Stable owners at Coffs Harbour Racecourse are no longer stable owners: who is responsible?

DEAR News Of The Area,

I AM writing this to raise serious concerns about the treatment of stable owners and industry participants at Coffs Harbour Racecourse.

While Racing NSW rightly places great importance on the welfare of horses, it appears that the welfare, livelihoods and wellbeing of the people who have invested in and supported the industry have not been afforded the same level of care.

For those who may not be aware, in 2024 Racing NSW advised the Coffs Harbour Race Club (CHRC) that long-standing stable ownership arrangements at Coffs Racecourse were considered null and void.

This followed a period in which stable owners had relied on information and contractual arrangements that, in good faith, led them to believe they owned their stable buildings and could deal with them accordingly.

Coffs Harbour’s development as a training centre was made possible because trainers and industry participants built their own stable blocks on racecourse land leased from the Crown.

Promotional material referred to these arrangements, and contract clauses stated that stable owners could sell their buildings with the approval of the CHRC.

This arrangement operated successfully for more than 40 years and resulted in 12 privately owned stable buildings being held (through sale and purchase) by successive trainers and industry participants.

Stable owners pay for an annual lease fee for the land their buildings are on.

In 2024, Racing NSW advised CHRC that due to changes to the Crown Land Act, trainers no longer owned their stables.

Racing NSW provided a new ‘agreement’ to CHRC for stable owners to sign, requiring them to pay substantial rent (per box) for buildings they had purchased, maintained and believed they owned.

Given that many stable owners have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into these buildings, this announcement has caused significant confusion, distress and financial uncertainty.

The mental toll has immeasurable. It has also removed their ability to sell assets they had long understood to be theirs.

Racing NSW implies that the arrangement is between CHRC and stable owners, however it seems to be subject to RNSW approval.

All attempts to have open discussion or a meaningful explanation have been unsuccessful.

A contract authority has been engaged to assist with negotiations, however Racing NSW and CHRC don’t seem to consider it a priority.

Crown Lands have appointed RNSW as Manager of the land occupied for the Racecourse and are not involved.

As a result, stable owners at Coffs Harbour – people who have invested in the industry, supported country racing and contributed directly to its infrastructure – have spent the past 18 months under extreme stress.

They have been left without certainty, without a practical solution and duped of their investment, which they believed had been lawfully made.

The previous contract signed by participants has since been identified as flawed. A new contract has been prepared, with considerable time and effort, in an attempt to preserve the continued sale and transfer of stable blocks, consistent with the original intent of the arrangements.

However, this approach has been rejected.

The atmosphere at Coffs Harbour is now deeply deflated. People are broken. They are walking away from hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of assets, including stables, walkers and fittings, with no compensation or meaningful recognition of their investment.

Meanwhile, those who have not contributed to the infrastructure (renters) will ultimately benefit from facilities funded by others.

In the coming month or so, there may be as many as four empty stable blocks – a stark contrast to the full barns that existed before these circumstances arose.

The question must be asked: is this a humane, fair and moral way to treat people within the racing industry?

Racing Mates has been contacted several times, with the response being to contact a counsellor.

The Trainers Association has also been involved, but it has not been able to achieve meaningful progress.

This is a genuine crisis at Coffs Harbour Racecourse, and those affected feel as though no one is prepared to take responsibility or provide a fair resolution.

This matter is deeply personal to me. In 2017 we purchased a building with 14 boxes under a contract stating “Purchase of Stables”. We paid stamp duty, and yet the building is now effectively not ours, and worthless to us.

An investment we made in good faith has been lost for no acceptable reason. We are devastated.

I wish for this ethically offensive treatment of trainers to be widely known throughout the industry. It is heartbreaking and demoralising to treat people with such irreverence.

Please feel free to share this information. We need to be heard. It has gone on for too long.

We are not giving up. We are owed fair compensation. This lies fully in the hands of RNSW.

Regards,

Julie Evans.