Rosehill Racecourse transformation proposal derailed by Australian Turf Club members

Owners of a historic racecourse have voted down a sale that formed a key plank of one state’s plan to address the housing crisis.

The NSW government had proposed to buy Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse in a potential $5 billion deal and turn the 140-year-old track into a “mini-city” of around 25,000 homes.

But despite being backed by executives of the Australian Turf Club, who own the site, the club’s members voted down the pitch on Tuesday evening.

ATC chairman Peter McGauran announced 56 per cent of members voted against the sale, compared with 44 per cent voting to approve it.

“It was a very civil and constructive exchange as we debated for over an hour the merits of the sale or otherwise,” he said.

“In the end, it was a big change, it wasn’t incremental or modest reform, and that’s always a challenge, but members of the ATC approached it diligently and conscientiously, and as a result, we have a club that can pull together now and move on.”

The proposal was unveiled with much fanfare in 2023 as a major plank in the government’s solution to the ongoing housing crisis.

The redevelopment involved turning Rosehill, one of the last major greenfield sites in Sydney, into up to 25,000 homes complete with an underground metro station.

Training facilities would have been shifted west, while ageing suburban tracks Canterbury and Warwick Farm would have received their major renovations to bring them into the 21st century.

The proceeds - potentially worth up to $5 billion - would have been funnelled into other racing, training and stabling venues.

But high-profile trainers Gai Waterhouse and Chris Waller became the faces of a sustained campaign to save the racecourse.

Advocacy group the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue said the members had delivered a blow to the area.

“This is a lamentable outcome … (ATC members) were sadly swayed by a cynical and selfish campaign from wealthy horse breeders, who looked a gift horse in the mouth and said no,” the group’s chairman, Christopher Brown, said.

“Their short-sighted decision means the loss of 25,000 potential homes for a booming part of western Sydney and the loss of funds to futureproof the racing industry for generations to come.”