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A message from the Chair of Racing NSW, Dr Saranne Cooke

(Friday, 2 October 2026)

Dear Industry Participants,

I am pleased to provide the following update on a number of important developments from Racing NSW.

Thank you to our Country Clubs

Today, representatives of country race clubs from across NSW are coming together in Sydney for the Racing NSW Country Conference. I would like to thank our race club directors, committee members, management and volunteers for the enormous contribution they continue to make to the NSW Thoroughbred Racing Industry and their local communities. The conference will provide clubs with industry updates, education and discussion with Racing NSW and key partners such as TAB and Gow Gates Insurance Brokers.

As part of the conference, our clubs were invited to participate in an upcoming consultation process to improve the way Racing NSW and clubs communicate, share financial information and ensure that club boards are informed about relevant industry matters. These important discussions will help shape the development of new Financial Management Minimum Standards and a revised ongoing educational and support framework which will assist clubs in their focus on their core operations.

Educating our Future Leaders

We recognise that a quality skilled workforce is critical for the industry and are developing a new racing administration traineeship program to develop the next generation of skilled race club administrators across the state. In addition, Racing NSW is developing a regional track management support model where, leading and experienced track managers in each region will be given responsibility for providing additional support, mentoring and coordination of a number of tracks in their area. This model is intended to work alongside the existing track curator traineeship program and will leverage the expertise of our stewards and most experienced track managers to improve the quality of racing and training tracks, reduce avoidable abandoned meetings, thereby assisting our clubs and people.

Developing Employment Pathways

Following ongoing consultation with trainers and their staff, a number of new initiatives have been prioritised to further develop employment pathways in the industry.

A landmark partnership agreement has been reached with Pony Club NSW, which will connect the 220 Pony Clubs across NSW with careers pathways to enter the NSW Thoroughbred Racing Industry. The agreement includes a partnership at the upcoming Equimillion competition, which will feature Pony Club specific competitions and education sessions.

Racing NSW has also entered into a partnership agreement with Equestrian Australia (EA), which will see EA promote Thoroughbred careers across its national network and events.

Creating opportunities to promote our industry to groups such as these will be crucial to growing our industry’s future workforce. These new partnerships build on the many initiatives already underway to ensure that Racing NSW has a presence at job fairs, school career expos and major equestrian events.

Importantly, these new agreements also complement our equine welfare strategy through increasing the demand for retired Thoroughbred horses at equestrian events and pony clubs by providing future owners with enhanced information and support on Thoroughbred ownership and life after racing.

Following feedback from trainers and the NSW Trainers Association (NSWTA), a new Stablehand Job Ready course has been recently created for people seeking the practical, job-ready skills required to enter the industry. The first of these courses has just been completed at Scone Thoroughbred College, with the first class of students graduating last Friday. We congratulate them on their success and welcome them into the industry.

Further Stablehand Job Ready courses will be delivered at Scone and at other locations across NSW in coming months, to provide entry level training for the industry’s future workforce. A similar program for aspiring trackwork riders is currently being developed, with an initial program scheduled to commence in January 2027.

Improved Safety Outcomes for Horses and Participants

I would also like to thank all participants for their ongoing focus and commitment to safety and equine welfare which has contributed to significant improvement in the two key safety metrics for the industry over the last racing season:

• Catastrophic horse injuries have reduced by 20%
• Workers Compensation claims have reduced by 17%

These significant improvements reflect a range of initiatives implemented over recent years and more importantly, from the ongoing vigilance and dedication of participants. Strengthened licensing conditions, introduction of compulsory education sessions for trainers and the record investment in racing and training infrastructure have all combined to improve the safety of horses and participants.

Equimillion Continues to Grow

At its launch, it was said that Equimillion had the potential to become the ‘Everest of the Equestrian world’. That prediction has come to fruition, with this year’s Equimillion nominations increasing by 24% to a total of 640.

Equimillion commences today and will run until Monday 5th October at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre and will see more than $1 million in prizemoney across a range of equestrian disciplines exclusively for retired Thoroughbreds.

Equimillion forms an important part of Racing NSW’s overall equine welfare programs by creating greater demand for retired Thoroughbred racehorses and as part of Racing NSW’s overall equine welfare programs, helps ensure that every horse finds a suitable new home at retirement.

We are also thankful for the many race clubs, trainers, owners and breeders who have sponsored riders to compete at Equimillion. It is only through this industry wide collective effort that this event has become such an enormous success.

I would encourage all participants to come along to Equimillion over the coming days and witness the athleticism and versatility of the Thoroughbred in their new careers.

Programming Working Group

A Programming Working Group has been formed with representatives from the NSWTA, ATC and Provincial Clubs to review and consider changes to the current suite of programming across Metropolitan and Provincial race meetings. The Working Group will also review the volume and impact of scratchings at these meetings. The first meeting of the group will be conducted next Friday 9th October.

Total Turnover (and therefore revenue) on races is negatively impacted where field sizes are less than 12 and significantly impacted when less than 8. It is therefore critical that all possible measures are being deployed to align programming to ensure we maximise our field sizes to generate maximum wagering turnover. The Working Group will consider a range of potential initiatives to trial following the Everest Carnival.

The Everest Carnival Hits New Heights

In its 10th year, the TAB Everest has sold out all General Admission ticketing in record time. This year’s capacity has increased from 50,000 to 52,000, with the only remaining way to attend Everest Day being through an ATC membership or from the few remaining tickets in the new infield TAB Clubhouse marquee.

The scale and scope of the carnival also continues to grow, with the Group 1 Golden Eagle race meeting recording the strongest year-on-year growth in ticket sales of any day across the carnival.

We also look forward to the $1 million The Hunter race meeting at Newcastle and $1 million The Gong race meeting at Kembla Grange, which continue to grow and provide an exciting finale to the Everest Carnival.

Tomorrow, we look forward to TAB Epsom Day at Royal Randwick, featuring the Group 1 TAB Epsom Handicap and Group 1 Flight Stakes.

It is  an exciting time for Thoroughbred racing in NSW, and I thank all participants,  clubs and industry stakeholders for their continued contribution. I wish  everyone competing at Equimillion and across our race meetings over the long  weekend the very best of luck.

Dr Saranne Cooke, Chairman Racing NSW