The Australian Turf Club has appointed its new general manager of racecourses with experienced racecourse manager Michael Wood stepping into the new role effective immediately.

Wood (pictured right), who previously oversaw operations at Royal Randwick as racecourse manager, will work closely with teams at tracks across Sydney’s four courses and five tracks. Wood boasts more than 23 years in the turf and racing industry and will work with each of the ATC’s track managers and under head of racing wagering Nevesh Ramdhani. ​​​​​​​

He first worked in racing for the AJC at Warwick Farm in 2006 and returned to the ATC in 2013 where he held senior roles at Canterbury Park and then at Royal Randwick where he served as racecourse manager from August 2019.

Wood said it had been a busy start to his new role but was excited by the promotion.

“It’s been pretty busy already. I’m on the lookout for a Randwick track manager at the moment. We’re looking internally and externally at the moment and the job has been advertised,” he said. “We felt with the significance of the role that it was worth looking both internally and externally.”

Wood said his new role would be a bit more hands-off and was hopeful of creating a collaborative team environment across the four tracks with a key focus on strategy.

“It’ll be good to sit above and assist the guys on the ground as well, and collaborate with a lot of things,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully bringing all of our practices into line. We’ve seen some great improvement in not only Randwick and we’re excited to implement some of those practices into the other tracks as well.

“I’ll do a lot more work with suppliers and it’ll be a lot more around strategy. I’ll be looking at possible efficiencies within our business. It’s definitely a little bit out of the operational side of things and  more into the strategic side.”

Ramdhani said the ATC was delighted by Wood’s promotion.

“Michael has a wealth of experience and knowledge around racing and track management, and we are delighted to extend his role,” he said. “Michael is well respected by his colleagues and the industry and he will work closely with all of the teams at ATC’s four racecourses and five tracks to continue to deliver Sydney’s world-class racing.’’

Story by Nick Creely/ Image supplied