HRNZ announces changes to its Board

Statement from HRNZ : Harness Racing New Zealand Board Changes

John Coulam and Kevin McNaught have resigned as Chair and Deputy Chair respectively of the Harness Racing New Zealand Board, and have been replaced by Phil Holden and Cam Bray.

Both John and Kevin remain on the Board. Mr McNaught will retain his current sub-committee chairing roles, but the change helps relieve him of some of his workload.

Mr Holden is an Independent Director on the Board and Chair of the Finance Committee. He is also Chair of two other Boards, including Cycling New Zealand where he is overseeing a significant change process following the very public challenges that sport has faced. He is also a former CEO of both Harness and Greyhound Racing.

Cam Bray joined the Board last year. He is President of the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club and is also a member of the NZ Sires Stakes Board.

“I want to acknowledge and pay tribute to the significant contributions John and Kevin have each made in their roles on the Board over recent years,” said Mr Holden.

“We will continue to seek their wise counsel and advice as we go forward.

“I want to emphasise that I do not expect any disruption to the ongoing administration of the sport,” he said.

“The change simply reflects the desire by the Board for a re-evaluation of our priorities and a fresh look at the challenges harness racing faces nationally. There is a significant level of uncertainty that we need to address as quickly as possible, and in an upfront and transparent manner.

“I will have more to say on that in due course, but in the meantime, I look forward to engaging with members and everyone involved in harness racing, and hearing from them first hand.”