in the form of a loan due to be repaid by October 2026, and also a further $145 million to Racing NSW, although that took the form of an interest-free loan that would only need to be repaid on the sale of a major asset.
