CEO’S MESSAGE
the VRC Equine Wellbeing Fund. The RDA Pakenham Committee and their members are incredibly passionate and the Subzero Arena will open up more opportunity for the community to enjoy horse-related activities. We look forward to seeing strong member attendance across winter, as members enjoy the warmth and comfort of Flemington’s world class venues and hope you enjoy this edition of Inside Headquarters .
to ensure that we continue to provide a world-class environment and the best service possible. The VRC will not cap the number of restricted members to allow for future growth. There is still room within the cap to elevate to a full membership and we hope to be able to reach that cap in the coming seasons and encourage members to introduce their family and friends to VRC membership. Final preparations are underway for the 2023/24 Membership Renewals, with members due to receive their Membership Renewal communications in June – please keep an eye on your inbox. We continue to focus on all membership categories and members will note from next racing season that Junior members will have access to all four days of Cup Week, which has previously been restricted. This ensures that all members of the family can enjoy the magic of Cup Week together. Looking ahead, winter racing is where some of racing’s stars hone their craft, with horses such as Giga Kick and Passive Aggressive bursting onto the scene at Flemington during the winter months last year. Coming up is the VRC National Jockeys Trust Race Day and in June, Flemington will welcome back the Good Friday Appeal as our charity partner for VRC Community Race Day to celebrate the record-breaking tally of $22.3 million raised for our neighbour, The Royal Children’s Hospital, ensuring that they can continue to deliver world-leading paediatric care. Community Race Day features a special VRC/MCC Members Event and will be followed by VRC Country Race Day later in June. We build towards Flemington Finals Day in July before a favourite of many, VRC Members Race Day. As we head into the second half of the year, we reflect on what has been a busy first six months for the VRC, both at Flemington and within our extended community. The VRC and the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Pakenham were delighted to recently launch the new horse-riding facility, the Subzero Arena. Located at RDA’s Pakenham property, the arena honours one of racing’s greatest heroes. The Subzero Arena was a collaboration between the VRC and RDA Pakenham, with the VRC donating a special synthetic material that has been re-purposed from the Flemington training track plus nearly $60,000 from
A t Flemington over February and that was enjoyed right across course. We saw strong member and crowd engagement overall, with 637 people attending all three March race days and nearly 50,000 people attend four Group 1 race days in February and March, including the highest crowd on Black Caviar Lightning Day in a decade. Over that period there was also a number of well received and attended events including the VRC Members NGV Private Viewing – Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse ; the Flemington Racing Spectacular Long Lunch; and the very March, we saw not only great racing but kind weather and an environment exclusive Racing Hearts experience, which showcased the great work by one of our community partners at Racing Hearts. I would like to thank those members that formed part of the inaugural members advisory group. This new member initiative provides the club with a clear forum for member feedback. The group were able to share their views on key topics, issues and ideas relating to the VRC Membership and experience at Flemington. It is valuable feedback to our team that helps inform decision making and future opportunities. Off the back of the activity on and off course in recent months, we have seen a significant member renewal rate and the addition of new members. We are proud to be fast approaching 33,000 members, the second-highest number in the history of the VRC. The membership cap we announced earlier this year of 30,000 full members is reflective of the membership growth and
Steve Rosich CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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INSIDE HEADQUARTERS ISSUE 2 2023
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