On Monday night, the ABC’s Media Watch aired a damning exposé on Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys’ far-reaching influence over the press. Just 24 hours earlier, the Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window columnist Mark Di Stefano published a sharp account of who was seen - and why it matters - in V’landys’ corporate suite at Royal Randwick.
The twin blows landed hard and publicly. For the first time in a long time, Australia’s mainstream media is beginning to pull back the curtain on how power is wielded, protected, and perpetuated in racing and sport - and the spotlight is now firmly on the man known simply as PVL.
“He controls everyone in racing”
Gai Waterhouse’s testimony at last year’s NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Rosehill Racecourse sale set the tone:
“You have a very powerful CEO in Mr V’landys, and he controls racing – and he controls everyone in racing.”
It was the kind of quote that would normally lead a news bulletin. But according to Media Watch, when The Sydney Morning Herald journalist Kate McClymont filed her story containing the quote, it was initially edited out by her editor. A confrontation on the newsroom floor followed - and only then was the quote reinstated.
That wasn’t the only example. The Media Watch segment revealed that Sky Racing had promoted a one-on-one interview with Waterhouse that mysteriously failed to air. When it finally did, all criticism had been cut. Waterhouse later told Media Watch:
“I was disappointed but not surprised that my Sky Channel interview was so heavily censored - as was the interviewer, Ray Thomas.”
The ABC’s flagship media accountability program traced a clear pattern of deference to V’landys across Sky Racing, The Daily Telegraph, and even Nine-owned outlets like the Sydney Morning Herald. Its conclusion? There’s a growing culture of soft-pedalling when it comes to Racing NSW’s most powerful figure.
Sugar and lemon: Two forms of influence
At The Thoroughbred Report, we’ve experienced the consequences of asking uncomfortable questions firsthand.
After reporting on the financial, governance, and industry risks associated with the proposed sale of Rosehill, our media accreditation was denied by the Australian Turf Club. That ban was extended to TTR co-owner Vicky Leonard’s other business, Kick Collective, and remains unresolved.
Separately, when TTR sought comment from Racing NSW Chair Saranne Cooke regarding racing's governance in the wake of the parliamentary inquiry, we were met not with transparency, but a legal letter threatening defamation proceedings.
It’s the same dual strategy Media Watch laid bare: reward those who play along, punish those who don’t.
Inside the Director’s Suite
The AFR’s Mark Di Stefano took readers directly into the power epicentre in his Rear Window column on Sunday. He revealed who was inside V’landys’ coveted director’s suite at Randwick, detailing a guest list that reads like a who’s who of media influence.
From Nine’s chair Catherine West and CEO Matt Stanton to publishing boss Tory Maguire, SMH executive editor Luke McIlveen, and even the AFR's own editor-in-chief James Chessell, the room was stacked with key media powerbrokers - many of whom will soon be negotiating the next NRL broadcast deal with none other than V’landys.
Also present were Telegraph editor Ben English, Sky News boss Boris Whittaker, Tabcorp CEO Gil McLachlan, and Liberal Party power couple Natalie Ward and David Begg.
Bruce Gordon, Nine media’s largest shareholder, and daughter Genevieve Gordon were in the room. As Di Stefano put it:
“Schmoozing the second-generation is an occupational necessity for many people in the room.”
McLachlan’s presence in particular was symbolic - his benchmark $4.5 billion AFL broadcast deal in 2022 when CEO of that sporting code looms large over V’landys as he looks to extract a similarly rich agreement for rugby league in his role as Chairman of the NRL. That the former AFL boss chose Randwick over the AFL’s Gather Round in Adelaide Di Stefano says much about shifting power dynamics.
In a 2022 interview with Mark Bouris shown on Media Watch, V’landys proudly explained his strategy:
“I bring the high-powered decision makers in politics, in media, into that room… They become your friends. One day you’re going to need them.”
And when COVID hit?
“I rang every one of them, and I got a result… the editor of the Daily Telegraph, the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Premier…”
It’s a strategy that’s long paid dividends. But with Media Watch exposing the cost to editorial independence and AFR shining a light on the cosy relationships that underpin it, the questions are growing louder: Who is holding this power to account? And why have so many media outlets failed to do so?
Time to answer
Despite the mounting scrutiny, Peter V’landys issued a formal statement to the ABC on 11 April 2025 firmly rejecting allegations of media manipulation or interference. In the statement, he described the claims aired on Media Watch as “grossly inaccurate” and based on “misinformation or exaggeration.” This adds to his claims throughout the parliamentary inquiry that the racing industry was pushing a “smear campaign” against him, and focused that accusation primarily on figures in the breeding industry.
Yet when read alongside Media Watch’s documented examples and AFR’s detailed observations from inside the Randwick director’s suite, V’landys’ denials, however emphatic, raise more questions than they settle. AFR, ABC, and select mainstream media journalists across outlets are now publicly stating concerns that many in the racing industry have whispered for years.
The public deserves transparency - not just in how our sport is governed, but in how it's reported. Because when the media itself becomes a stakeholder in the system it’s meant to interrogate, trust erodes. Fast.
At The Thoroughbred Report, we’ll keep reporting without fear or favour. Because the truth still matters - even if it comes with media pass rejections, instead of crème brûlée and hot chips.
