A feud between the country's thoroughbred racing breeders and Racing Australia is set to escalate with the multi-billion dollar industry's biggest identities on the verge of launching court action to stop them being subject to the rules of racing.
Fairfax Media understands a catalogue of breeders – including retail tycoon Gerry Harvey and advertising guru John Singleton – will march Racing Australia up the steps of the Supreme Court to block a number of proposed changes.
Breeders argue Racing Australia's proposal would allow the racing industry to have power over the breeding industry, while stewards would have the ability to walk onto any stud farm they wish.
They have lobbied NSW deputy premier and racing minister Troy Grant and his Victorian counterpart Martin Pakula over the issue. A letter lodged with Grant included 69 signatures of NSW's most influential breeders claiming the industry is galvanised in its opposition to Racing Australia's proposal.
Harvey and Singleton have lent their support to the letter, stating breeders should be detached from the racing industry when it comes to lawmaking.
"I haven't spoken to anyone that thinks it's a good idea," Harvey told Fairfax Media. "I had a good chat to [Racing Australia chairman] John Messara and I said, 'I don't know why you want to do this, John? There's practically no one who wants this change so why do you want to do it?'
"Maybe it's not as big a deal as the breeders are making it out to be, but it's definitely not as big a deal as the racing industry is making it out to be. All the breeders I know are very responsible for their horses because it costs so much."
Said Singleton: "In the last 50 years is there even one case involving breeders dudding the market with fraudulently presented racehorses for sale? Does Racing Australia have examples? They have no reason for wanting to do this."
Messara, one of the biggest commercial breeders in the country, fronted a delegation of his angry colleagues at a meeting held at Inglis' Newmarket complex during the recent Easter sales. Racing Australia chief executive Peter McGauran and Racing NSW boss Peter V'landys also attended the conference.
Breeders unanimously denounced the raft of changes, but Racing Australia is maintaining its hardline animal welfare approach. It wants all horses registered shortly after birth, in turn making breeders subject to the rules of racing under a clause included in stallion and mare returns lodged with the Australian Stud Book.
"The next board meeting will further consider the issue," McGauran said. "We can't have large number of horses unaccounted for and we need some authority over a horse's life cycle."
Thoroughbred Breeders Australia tabled its own plans on how the industry would police itself, including the introduction of an Australian Stud Book steward, mandatory 10-year disqualification for any breeder found guilty of an animal cruelty offence and an undertaking all horses would be registered within 30 days of birth.
It has argued breeders should continue to be regulated under the guidelines of the Australian Stud Book – which was bought by Racing Australia in late 2014 – rather than the rules of racing, which currently make just one reference to breeders in more than 100 pages.
In its letter to the respective racing ministers, it described Racing Australia's move as a "power grab" akin to an end user trying to regulate a primary producer in the manner of "Coles or Woolworths being granted authority over beef and dairy farmers because they are the farmers' biggest customers".
"The proposal by Racing Australia would see a body which is completely unaccountable take control of the multi-billion-dollar industry, which is unacceptable to nearly every breeder I've spoken to," said TBA president Basil Nolan, who pointed out breeders had no representation at Racing Australia board level.
"Breeders aren't against reform, in fact we have put forward a proposal to work with Racing Australia to better regulate our industry. We really would rather avoid going to court on this issue, but the ball is in Racing Australia's court."
