MORE than 20 of the biggest investors in racing, including Gai Waterhouse and Ron Finemore, are calling for the immediate release of a report industry figures hope will trigger a shake up of NSW racing laws.
BRITTNEY LEVINSON reports for the FINANCIAL REVIEW that retired Liberal Minister Brad Hazzard has spent the past year reviewing the legislation which establishes Racing NSW, the body which runs the industry and has been led by chief executive Peter V’landys for more than two decades. Hazzard handed his report to the State’s Racing Minister in late July.
The racing industry is yet to see the report and the letter’s signatories are concerned they will have limited time to consider any recommendations if there are further delays to its release.
“Releasing the report now will allow stakeholders to provide informed views before any legislative changes are finalised,” the letter, which was sent to NSW Racing Minister David Harris on Sunday, reads.
“There is no justification for withholding the report while cabinet considers its response.”
A spokesman for the Racing Minister said the Government was considering the report but did not commit to a timeline for its release.
“We are committed to ensuring that the regulatory framework governing thoroughbred racing in NSW remains fit for purpose, reflects contemporary standards, and promotes integrity, transparency and jockey and horse welfare,” he said.
“The government is carefully considering the findings and recommendations set out in Mr Hazzard’s report and will determine appropriate next steps.”
Among the signatories are Racing NSW former chairman John Messara, former cricketer Mark Waugh and his horse trainer wife Kim, as well as some of the state’s biggest racehorse owners, including Frances and Christine Cook, Linda Huddy and Matthew Sandblom.
Hazzard’s review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act, which outlines how Racing NSW operates the industry, was commissioned in September 2025 after a parliamentary inquiry into the proposed sale of the Rosehill Gardens Racecourse raised significant concerns about the regulator.
Some industry figures are hopeful the review will include a recommendation to split the commercial and regulatory functions of Racing NSW, which they say have become broader and more complex since the act was introduced in the 1990s.
They also want governance issues addressed, including changes that would restrict an outgoing chief executive from immediately joining the Racing NSW board and greater accountability measures, including requiring Racing NSW to report its finances to the state’s auditor-general.
Questions have been raised about whether V’landys will remain as the chief executive of Racing NSW, after he recently took four months of leave to focus on rugby league.
“It is clear to us that the act must ensure Racing NSW is properly accountable for its decisions, both to the NSW government and to the racing industry it serves,” the letter to the racing minister stated.
Jason Abrahams, a racehorse owner and syndicator who signed the open letter, said the legislation was outdated and needed to better reflect the industry in its current form.
“There’s a whole range of governance issues that we’re concerned about and [that] haven’t been followed for numerous years, and we just feel like the board hasn’t really done their job in controlling the management of Racing NSW very well,” he said.
“It should be a healthy industry, and it should be an industry that everyone can be proud of, but it feels like there’s a lot of cloak and dagger stuff going on.”
Releasing the report would give the industry a better chance to advocate for change, Abrahams said.
“We’ve waited a long time for the report, and we just don’t feel like there’s any particular reason why the government should not be releasing the report so we can discuss the issues that [Hazzard] has recommended to try and expedite some changes within the industry,” he said.
“We need to be able to talk about these issues out in public, and we need to be able to get an outcome and force change because we’re working off an old act, and our regulator seems to ignore the act anyway.”
