V'Landys Takes No Prisoners - Statement From The Thoroughbred Report

[Chief Stipe]

Statement from The Thoroughbred Report

 

Three independent racing publications, including The Thoroughbred Report, have recently received correspondence from Peter V’landys’ and/or Racing NSW’s legal counsel in response to reporting on governance matters within the New South Wales thoroughbred racing industry.https://bitofayarn.com

We want to make one point unequivocally clear: responsible journalism must not be met with legal intimidation.

Independent media exists to scrutinise powerful institutions and hold them to account, even if critical of leadership.

That role is essential to the health and integrity of any industry.https://bitofayarn.com

Australia’s implied freedom of political communication protects the media’s ability to discuss matters of governance and public interest. Trying to intimidate journalists through legal threats is fundamentally inconsistent with that protection.

When this happens, the message extends far beyond the newsroom. It tells trainers, owners, breeders, employees, and concerned participants that speaking up carries risk. It creates fear and encourages silence. And it erodes the culture of openness on which trust depends.

Governance is strengthened, not weakened, by transparency, independent oversight, and constructive conversation.

An industry cannot function with confidence if those tasked with informing its community are suppressed. It cannot claim transparency while simultaneously attempting to intimidate its critics.

And it cannot expect public trust if its default response to scrutiny is to threaten those who provide it.https://bitofayarn.com

We remain open to receiving and incorporating all perspectives at any time. However, our efforts to engage and seek information have routinely received no reply.

We will continue to remain open to dialogue from every participant, as open communication is essential to meaningful understanding and positive change.https://bitofayarn.com

We will not be deterred and remain committed to responsible journalism.

[Huey]

Could this be the end of forums like this @Chief Stipe ?

[hesi]

Hahaha, well certainly not in NZ, since when was media independent.  Were they not all bribed when taking money from the Public Interest Journalism Fund

Independent media exists to scrutinise powerful institutions and hold them to account, even if critical of leadership.

Edited 9 hours ago by hesi

[hesi]

1 minute ago, Huey said:

Could this be the end of forums like this @Chief Stipe ?

No

[Chief Stipe]

2 hours ago, Huey said:

Could this be the end of forums like this @Chief Stipe ?

Nope.  Just don't slander V'Landys on here.  I'd have to moderate your amusing posts.

[Special Agent]

Independent media is not alive and well in this country.  As for independent media in NZ racing, who's kidding who?

[Murray Fish]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Peter V’landys’ and/or Racing NSW’s legal counsel

to some  'a thug!' 'a bully boy!', a right nasty bordering vulgarness..  

to others the greatest admin in au...

[Special Agent]

17 minutes ago, Murray Fish said:

to some  'a thug!' 'a bully boy!', a right nasty bordering vulgarness..  

to others the greatest admin in au...

Merely an opinion which is getting more restrictive to voice.

[Chief Stipe]

37 minutes ago, Special Agent said:

As for independent media in NZ racing, who's kidding who?

Oh come on!  Young Mick Guerin is at the cutting edge of investigative journalism!

 

[hesi]

Good question. Here’s a breakdown of what Peter V'Landys’s legal action against The Thoroughbred Report (TTR) is — and why it matters. I’ll also touch on how this ties into his history of legal actions for context.

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✅ What is The Thoroughbred Report

• The Thoroughbred Report (TTR) is an independent racing-industry publication covering news, governance and issues in the thoroughbred racing world — including investigations into governance, welfare, and oversight of racing authorities. ttrausnz.com.au+1

• On 2 December 2025, TTR published a statement saying that it — and two other “independent racing publications” — had recently received correspondence from V’Landys and/or legal counsel for Racing NSW in response to TTR’s reporting on governance issues. ttrausnz.com.au

• The statement characterized the correspondence as a “legal threat.” ttrausnz.com.au

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⚠️ What V’Landys’ action (or threat) against TTR is about

According to TTR’s public statement, the legal correspondence was triggered by its reporting “on governance matters within the New South Wales thoroughbred racing industry.” ttrausnz.com.au

In other words:

• V’Landys (or Racing NSW’s legal counsel) appears to be challenging or threatening to challenge TTR because of critical or investigative reporting into the way the industry — under V’Landys’ leadership — is governed.

• The precise issues under scrutiny aren’t detailed in the TTR statement. But given the history of controversy linked to V’Landys, it likely relates to governance, transparency, or welfare in the industry.

TTR says it views the threat as “legal intimidation,” arguing that independent journalism is essential for oversight and accountability, especially when powerful regulatory bodies are involved. ttrausnz.com.au

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🕰️ How this fits into V’Landys’ past legal cases

This isn’t the first time V’Landys has used legal action (or threatened to) in response to media scrutiny:

• In 2019, an investigative program by ABC titled The Final Race revealed serious alleged animal-welfare abuses and slaughter of former racehorses — sometimes sold to knackeries/abattoirs. ABC+2thoroughbreddailynews.com+2

• V’Landys sued ABC (and the journalist behind the piece) for defamation, arguing the broadcast wrongly implied he was responsible or complicit in systemic cruelty. ABC+2Coleman Greig Lawyers+2

• In 2021, the court dismissed his defamation claim. The judge ruled that although the report was damaging to his reputation, it did not meet the legal threshold for defamation — specifically, the court found the broadcast didn’t prove he “knew” about the cruelty or knowingly permitted it. The Guardian+2racing.com+2

• The dismissal and appeal failure reaffirmed that journalists can — under law — draw attention to systemic problems even when senior figures are implicated. Wikipedia+1

So the new action/threat against TTR seems to follow a similar pattern: powerful industry authority reacting defensively to critical reporting under threat of legal escalation.

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🧭 Why this matters for racing, journalism, and governance

• Media freedom and scrutiny: TTR argues that this kind of “legal threat” undermines independent journalism — essential for holding powerful regulators to account. ttrausnz.com.au

• Transparency in the racing industry: If journalists fear legal retaliation, it could discourage reporting on real issues (governance failures, welfare problems, mismanagement), which harms industry accountability.

• Precedent and public trust: Given the past controversies around horse welfare and regulation under V’Landys’ leadership, how this plays out could influence public confidence in how racing is governed.

• Regulatory culture: A pattern of legal challenges to scrutiny (rather than engagement or reform) may raise concerns about how open the industry is to external oversight.