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Perth Racing announces Carol Adams OAM as first female Chair in the Club’s history

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Carol Adams OAM has been elected Chair of Perth Racing, creating history as the first female leader of the Club, which has been in existence since 1852.

Ms Adams was unanimously elected by her Board colleagues this morning, following on from the Club’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday evening. Mr Rob Bransby, who joins the Board as an appointed Director, was elected Vice Chair.

There were three elected Director positions filled at the AGM, with Mr Peter Scott re-elected to serve a second term, and Ms Derrice Dillon and Ms Jo Davies elected to the Board for the first time, although Ms Davies has served as an appointed director since March 2022.

First appointed in 2022, Ms Adams brings to Perth Racing an extensive and distinguished background in the local government sector as well as strong legal, governance and strategic planning experience. A past board member of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority and several professional and not-for-profit and voluntary associations, she has played a key role in the progression of the plans for the redevelopment of Belmont Park’s facilities and the Club’s ambitious master plan for the lands surrounding Ascot racecourse.

Ms Adams said:

“I am absolutely thrilled to have had the unanimous support of the Board to be elected as the first female Chair in the Club’s long and illustrious history. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and passion for the Club shown by our immediate past Chair, Colin Brown, who stepped down at the Club’s AGM after six years at the helm.  I have been fortunate to have worked closely with Colin and Club CEO, James Oldring, in my role as Vice Chair for the past 12 months and it has certainly placed me in good stead going forward.

“I am under no illusions as to the enormous task ahead for Perth Racing, especially in relation to the huge capital infrastructure projects that the Board has been working towards over the past two years, but I am confident we have the depth of skills and corporate experience on the Board, in conjunction with the enthusiastic CEO and Executive team, to take the Club forwards.

“I would like to congratulate newly elected members, Jo Davies and Derrice Dillon, and of course Peter Scott, who was re-elected to serve a second term. I also look forward to working together with highly regarded corporate executive and new Vice Chair, Rob Bransby, who I know will provide enormous support to me in his new role.”

Mr Bransby is currently Chair of a number of significant organisations, including the state-owned Insurance Commission of WA (ICWA), four subsidiary businesses of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited, including Commonwealth Private Limited, and Australian Health Services Alliance.

He was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Synergy and Racing & Wagering Western Australia, the Federal Government’s Australian Digital Health Agency and Chairman of the Western Australian based Ag Business, Craig Mostyn Group.

He is a former CEO/Managing Director of WA health insurer HBF, with 25 years’ experience in Banking and Finance with the National Australia Bank Ltd.”

 

Perth Racing thanks retiring Board Members

Perth Racing said farewell to three long-serving Directors on Wednesday evening following the AGM in the shape of Mr Colin Brown, Ms Paula Sullivan and Mr Chris Wharton AM.

Colin Brown has served on the Board of Perth Racing for nine years, and as Chair of the Club for the past six of those. During his tenure, the Club has seen the creation of The Pinnacles carnival, with almost $11m prizemoney on offer across five consecutive Saturdays, the redevelopment of the training track facilities at Ascot, the creation of WA’s first thoroughbred slot race, The $5m Kia Quokka and the first $1m TABtouch Perth Cup.

Mr Brown steered the Club through the challenges posed by COVID-19, with Perth Racing being used as the test venue for public events during periods of restricted crowds. He has also overseen the submission of Perth Racing’s master plan for the Club’s landholdings at Ascot and led the planning for the redevelopment of Belmont Park’s facilities.

Mr Brown commented:

“First and foremost, I wish to thank the Members for allowing me the privilege of Chairing the Board of this wonderful Club. The journey hasn’t been without its challenges but, as a Club, we have met those challenges and grown through the experience. We have developed the resilience, professionalism and adaptation required to meet the headwinds of the future.

“I wish to pay tribute to my fellow Directors. Thank you for the commitment, candour and respect you brought to the boardroom and, as was said to me more than once, your ability to leave egos outside the door. Thank you to our CEO James Oldring and his amazing Executive team, who have embraced our vision and as a leadership team ensured we are on a path to achieve it.

“Finally, thank you to the real engine room of our Club – our staff. In the most challenging of times they were there, toughing it out while still providing incredible service. They epitomise resilience, professionalism and adaptation.”

Paula Sullivan also steps down after nine years of service to Perth Racing and its Members. Ms Sullivan broke new ground as the first female Vice Chair in the Club’s history, holding that position for five years and, during that time, spending countless hours engaging with Members on racedays. She is also the part owner and breeder of ZIPAWAY, a leading fancy for many of the feature races across the upcoming Pinnacles Carnival, and so will continue to be a regular visitor to Ascot.

Chris Wharton AM, former CEO of Seven West Media, steps down from his role as appointed director after six years at Perth Racing. His media background has been invaluable, particularly so in the recent renegotiations of WA’s media rights and the new deal signed with Seven Network.

New Chair, Carol Adams OAM, said:

“The Board of Perth Racing is exceptionally grateful to Colin, Paula and Chris for their dedication to the Club over the past nine years; they will all be much missed – although I know that they will continue to be wonderful supporters of the Club in future.”

 

Infrastructure and quality racing to the fore at Perth Racing AGM

Perth Racing last night held its Annual General Meeting at Ascot Racecourse, which focused on the outstanding quality of racing across The Pinnacles Carnival (supported by TABtouch) and The $5m Kia Quokka, and the two key infrastructure projects currently being progressed by the Club: the Ascot master plan and the ambitions for the redevelopment of Belmont Park, which include plans for development of the racecourse infield.

The Club also reported the end-of-year results for the financial year 2023/24, a loss of $338,000 (down from a profit of $540,000 in FY23). The key drivers of the small loss were:

  • Significant investment in key projects including Ascot master plan and Belmont redevelopment – the Club has submitted the structure plan for Ascot to the City of Belmont nine months ahead of schedule.
  • The loss of some meetings to extreme weather during the hot summer, and the Railway Stakes Day being run as a twilight meeting at late notice due to the heat – which significantly impacted attendance.
  • Double digit percentage increases in utilities and insurance costs year on year.

Other key points of note within the financial reporting were:

  • 88 race meetings (down from 105 in FY23, a decrease of 16%, largely driven by the reopening of Bunbury)
  • Average attendance per meeting was up by 12.6%
  • Increased prize money for the Quokka (up $1m to $5m in total), becoming the richest WA race in history, with attendance up 15% from FY23
  • Investment portfolio returned 9% over FY24 (up from 6.5% in FY23).

The Club was also proud to have been nominated for two high profile awards in the field of People & Culture excellence in recent times – the Australian HR Institute Awards and the upcoming AIM WA Pinnacle Awards.

The Perth Racing Annual Report can be downloaded from the Perth Racing website here.