Racing to defence
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday March 30, 2011
FORMER chief executive Maurice Sinclair is adamant he has left the Newcastle Jockey Club in solid financial shape.In his first interview since he tendered his resignation on Friday, Sinclair said the club was on track to post a profit this financial year and measures were in place for continued growth."I have put in basic operating procedures to get the place running more consistently, that resulted in reduced complaints and increased profitability in our restaurants, crowd numbers are up, member numbers are up," he said."I restructured the management team, I put in new IT systems, opened up transparency to the board with more accurate board reporting."All the measures are good for a performing business and the jockey club is in very good shape for the future."Sinclair was appointed in March 2009, and the NJC, which operates the Broadmeadow and Cessnock racetracks and runs catering at Wyong, has suffered significant losses in the past two years.The annual report issued in October showed the club lost $1,098,647 in the year to June 30 and $1,630,709 the previous financial year.Newcastle's poor result was not out of line with other provincial clubs due to increases in prizemoney and after-effects of equine influenza.Sinclair said he had inherited the initial debt and had since turned the club's fortunes around."The way it reads it is like I am responsible for all the losses," he said."That is not the case."The second year was a major improvement. This year we were starting to achieve the benefit from putting in stronger foundations in terms of systems and processes. That is without any additional money from racing."When I left the jockey club was well ahead of budget at profit level for this year to date."Sinclair, who had a year to run on his contract at the NJC, said he had resigned to pursue a business interest but admitted his relationship with chairman Brian Reardon had deteriorated."To make effective change you need a strong relationship between the chairman and the CEO and the rest of the board," he said."It was difficult getting traction that way."Sinclair, who operates a pre-training complex, Victory Lodge, near Cranbourne in Victoria, said he would stay in Newcastle."I have a very strong business opportunity in the pipeline that I am doing due diligence on at the moment," he said."I love the community and plan to stay here and wish the jockey club all the success in the future. It is a fantastic club."NJC vice-chairman John Cleaves said a decision on a replacement for Sinclair would be determined at a board meeting in a fortnight.Golden Slipper barrier draw, Page 68
© 2011 Newcastle Herald