Just days after being officially confirmed as the new Chief Executive Officer by the Board of Racing Victoria, Aaron Morrison has addressed an issue that has plagued the national racing scene over several years.
The relationship between Racing Victoria (RV) and Racing New South Wales, which at times has not only appeared to be stuck in the equivalent of traffic gridlock, but which has also arguably come with that example’s road rage element, has long been a point of contention.
The picture this has portrayed is of a sometimes ugly, mostly unproductive and definitely undesirable very public standoff in which there are no real winners, not least the racing industry.
As the heavyweights in the game, the rank-and-file racing stakeholders are entitled to expect more from RV and Racing NSW.
Given the past, some might have thought it would take a seismic shift to change the playbook, but the light at the end of the tunnel that has now appeared and started flickering with the simple change of personnel at Racing Victoria, a new CEO coming in with an open mind and an intent to rebuild the fractured relationship between RV and Racing NSW and, in so doing, create a meeting of the minds that can cement common ground, move forward with mutual respect … and clear the gridlock.
Talking to Racenet, Morrison put it this way.
“I’ve recognised the importance of investing in that relationship and Peter (V’Landys – the CEO of Racing NSW) is very receptive to that,” said Morrison.
“We’ve had a number of conversations about how we can move past some of our previous issues for the betterment of racing nationally in Australia.”
“It’s no doubt it’s been a challenge for us, but also been to the detriment of racing nationally.”
And there is another particular aspect that Morrison is hoping to bring to fruition, that is for both racing precincts to support an initiative to allow The Everest and All-Star Mile to be afforded Group 1 status.
“We’re trying to find a way to work with Racing NSW and other members of Racing Australia to reactivate that (black-type pattern) process,” said Morrison.
RV and Racing NSW have veto rights on decisions, including all pattern guidelines. Again, for them to find common ground here would be more than useful.
Morrison might have officially taken on the RV CEO role on Tuesday, but he has been with RV since 2017 and he had been acting as the interim CEO for the last three months, after holding the position of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, so he is steeped in the mechanisms of the racing industry in general, and has a complete and thorough understanding of the background of the current RV and Racing NSW relationship situation.
As such, he is perfectly placed to be an agent of change, not only RV, but for the greater industry.
While you have to expect progressive plans will always hit some speedbumps … Morrison certainly hasn’t wasted any time in stating his intentions and that has brought that flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.
There is a long way to go but, dare we say it … it’s a good start.
