VIDEO: RACING INDUSTRY TURNING ON ITSELF

V’landys is trying to pass himself off as someone who is a defender and protector of horses – pay close attention to his body language when he states race horses are not destroyed.  He’s lashing out at those who are part of a Parliamentary Inquiry INCLUDING others like himself who are involved in the horse racing industry.

Peter V’landys is an Australian horse racing and rugby league administrator. He is the chief executive and a board member of Racing New South Wales (Racing NSW) as well as the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission.

ABC’s 730 whistleblowing investigation was titled “The dark side of the horse racing industry – a special investigation into the racing industry reveals what really goes on when racehorses’ lives end in knackeries and abattoirs, The Final Race horse racing industry’s failure to protect retired horses from mass slaughter”.  (You can watch ‘The Final Race’ here.)

Following a two-year special investigation into the horse racing industry footage showed horses being beaten, kicked and shocked with electric prods while they lay dying in abattoirs and it raised more than a few questions about the horse racing industry’s so-called rehoming programs for racehorses.

V’landys sued the ABC for defamation. His lawsuit was dismissed in 2021 by Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney.

V’landys appealed but in 2023 the Federal Court upheld Justice Wigney’s decision, ordering V’landys to pay the ABC’s legal costs.

THE STRAIGHT:  Fundamental to any idea of constructing a 25,000-dwelling suburb where Rosehill lies is if the site itself is suitable for such a development. Before you even get to that you have to come to an agreed, improved value. This varied between $1.6 billion and $23 billion at the hearing.

Australian Turf Club chairman Peter McGauran said a valuation of current zoning would be $1.6 billion and that the mooted $5 billion put forward by consultants MostynCopper would depend on rezoning and a metro station. Pressed further on that value McGauran said: “I’m yet to find any valuer or large-scale experienced property developer who disagrees with $5 billion.”

Later in that second session, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said the project’s current valuation was $23 billion, which would be realised over 30 years.

What followed was according to the THE STRAIGHT  the most contentious aspect of the entire hearing. It came on the Committee’s agenda from the first witness, when Gai Waterhouse questioned the regulator’s involvement in the project and the tenure of [Horseracing NSW’s] CEO V’landys.

THE STRAIGHT continues: The phrase ‘Racing NSW’ featured 135 times in the first hearing and then 153 times in the second and 80 in the third. The word ‘V’landys’ was featured 24,244, and 15 times, respectively.

V’landys became the central character of an action-packed second act of the public hearings, using his time in front of the Committee to suggest “wealthy breeders” were conspiring against him.

[MOHM: Is the racing industry in turmoil?  You be the judge.  Keep in mind that V’landys is the chief executive and a board member of Racing New South Wales and he is attacking “wealthy breeders” and… ]

He also labelled his critics as “cheats, liars, undesirables and cowards” and had a terse exchange with Independent MP Mark Latham.