AN ugly battle has erupted as the controlling body of horse racing in the State, Queensland Racing Limited, attempts to take over the assets of Townsville Turf Club.
The TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN reports today that QRL's controversial chairman Bob Bentley has threatened to revoke the TTC licence if the committee and members do not agree to his latest takeover terms.
But Townsville Turf Club has firmly rejected the Bentley demands to sell the Cluden Park race course and facilities to QRL, and has called the three state MPs and Minister Craig Wallace as well as the 500 club members to join the fight.
''It is now purely a matter of survival - and QRL is playing very dirty darts,'' said TTC negotiator Kevin O'Keefe last night.
''We are prepared to negotiate a deal for the benefit of racing but it won't be done while he (Bentley) holds a bullet at our head.''
Last month Queensland Racing gave the Townsville Turf Club a 28-day 'show cause' deadline to get its affairs in order, or its license would be revoked.
QR will discuss its response to the show cause notice with club representatives in Brisbane on May 7.
In an open letter advertised in the Townsville Bulletin today, QR chairman Bob Bentley said the local turf club had posted losses worth almost half a million in since 2007 and was 'on track' for similar losses in the 2009/10 financial year.
He said the Townsville Turf Club was the worst performing TAB club in Queensland, was 'cash poor and in a state of disrepair'.
The letter said the land on which the club stands was worth just $1.2 million at its last evaluation, on March 22 this year.
Mr O'Keefe said the Townsville Turf Club had met with Mr Bentley in Brisbane a fortnight ago to 'agree to a way out' of the club's financial problems.
''It was similar deal to the equity sharing arrangements that QRL completed with Rockhampton and other TAB clubs in recent times,'' Mr O'Keefe said.
''Two days later he declared all bets were off and dropped the bomb. He demanded a complete take over of our club.
''In a nutshell, he has demanded we call a meeting of members and sign over the Townsville Turf Club and assets with a commercial value of $30-40 million for a figure less than a half a million.''
Mr O'Keefe said Townsville Turf Club members were determined not to be bullied into submission.
''There will be no special meeting of members and if Queensland Racing want the venue to conduct racing at Cluden they can negotiate with us.
''It's a bit like the counter deal suggested recently by the Gold Coast Turf Club. They won't be bullied by Bentley and nor will we.''
Mr O'Keefe said a recent valuation priced the property and its assets as worth more than $19 million.
He said his club would take the matter 'beyond Mr Bentley' if they needed to.
In a detailed release, the Townsville Turf Club outlined the financial problems and the demands being made by QR.
The Townsville Turf Club accused QR of taking over race clubs across the State by stealth.
''Indeed we have seen QR spend $14 million on Caloundra and Toowoomba tracks, $6.5 million at Rockhampton, $3 million at Cairns and as yet undetermined amounts at Gold Coast and Mackay,'' the club said.
''But they are not grants. They are loans and a lever for these clubs to enter into an equity partnership arrangement.''
Mr O'Keefe said it was important to know that it costs the local club $900,000 a year to maintain tracks and training facilities at Cluden.
In the four years since TAB distributions to individual clubs were halted and channelled directly to QR, the reserves or equity has gone from $40 million to $80 million as at June 30 last year, and likely to exceed $100 million by June this year.
''While, in the same period, there is no doubt the overall position of race clubs has gone backwards,'' Mr O'Keefe said.
''The strategy is obviously designed to build the strength of QR at the cost of race clubs.''
STORY REPRODUCED COURTESY OF THE TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN
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