THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: NO MISTAKING THE INTENTION AS NSW PUSH THE ENVELOPE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, July 23, 2017

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

Peter V’landys, CEO of Racing NSW, has accelerated the conflict between his state and Victoria by giving some forthright comments in a radio interview on RSN.

V’landys is unapologetic about his expansion of the Racing NSW product ... be it through new races and race dates, which show little respect for another state’s racing programs, or through raised prize-money levels which puts pressure on all other states.

He has been rounded criticised for not keeping his allotted place in the larger racing landscape and for allegedly not doing what is best for racing in Australia as a whole.

That would be a valid argument if V’landys was employed by Racing Australia ... but he is not.

His commitment and loyalty is to Racing New South Wales, as it should be given his position, and he made that absolutely clear.

“My job is to maximise revenues for New South Wales racing and that is exactly what I am going to do in any manner I have at my disposal,” V’landys said.

“Why should incumbency be protected? Why can’t you introduce competition?

“Registrations of racehorses throughout Australia are down about ten percent and we will do everything in our power to maximise the returns to participants to make the racing industry viable. If competition does that ... great!”

In the interview V’landys was taken to task on a number of issues but, whether you agreed with his stance or not, he knew his subject, he was passionate about the reasons for the positions he has taken, he understood the consequences and he was happy to entertain a two-way street in terms of the competition factor.

“If Victoria tried to encroach on our schedule before The Championships I would try harder and promote heavier in the autumn,” continued V’landys. “I would have no problem with that.”

Whichever side you take in this debate V’Landys is showing something that racing so often lacks ... leadership!

Is he leading in the right direction?

Again, you can argue that on different fronts but, in terms of his job description, there can be no doubt that he is and that he has posted a challenge to other state's administrators.

The theory being that while not every step moving forward might not be the right one, it is better than standing still!