Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The dispute between Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club escalated further on Friday, with the ATC alleging in the NSW Supreme Court that the regulator has withheld close to $10 million in wagering payments.
Appearing before Justice François Kunc, the club claimed Racing NSW had stopped making its regular monthly distributions - worth about $7.5 million - since January, leaving an outstanding shortfall of approximately $9.45 million.
The issue was put bluntly in court.
“Is your client turning off the tap or not?” Justice Kunc asked Racing NSW’s barrister, as the latest front in the dispute came into focus.
The payments at the centre of the claim include both core TAB wagering distributions and top-up funding that Racing NSW had been providing to soften the impact of declining returns from totaliser betting. Under a 2023 arrangement, payments were shifted from quarterly to monthly to assist the ATC’s cash flow, while annual distributions were topped up to a set level.
Justice Kunc | Image courtesy of Legal Services Court
According to court documents referred to by the Sydney Morning Herald, those top-ups totalled $12.2 million in the 2025 financial year.
The SMH also reported that, in an email sent to then ATC chief executive Matt Galanos on July 31 last year, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said both the monthly frequency of the distributions and the top-up payments were discretionary and amounted to “a gesture of goodwill”.
Those monthly payments continued later in 2025 but, according to the ATC, ceased after the club launched Supreme Court proceedings in December challenging Racing NSW’s attempted appointment of an administrator.
Friday’s hearing was formally tied to a separate dispute over Racing NSW’s request for information relating to the ATC’s catering operations and an internal investigation into alleged theft from racecourse cold rooms. But the funding issue quickly emerged as a fresh flashpoint in the broader power struggle.
The matter was ultimately deferred, with Justice Kunc indicating the core dispute should now move toward the Court of Appeal rather than continue through repeated interim hearings.
The latest developments come just days after the ATC secured a major legal victory, with the Supreme Court ruling Racing NSW’s appointment of an administrator was invalid and amounted to a “decisive intrusion” into the affairs of the club.
Racing NSW has said it will appeal that ruling, arguing the decision could affect its ability to support the wider racing industry.
For now, Friday’s exchange has sharpened the stakes yet again: this is no longer only a fight about control and statutory power, but once again the topic of club funding has become a pressure point in the middle of Sydney racing’s biggest institutional battle.
