Peter V'landys will leave his position as chief executive of Racing NSW when his current contract expires on November 30, bringing to an end one of the longest tenures in Australian racing administration, Racing NSW announced on Thursday.V'landys has led Racing NSW since 2004 and is currently on long-service leave from the organisation while focusing on rugby league. On Thursday, the Australian Rugby League Commission formally announced his appointment as the NRL's first executive chairman.“Naturally, this is a very sad day for me,” V'landys said in a statement released by Racing NSW. “I have put my heart and soul into racing for 22 years. I was just a member of a dedicated team of professionals who were able to generate outstanding outcomes for Racing NSW. As a team, we went from a struggling jurisdiction to a world-leading jurisdiction. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been in our team. I will miss them greatly and I wish the industry every success.”Chris Waller was emphatic in his praise, telling The Sydney Morning Herald: “He will go down as one of the best, if not the best, sporting administrators in Australian history.”One of the most consequential developments during his tenure was race-fields legislation, which required wagering operators to pay for the use of NSW racing information. Racing NSW successfully defended the scheme in the High Court in 2012, establishing what became a major source of revenue for the industry.V'landys also played a central role during the Equine Influenza crisis, when racing in NSW was effectively shut down. Racing NSW says A$230 million in Federal Government assistance was secured for industry participants during that period, along with a further A$7.5-million grants scheme.The creation of The Everest in 2017 became one of the defining features of his tenure. The race grew into the centrepiece of Sydney's spring carnival and was eventually granted Group 1 status. The Golden Eagle provided another lucrative feature, strengthening the Sydney spring during a period of the calendar traditionally dominated by Melbourne. It will be run as a Group 1 for the first time in 2026.Prize-money also increased significantly during V'landys's tenure. According to Racing NSW, Saturday metropolitan prize-money has risen from A$45,000 per race in 2004 to A$160,000, while minimum Country TAB prize-money has increased from A$5,000 to A$27,000.V'landys's tenure was also marked by disputes involving other racing jurisdictions, clubs and sections of the industry. Racing NSW was periodically at odds with other jurisdictions over race programming and the Australian Pattern. Australia's long-running difficulties in reaching agreement over the Pattern eventually saw responsibility for approving changes to the country's black-type program pass to the Asian Pattern Committee.Those debates intensified as Sydney introduced lucrative races outside the traditional black-type structure and subsequently sought greater recognition for some of them.V'landys will also leave Racing NSW with his personal defamation proceedings against The Thoroughbred Report, still before the NSW Supreme Court. The proceedings relate to an article published by The Thoroughbred Report in November 2025. The case remains ongoing.The relationship between Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club became increasingly contentious following the proposed sale of Rosehill Gardens and subsequent disputes over the ATC's finances and governance.Racing NSW issued the club with a show-cause notice and sought to appoint an administrator. The ATC challenged Racing NSW's power to do so and initially succeeded before Racing NSW won on appeal. Morgan Kelly of Ernst & Young subsequently took control of the club as administrator.V'landys also departs with the NSW Government yet to release Brad Hazzard's review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act 1996.The review was asked to examine whether the legislation remains appropriate, including Racing NSW's governance structures, appointment requirements and tenure limits for board members, transparency and accountability, stakeholder consultation and the long-term sustainability of the industry.Hazzard delivered his report to the NSW Government in late July, but it has yet to be publicly released.V'landys leaves behind a vastly different NSW racing industry from the one he inherited in 2004. After 22 years at the helm, his departure will mark the end of an era for Racing NSW and Australian racing more broadly.The post Peter V’landys To Leave Racing NSW After 22 Years At The Helm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.