Latest news with #VRC
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Flemington breaks with New Year's Day tradition and will stage meeting on New Year's Eve
Victoria Racing Club will break with tradition and host a landmark twilight meeting on New Year's Eve. Flemington has historically held feature races on New Year's Day, but the opportunity to draw a larger crowd and potentially new audience – with fireworks on and off the track – warranted the change. While planning for the NYE race card is in a formative stage, this masthead has established the last race could be held at about 7.30pm – two hours before the family-friendly early fireworks display at nearby Footscray Park. Flemington has the luxury of multiple grandstands with sweeping views of the Melbourne skyline, including the The Club Stand rooftop. VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers welcomed the New Year's Eve fixture. 'We are excited to introduce a twilight New Year's Eve format that expands our opportunity to welcome VRC members, the local community, families and our regular racing participants to bring in the New Year at spectacular Flemington and make the most of our outstanding facilities,' Rogers said. 'It is important that we continue to add new and engaging innovations to a well-established format of racing and events at Flemington.' Racing Victoria on Thursday announced a suite of changes to the 2025-26 fixture, starting August 1. As previously reported, Caulfield, Cranbourne, Pakenham and Geelong racecourses will host reallocated meetings during the Moonee Valley redevelopment. A decision on the 2026 Cox Plate host – a choice between frontrunner Flemington and Caulfield – is set to be announced after an RV board meeting next month. RV will also unveil the prizemoney schedule next month for the upcoming season. RV chief executive Aaron Morrison announced the fixture on Thursday. 'With up to three tracks (The Valley, Bendigo and Benalla) offline for an extended period following their spring features, we've had to make a spread of changes to the schedule across both metropolitan and country meetings next season,' Morrison said. 'We have a great network of tracks and customer facilities to accommodate these transfers, while we continue to invest in upgrades for the long-term benefit of the sport.' The 2025-26 season includes 530 Victorian race meetings, including 106 metropolitan fixtures, 368 country cards, 17 country non-TAB and 33 picnic meetings. There are 17 race-free days scheduled, the same as the current season. RV has cut 18 meetings from December to May as part of a 'strategic reduction' to improve field sizes and wagering 'with more night and event meetings'. The total number of night meetings has reduced from 57 to 52 meetings. 'We've built a schedule of 530 race meetings that best caters for the active racing population and balances our volume of meetings in summer and autumn where field sizes have been under stress,' Morrison said. 'Our goal is always to maximise returns to the industry and the 2025-26 Race Dates are structured to best achieve that in the knowledge that we'll have up to three tracks offline for a large portion of it. 'We are continuing to consult with stakeholders on the prizemoney schedule for next season and beyond that the active horse population. This includes discussions on an appropriate reallocation of prizemoney from those meetings removed from the schedule.'
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
VRC commits to grassroots push to engage members and racing fans
Victoria Racing Club has committed to a new grassroots push to engage members and racegoers in a bid to improve the Flemington experience. The world's biggest racing club, with more than 34,000 members, is set to launch its Melbourne Cup Carnival Tour this week. It comes as VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers and chairman Neil Wilson faced members and patrons alike at iconic South Melbourne racing pub The Emerald Hotel last Friday night. Publican Andrew Lewis organised 'at the bar with the VRC' to promote constructive discussion on racing issues. 'I don't want people nitpicking and coming back after the races and after a few beers saying this and that,' Lewis said. 'It's the biggest racing club in Australia, we've got the biggest race in Australia, not The Everest, the Melbourne Cup is the biggest race, let's embrace what we've got there and work with each other.' The VRC has faced scrutiny the past 12 months primarily around its financial position. The club, poised to return to profit this year, lost more than $70m post Covid shutdowns. The VRC last year reported a $24m loss including $14m in depreciation and amortisation on assets. A rich Melbourne Cup Carnival broadcast deal signed last year, which Rogers inherited, is largely behind the financial rebound. However, bumper spring and autumn carnivals, which exceeded forecasts, boosted the balance sheet along with a reduction in costs. 'The club remains on track to deliver a positive revenue result,' Rogers said. 'Consistent with what was outlined in our AGM presentation. 'We also have several new partnership and racing announcements to make and look forward to sharing more details soon.' Rogers and Wilson, along with VRC directors Glenn Carmody, Allison Purdey and Sophie O'Kane, engaged with members and racing enthusiasts in the public bar last Friday. 'Events like last Friday night clearly demonstrate how important our club is to our members, and we don't take that for granted,' Rogers said. 'We'll continue to engage in events just like this, where we listen and learn, and importantly build real relationships with our members who are our most important stakeholder.' Questions, suggestions and requests included a call for more cash bar options at Flemington, more choice in food and beverage, racing program innovation and ideas around growing attendance. Passionate racegoers and owners James and Sam Russell, 40-year VRC members, appreciated the opportunity to speak directly to Rogers and Wilson. The Russells spoke to the importance of initiatives to get more people to Flemington, outside of the major race days, and a specific safety concern. 'We were in an environment today where I felt we were listened to, we were heard,' Sam Russell said. 'Our voice was actually finally heard and much more personalised than writing an email.' James Russell added: 'It's taking the VRC out of their castle and putting them in among the people.' Sal and Susannah Ciardulli, also 40-year members, echoed the sentiment. 'You don't get that at an AGM … saying I'm concerned about this and to have them listen to you, I felt like they listened to me,' Susannah Ciardulli said. Rob Smedley, a 23-year member, asked the VRC brass about the club's financial state. 'It was reassuring … good to chat to them about a few other things as well,' Smedley said. 'The proof is in the pudding I guess, talk is cheap. We'll wait and see.' Prominent owner Nick Williams, at The Emerald socially on Friday night and not for the VRC meet and greet, welcomed the initiative. 'That's what racing is about,' the multiple Melbourne Cup-winning owner said. 'You got to engage with your membership base and they're obviously doing that. It's a great idea, it really is, do it in a casual environment, have a drink with people rather than be formal. 'A lot of people don't like asking questions in forums, every Tom, Dick and Harry got their chance to ask what they wanted and they were moving around the room, I think it's a bloody good idea.'
7NEWS
24-04-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Penfolds ends partnership with Victoria Racing Club and Melbourne Cup Carnival
The Victoria Racing Club is dealing with another painful blow to the hip pocket. Major sponsor Penfolds — Australia's most famous winemaker — is cutting ties with the Melbourne Cup Carnival and will no longer feature in Flemington's famous Birdcage enclosure. Penfolds also had naming rights to the Victoria Derby. It is a serious blow for VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers. The VRC's financial issues are well documented and last year it was forced to cut jobs due to their grim fiscal predicament. 'After careful consideration, we have decided to end this partnership to shift our efforts and investment to other strategic priorities, with continued focus within the Australian market,'' Penfolds said. 'We remain committed to delivering innovative and disruptive Penfolds experiences to wine lovers and consumers.'' The VRC confirmed the news, saying the mutually beneficial partnership between would conclude in July this year 'as per the current agreement'. 'We look forward to providing an exciting update on new partners shortly,' the VRC said. Last year it was revealed the VRC had suffered a $24.2 million loss for the financial year. That result followed on from the previous loss of $14.9 million. In fact, over the past four years, the VRC has posted a combined loss of $70 million since splurging on a $128 million grandstand that opened in 2018. The VRC has also borrowed $75 million from the ANZ bank, has invested in capital works projects around Flemington (from $7.3m to $11.1m in the last financial year), has been stung by climbing interest rates while facing a fall in industry distributions and wagering revenue. Penfolds said it was proud of its achievements it had shared with the VRC, 'including three consecutive years delivering world-class experiences within Flemington's Birdcage'. It is not known how much the Penfolds contract was worth to the VRC, but it has been reported that a significant part of it 'was made up of contra Penfolds product'. Penfolds did serve its famous Grange — which retails for more than $900 a bottle (at its cheapest) — for wine tasting at the Penfolds Cup Week marquee.
