Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Melbourne Racing Club has suddenly removed CEO Tom Reilly just months after the former newspaper editor was appointed to the role.
MRC Chairman John Kanga announced on Monday night that the club that runs Caulfield Racecourse had removed Reilly from the position because “sometimes it just doesn’t work out”.
Tom Reilly has been removed as the CEO of Melbourne Racing Club.
“Tom was only CEO for three months and when things don’t go as well as they should, it is best to pivot and move on,” Kanga said in a statement released by the MRC.
“Everyone can be assured that we have put a management structure in place to ensure a smooth transition.
“I will spend substantial time at the club as chairman, as I did before Tom Reilly was appointed and am pleased to announce that we have appointed Tanya Fullarton as Chief Operating Officer to work with me.”
Fullarton is a board member with Geelong Racing Club and vice-chairman of the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association (TROA), sitting alongside billionaire racehorse owner Jonathan Munz who is TROA chairman.
Reilly’s sudden axing on the King’s Birthday weekend follows a turbulent 12 months for the Melbourne Racing Club.
Kanga filed a motion in August last year for a special general meeting to remove board members Matt Cain, Nick Hassett, Mark Pratt, Brooke Dawson, Scott Davidson and Jill Monk.
While the club ruled the motion was not “legally valid” at the time, former chairman Cain, vice-chairman Hassett, Pratt, Dawson, Davidson and Monk have since walked away.
Former CEO Josh Blanksby resigned at the end of August after seven years in the role.
John Kanga was voted in as MRC chairman in October.Credit: Getty Images
Kanga seized control of the MRC board in October, and was voted in as chairman at a special board meeting.
His Save Our MRC movement followed through on its promise to save Sandown Racecourse from a housing development, move the new Caulfield mounting yard back to its original position in front of the members’ stand as well as scrap plans to build a new $250 million grandstand at Caulfield.
The MRC had come under fire from members for spending $160 million on upgrades, including a new inner track, a new office block, new subterranean tie-up stalls and a new subterranean mounting yard that is no longer used.
“In my short time as MRC Chairman, we have successfully turned the club around, restoring the confidence of members and industry participants and making common-sense decisions,” Kanga said on Monday.
He said the decisions included an agreement to sell land next to Caulfield Racecourse to Mount Scopus Memorial College for $195 million “to pay off debt incurred by the previous committee and generally improving management accountability and service to members, including important things like cheaper food and drink on course”.
“Tanya and I, plus all of the MRC management team, will ensure this continues into the future,” Kanga said.
Reilly was a section editor with the Sydney Morning Herald before leaving the print industry and becoming chief executive of the Thoroughbred Breeders Australia (TBA) and Aushorse.
He was announced as MRC CEO in December and started in the role earlier this year. He flew to Melbourne to help with the club’s clean-up efforts in January following a fire in the Norman Robinson Stand.
Melbourne Racing Club no longer uses its new mounting yard before races.Credit: Getty Images
Reilly was contacted for comment on Monday night.
Kanga said he had “recently acknowledged that our racetracks need to improve and have made it my priority to turn that around”.
“Unfortunately, this is something we have inherited,” he said.
“We have engaged the manager of Pinecliff, regarded as Australia’s premier private training centre, as a consultant for the next few months to help us work out the best approach and protocols going forward, and he has brought on board the best team of outside agronomists available to advise on turf and soil maintenance and management.
“I am confident this will result in significant improvement and ask that everyone is patient while this occurs.”
Pinecliff is owned by billionaire breeder Jonathan Munz’s private company GSA Group.
Kanga said Fullarton had “an excellent reputation and deep experience and relationships across the racing industry”.
“She has in excess of 30 years commercial experience at a high level, with a skill set incorporating and including event management, business management, administration, marketing and sponsorship and has grown her management consultancy business over recent years to provide a series of important roles and services for corporate and racing clients,” Kanga said.
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