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Peter V'landys AM is an Australian horse racing and rugby league administrator. He is the chief executive and a board member of Racing New South Wales (Racing NSW) as well as the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission.
V'landys was one of three children and described his family as "very poor". He said "My parents sometimes had to go without food to feed the three kids. Dad worked 18-hour days in the Wollongong steelworks...Mum worked 12-hour shifts in a cafe."[1]
V'landys grew up in Wollongong where he attended Keira Boys High School before graduating in 1984 from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in accountancy.[2][3][4] Whilst at university, he worked as a glass collector and cellarman at the Unanderra Hotel to support himself.[1]
He is of Greek heritage from Kythira; the spelling "V'landys" is an alternative spelling of his original Greek surname "Vlandis", first used by one of his high school teachers.[4]
V'landys became involved in racing administration in 1988 when he was appointed chief executive of the New South Wales (NSW) Harness Racing Club. Under his administration, the NSW Harness Racing Club established several commercial enterprises that provided it with the broadest revenue base of any racing club in Australia.
During this period, V'landys also played a role in negotiating the $1 billion privatisation of the NSW TAB and the restructuring of the racing industry's finances.[citation needed]
In 2004, he was appointed chief executive and board member of Racing NSW. In this role V'landys also sits as a board member of several other NSW and Australian racing and wagering industry boards.[5]
Equine influenza outbreak
In mid-2007, the racing industry was brought to a standstill as a result of an outbreak of equine influenza. New South Wales was the worst affected state with all racing cancelled and the movement of all horses prohibited indefinitely.
V'landys assumed responsibility for the overall co-ordination of the industry's response to this crisis, and developed and implemented contingency plans to counter the effects of the outbreak, including negotiating a $235 million rescue package.
He also lobbied NSW ministers for the provision of further financial assistance which resulted in the provision of a $7.5 million grants scheme and the establishment of a special mortgage deferment scheme and a further one-off grant to help promote the industry following the resumption of normal racing activities.[6]
World Youth Day negotiations
Following the government's announcement that the World Youth Day 2008 would be held in Sydney and centred at Randwick Racecourse, V'landys coordinated the industry's planning for the use of the racecourse and the disruption which would be caused to the racing industry. This included negotiating a $40 million compensation package for the racing industry.[6]
Race field legislation
V'landys in 2008 was responsible for enforcing corporate bookmakers and other wagering operators to pay racing for the use of its product. Up until then the bookmakers paid very little and determined themselves how much to pay. After first looking at enforcing copyright led V’landys to Race Field legislation. The bookmakers challenged Racing NSW all the way to the high court. The High Court found in favour of Racing NSW in a unanimous decision. The win meant racing would earn over a billion dollars in the next ten years. It also meant that sport could also charge the Bookmakers for the use of its product making millions of dollars for sport. .[7][8][9][10][11]
Trackside
In 2010 V'Landys negotiated the sale to Tabcorp of the Racing NSW future revenues from the Trackside computer racing game. This sale realised $150 million and allowed the development of new spectator facilities at the Randwick Racecourse.[12]
Recognition
In 2013 he was ranked with John Messara as the 40th of Sydney's most influential people[13] and The Australian ranked him 22nd of the top 50 people in Australian sport.[14]
In 2019, the Sydney Daily Telegraph ranked V'Landys 6th from among a list of 100 of Sydney's most powerful and influential people.[15]
V'Landys was awarded Member of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours for service to horse racing.[16][17]
The Everest race
In February 2017, V'Landys devised a new race called the Everest, which was to be conducted over 1200 metres and carry prize money of $10 million, making it the richest race in Australia and in the world on turf. The inaugural Everest race was run at Randwick Racecourse on 14 October 2017. It attracted a record crowd to Randwick Racecourse as well as record betting on an NSW race.[18][19]
In conjunction with the second running of the Everest, V'Landys also devised and implemented another new and unique race, The Kosciusko, which was specifically directed towards country trained horses and carried prizemoney of $1.3 million making it the world's richest country race.
Prior to the 2018 event, the race attracted criticism[20][21] from the Australian public and media after organisers of the event successfully lobbied for the sails of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sydney Opera House to be used as an advertisement for the race. Public backlash and protests against this proposal and government support of it were held at the Opera House along with submission of a petition with over 300,000 signatures collected in less than a week in October 2018, but the pre-race event went ahead in a modified format.[22]
Luncheon with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In June 2022, V’landys was a guest of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle before Day 2 of the Royal Ascot Carnival. V’landys, who was seated next to Her Majesty, said that they spoke about a wide range of topics from racing to politics with Her Majesty revealing that her love for thoroughbred racing originated from when, as a 16-year-old, she accompanied her father, King George VI, to a race meeting where she patted the winner and said the horse felt “like velvet”. V’landys was then part of the Royal Procession Carriages at Royal Ascot then spending the day in the Royal Box.[23]
Australian Rugby League Commission
On 13 March 2018, V'Landys was appointed as an independent board member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) which also conducts the National Rugby League Competition (NRL). His appointment received the unanimous support of the 16 clubs that participate in that competition. On 30 October 2019, V'Landys assumed the role of Chairman of the ARLC and NRL replacing the outgoing chairman, Peter Beattie. Shortly after his appointment as chairman, he successfully re-negotiated the Code's broadcast arrangements with Channel 9 and Foxtel and was instrumental in the resumption of the NRL season on 28 May 2020, after it was suspended following round two as a result of the COVID pandemic. This involved negotiating successfully with the NSW, Queensland, Victorian and New Zealand Governments, the NRL Clubs, the Code's broadcast partners and the NRL Players Association plus the implementation of strict protocols and bio-security measures for players and spectators.[24][25]
Subsequently, when the NRL competition was again threatened by the Delta variant of the Coronavirus in mid-2021, V’landys along with NRL Chief Executive Andrew Abdo and the NRL Commission made a call to relocate the nine Sydney-based clubs, as well as the Knights and Raiders to Queensland and play the remaining 2021 season matches in that State thereby again securing the financial stability of the NRL.[26][27]
State Dinner with President Biden
In October 2023, V'landys attended a State Dinner at the White House as a guest of Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden and promoting the plans to hold the NRL season launch in Las Vegas commencing from 2024.[28]
NRL Season Launch in Las Vegas in 2024
V'landys was the driving force behind the proposal for the NRL season launch to occur in Las Vegas to gain a foothold in the sports wagering market in the USA. On 2 March 2024, the NRL launched its season with a double header featuring Souths v Manly and Roosters v Broncos at Allegiant Stadium, where the Super Bowl was played a few weeks prior. The launch was heralded as a success attended by over 40,000 people with record viewing audiences back in Australia on Fox and Channel 9.[29]
Horse racing industry's failure to protect retired horses from mass slaughter
Following a two-year special investigation into the horse racing industry, Australian investigative journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna interviewed V'landys in his role as chief executive of Racing NSW. The special investigation report aired on 17 October 2019 on the ABC's 7.30 Report, hosted by Leigh Sales. The whistleblowing special investigation was titled, 'The dark side of the horse racing industry - A special investigation into the horse racing industry reveals what really goes on when racehorses' lives end in knackeries and abattoirs.'[30]
In response to the ABC airing the special report, there was wide criticism from media and public outrage with the racing industry and Racing NSW. The Guardian reported, 'Footage showed horses being beaten, kicked and shocked with electric prods while they lay dying in abattoirs, and raised questions about the racing industry's claims about its rehoming program for racehorses.'[31]
The Age, reported, 'The ABC's 7.30 program uncovered alleged acts of animal cruelty on a mass scale, with allegations hundreds of Australian racehorses are being sent to be killed for their meat. This is despite the racing industry in most states, including Racing Victoria, promoting programs dedicated to supporting retired thoroughbred racehorses.' [32] "There's a massive question mark over the regulator and the problems with self-regulation come into play yet again," Professor McGreevy said. V'landys said he was "unaware" of any NSW racehorses being sent to an abattoir or knackery, including slaughterhouses in NSW and interstate.[33]
Defamation case
In response to the 7:30 Report segment, V'landys sued the ABC for defamation. His lawsuit was dismissed in 2021 by Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney.[34] V'landys appealed but in 2023, whilst the Federal Court upheld Justice Wigney's decision, ordering V’landys to pay the ABC's legal costs, it also found that the ABC treated V'landys "very shabbily" and that it was "not high quality journalism or fair treatment of him".[35]
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