Dean McKenzie, of Christchurch, is among the six people appointed to the new board for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
The board was announced yesterday by the members council of NZTR.
McKenzie is director of a sports management firm. He is the former CEO of Jade Stadium and former special projects manager for the Racing Industry Board. He is a chartered accountant.
The board replaces representatives from various racing sectors.
The other appointees are Con Anastasiou (a Wellington lawyer), Matthew Goodson (an Auckland equities portfolio manager), Greg McCarthy (a Cambridge financial consultant), John Stace (Hawkes Bay company director) and Joe Walls (chairman of NZ Bloodstock).
"Over 60 candidates applied for the position of director, which shows the level of interest in being part of the change in the way thoroughbred racing is governed. The quality of the shortlisted candidates was outstanding," Peter Francis, the chairman of the members council, said A members council was set up in December and charged with responsibility for all aspects of the appointment of six independent directors.
Representatives from the three regions (Northern, Central and Southern) along with a representative from the Trainers, Owners and Breeders sector were then elected.
• Mark Robinson, a greyhound owner-trainer, has been disqualified for six months as the result of his dog returning a positive test to a prohibited drug.
The greyhound Brasch has been disqualified from first place at the Christchurch Greyhound Racing Club meeting on January 28. Robinson has been ordered to refund the $1628 winning stake to Greyhound Racing New Zealand.
Brasch tested positive after the race to heptaminol, a cardiac stimulant with a withholding time of 96 hours.
Robinson was also disqualified for three months for making a false statement to a racecourse inspector and stipendiary steward. The disqualifications beginning tomorrow are concurrent. Robinson was ordered to pay costs of $700 to the Judicial Control Authority.
• Spectators injured by a runaway horse at the Warrnambool race meeting last week will seek compensation for their medical expenses and loss of income. Among the injured was a 2-year-old girl who fractured collarbone and an 80-year-old woman who had shoulder and hip injuries, AAP reports.
A 12-year-old girl sustained a foot injury. A horse that had lost his rider leapt into a crowd of spectators watching the Grand Annual Steeples.
