The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-07 · by Danny Russell, Annika Smethurst
The fight for control of Victoria’s $5.5 billion racing industry took a serious twist at 3.57am on a Saturday in July.
asserted
fight → take → July
At that moment, a meticulously crafted email, seen by The Age, was delivered to the office of Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, and contained detailed legal advice from prominent silk Peter Hanks KC provided to the Melbourne Racing Club that opposed sweeping racing governance and integrity reforms that had passed through the lower house.
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that → craft → house
The missive was sent by billionaire racing powerbroker and longstanding financial backer of the Liberal Party Jonathan Munz, who is also the vice president of the MRC.
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who → send → MRC
But Victoria’s other big metropolitan club, Moonee Valley, did not engage in the fight.
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club → engage → fight
Controversial elements of Munz’s early morning email never came to pass, including a proposal that would change the way the three clubs were governed in “exceptional circumstances”.
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clubs → come → circumstances
But it ultimately had the desired effect – the state opposition picked up the fight.
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opposition → have → fight
Exactly one month after Munz hit send on his email, the Coalition pulled support for the bill, forcing Labor to water down its legislation.
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Coalition → hit → legislation
Those last-minute changes caught many by surprise, including Racing Victoria chair Tim Eddy, who felt there had been a lack of consultation over the alterations, while talk of Munz’s potential to effect change on government policy burned like wildfire through sections of the racing industry.
Some were left frustrated by the MRC vice president’s perceived influence, some were buoyed by the result, while others were fearful of what could come next in racing’s ongoing power struggle.
uncertain
what → catch → struggle
The Age spoke to more than a dozen people across the racing industry and reviewed emails, legal advice and parliamentary records to reconstruct the battle over the legislation and detail the lobbying efforts from powerful racing figures during the crucial weeks that led to the hardening of the Coalition’s position.
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that → speak → position
The dispute began after Carbines introduced legislation on June 2 designed to overhaul governance and integrity measures across thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing.
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Carbines → begin → racing
Among the proposed changes was the merger of two industry watchdogs into one new body for greater efficiency, and aligning the legal frameworks of greyhounds and harness racing with that of the thoroughbreds.
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merger → propose → thoroughbreds
The legislation also included a provision that would formally recognise Racing Victoria’s function as the controlling body for thoroughbred racing, a role the government said it had performed since 2001.
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it → include → 2001
This became the sticking point.
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This → become → ?
Critics feared this was a secret push to transfer “untrammelled” power to Racing Victoria, the sport’s regulator, and away from the metropolitan racing clubs that have operated with considerable autonomy – or run their own race – for more than a century.
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that → fear → century
“It was a giant power grab, and no one knew about it.
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one → know → it
They never consulted anyone,” a source familiar with Munz’s strategy told The Age about the initial bill.
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source → consult → bill
Ahead of parliament’s winter break, the Coalition waved Labor’s bill through the lower house with its new racing spokesperson, Nationals MP Tim McCurdy, telling parliament the Coalition planned “not to oppose the bill” and only raised concerns about the cost, timing and structure of the new integrity body.
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Coalition → wave → body
“I am mindful that as we speak, we are still in discussions with the minister on a couple of changes to this bill,” he said.
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he → speak → bill
“We thought we had an agreement on a couple of issues, and I will go into those.
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I → think → those
We still plan to not oppose the bill in this house, but we may have to consider our position in the upper house as we go forward.”
uncertain
we → plan → house
Speaking on the bill, Liberal frontbencher David Southwick was more hostile, warning that it was difficult for the opposition to support the legislation.
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opposition → speak → legislation
But his publicly stated concerns centred around the independence of the integrity systems, cost shifting and whether Victoria should wait until a review of NSW laws.
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Victoria → state → laws
That state is reviewing 30-year-old laws that establish Racing NSW as the controlling body for thoroughbred racing in that state.
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that → review → state
“I am still unsure in terms of what the problem is that we are trying to solve here,” Southwick said in June.
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Southwick → try → June
But he gave a “shoutout to the Melbourne Racing Club” and Caulfield racecourse, which is in his electorate, saying it was “very, very important in terms of what that provides”.
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that → give → what
“Can I say this is another example where the government talks out of both sides of its mouth, because on one side we have the Melbourne Racing Club, which is not being properly consulted about the Melbourne Football Club coming to Caulfield and how that would affect the racing industry more generally,” he said.
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he → say → industry
At a meeting of the shadow cabinet, MPs agreed not to oppose the bill in the lower house but reserved its position in the upper house.
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MPs → agree → house
But after the winter break and lobbying blitz by Munz and Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson – who announced this week that he would resign from the position at the end of this year’s Cup carnival – the Coalition successfully pushed through amendments, creating carveouts for the thoroughbred sector.
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Coalition → announce → sector
This would allow the racing clubs to maintain the status quo.
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clubs → allow → quo
Racing Victoria is the governing authority that oversees the rules, scheduling and prizemoney in thoroughbred horse racing.
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that → govern → racing
It represents the state’s clubs, trainers, jockeys and owners.
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It → represent → clubs
The clubs are represented on Racing Victoria’s board.
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clubs → represent → board
Labor accepted the Coalition amendment to secure passage of the retained reforms.
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Labor → accept → reforms
In a statement he made after the bill was passed by the Legislative Council, Carbines said the government was “forced to support an opposition amendment” and that the minister would consider whether “a broader review of thoroughbred governance” was needed.
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review → make → governance
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Victorian government said the reforms strengthened racing integrity, reduced duplication and made sure regulatory framework worked “efficiently and effectively”.
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framework → say → duplication
Munz is a prominent horse breeder and owner, the vice-chairman of Melbourne Racing Club, which governs Caulfield, and the head of the thoroughbred racehorse owners’ association.
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which → govern → association
Many in the industry consider him the most influential person in Victorian racing, and he was behind a coup in 2024 that almost spilled the Racing Victoria board and led to several high-ranking officials leaving their jobs.
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officials → consider → jobs
Along with MRC CEO Tanya Fullarton, who also sits with him on the racehorse owners’ association board, he hosted McCurdy at a lunch at the beginning of August, a week before the Liberals began circulating their amendments to the bill.
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Liberals → sit → bill
Munz and Fullarton also met with Carbines on April 8 to discuss “racing portfolio matters”, according to an entry in his ministerial diary, seen by The Age.
uncertain
Munz → meet → Age
But it was the early morning email sent to the government in July that outlined Munz and the MRC’s intent, citing legal advice from “constitutional law and legislative expert” Hanks KC that argued the government legislation went too far.
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legislation → send → KC
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
