Footy boss set for major career change after nine years in previous role
- Gillon McLachlan is tipped as Racing Victoria’s new chairman
- The former AFL CEO left last October
- It would put him on a collision course with Peter V’landys
Former footy boss Gillon McLachlan has been heavily linked with a new gig at Racing Victoria after leaving the AFL following his nine-year spell.
McLachlan is considered RV’s best candidate to fill their chairman vacancy, while Victoria Racing minister Anthony Carbines has identified McLachlan as his ‘preferred candidate’.
He was closely linked with the role ahead of his expected AFL departure date of 2022, but several issues – including the need to finalize an AFL license for a new team in Tasmania – saw him stay until towards the end of the 2023 season.
According to 7SportsMcLachlan has defeated a field of ten other candidates for the position.
Gillon McLachlan is reportedly a firm favorite to become Racing Victoria boss
If he were to accept, he would once again be on a collision course with Peter V’landys
He is a passionate horse racing fan and his great-grandmother owned the 1931 Melbourne Cup winner White Nose. McLachlan will replace former chairman Brian Kruger in this role.
Although McLachlan has not yet accepted the position, his arrival in horse racing would see him once again competing against Peter V’landys, the NRL chairman who also acts as chairman of NSW Racing.
McLachlan was the AFL’s chief executive from June 2014 to October 2023, handing the reins to Andrew Dillon after last year’s grand final, which Collingwood won.
His major achievements at the AFL include the seven-year extension of the AFL’s $4.5 billion broadcast agreement in September 2022, the launch of the AFLW in 2017 and the newly coined ‘Gather Round’.
McLachlan also guided the sport through the Covid-19 pandemic.