Anna Connors

Anna Connors (née Power) Godolphin Flying Start Graduate

[John Walter @J_Walter23]

As we continue to see racing administrators invest industry funds into assets and projects outside the core business of racing, I can't help but wonder if we're focusing on the right priorities.

I'd like to hear more discussion about reducing costs.

Not through subsidies or handouts, but by helping trainers operate more efficiently.

The average trainer today wears about ten hats:

Trainer.
Accountant.
Debt collector.
HR manager.
Compliance officer.
Customer service manager.

At the same time, many trainers are facing increasing financial pressure, while owners continue to absorb rising costs year after year. Large percentage are already questioning whether they can justify staying involved.

Surely there are opportunities for racing's governing bodies to provide services and support that allow trainers to focus on training horses.

Whether it's streamlining administration, assisting with owner invoicing, reducing compliance burdens, or negotiating industry-wide savings on essential inputs, every dollar saved is a dollar that doesn't need to be passed on to owners.

Every dollar saved helps keep a trainer viable.

Participation becomes a lot easier to grow when ownership becomes more affordable.

More revenue can always be generated when an industry is healthy.

Owners and trainers lost to the industry are much harder to replace #TheGreatGame

[Racing Reform Group NSW @RacingReformNSW]

Statement from the RRG on Racing NSW's decision to grant Peter V'landys long service leave to run rugby league.

[ANTZ🧠👀💥⚖💯💰🥇🏉🐎🍻🍾🥂🇳🇿📈🥃🌏🏟✈🏏 @allovertheform]

To the racing industry,

The news now exploding out of the Head Offices of the NRL and RNSW on 25/5/2026 should be a wake-up call to every person involved in racing.

Because it proves exactly what eventually happens when powerful people operate for too long without proper scrutiny, accountability or challenge.

The cracks eventually surface.

The truth eventually leaks.

And the carefully controlled narratives eventually collapse.

Which is exactly why Vicky Leonard and The Thoroughbred Report matter so much.

Not because they are always right.

Not because everybody agrees with every article.

But because they have been willing to do what far too many inside racing are too gutless to do themselves:

Challenge powerful people publicly.

Ask questions others are scared to ask.

And expose issues many administrators and insiders desperately want kept quiet.

That is the real issue here.

Not defamation.

Not hurt feelings.

Power.

Control.

And intimidation.

Because this entire situation sends a very deliberate message to the rest of the industry:

Stay quiet or pay the price.

Do not challenge powerful administrators.

Do not investigate uncomfortable issues.

Do not expose internal problems.

Do not question the people running the show.

And if you do, prepare to be dragged through years of financial and legal warfare until you either shut up or break.

That is the message.

Everybody knows it.

Most are simply too scared to say it publicly.

Racing has developed a culture built on fear, political protection and self-preservation where too many people privately admit there are serious issues but publicly stay silent because they know exactly how vicious the system can become against anybody who steps out of line.

That is not leadership.

That is not governance.

That is institutional intimidation.

And after what is now unfolding publicly in the NRL and RNSW, anybody who still believes powerful sporting organisations should operate without aggressive scrutiny is completely delusional.

Strong industries welcome scrutiny.

Weak industries try to silence it.

Strong leaders answer questions.

Weak leaders attack the people asking them.

The Thoroughbred Report became important because it was willing to publicly discuss issues the establishment would rather suppress. Whether people agree with every article is irrelevant.

The point is they challenged a culture where silence is rewarded and honesty is punished.

And that culture is poisoning racing from the inside out.

Because once fear replaces transparency, industries rot very quickly.

Trust disappears.

Confidence collapses.

Participants disengage.

And the public eventually walks away altogether.

Vicky Leonard deserves enormous credit for refusing to fold under pressure that would silence most people immediately. Fighting through the financial, emotional and political pressure attached to a legal battle of this scale takes serious courage.

Many inside racing privately support what TTR represents.

Now is the time for them to stop hiding behind closed doors and say it publicly.

Because this fight is now far bigger than one publication or one courtroom.

It is about whether racing still allows independent scrutiny at all.

It is about whether powerful people can use money, influence and intimidation to crush criticism.

And it is about whether this industry wants accountability or obedience.

Because if independent voices are bullied into silence, racing will become nothing more than a controlled industry where powerful insiders protect each other while everybody else is expected to shut up, nod along and know their place.

And that will destroy this industry far faster than any outside criticism ever could.

[Thompson Thoroughbreds Australia @TTARacing]

Rather ironic that RacingNSW abbreviates the snap shot its own press release because they know they’ll get hammered for their comments underneath. Hinton will just be a PVL puppet and the question now is what are the unnamed initiatives they reference? Transparency?

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@J_Walter23 Shocked that the board would approve leave at such a critical time - release of the Hazzard Review, ongoing legal action and spring carnival...

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@BenNashRacing @PLouridas @MarkDiStef @ReadingThePlay Also it’s not a charity 👍

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@BenNashRacing @PLouridas @MarkDiStef @ReadingThePlay I’m not missing the point you said it looked staged

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@BenNashRacing @PLouridas @MarkDiStef @ReadingThePlay Oh shock horror someone who loves horses and advocates for transparency with RNSW’s animal welfare program enjoys riding an off the track thoroughbred!!!

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@donnylelia @PLouridas @ReadingThePlay @MarkDiStef Obviously to pay for the work that could not be done by volunteers??

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@donnylelia @PLouridas @TTARacing If you know of another marketing company willing to deliver an industry initiative at a fraction of rates (website build, marketing, social media, project management) turning away commercial clients for it, let us know - the RFQ process certainly didn’t see anyone offer!

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@donnylelia @PLouridas @ReadingThePlay @MarkDiStef Kick Collective’s involvement was not only known by sponsors, but three of the senior team including myself volunteered our hours. Kick underwrote the project for and delivered it at a fraction of market rates, as they will this year. Everyone involved is very proud of NTW 💪

[Thompson Thoroughbreds Australia @TTARacing]

RacingNSW should be forced to declare if they are paying for this private action and if they are they should be immediately put into administration for the improper use of funds. Where is the governance?

[Mark Di Stefano @MarkDiStef]

Today’s column on Peter V’landys and Racing NSW paying his legal fees:

https://t.co/yqxHCIQ7yW

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@PLouridas @TTARacing Any opinion regarding National Thoroughbred Week still doesn’t make the article defamatory

[ANTZ🧠👀💥⚖💯💰🥇🏉🐎🍻🍾🥂🇳🇿📈🥃🌏🏟✈🏏 @allovertheform]

To the racing industry,

Vicky Leonard and The Thoroughbred Report deserve the full support of this industry.

Not because people will always agree with everything they write.

Not because they are perfect.

But because they have been willing to do something far too many others in racing have stopped having the courage to do, ask difficult questions, challenge powerful people, and speak openly about issues many are too afraid to touch publicly.

That matters.

It matters more than people realise.

For years, racing has developed a culture where too many people sit quietly in the background saying one thing privately and another thing publicly because they are terrified of the consequences that can come from speaking honestly.

That is not a healthy industry.

That is a controlled industry.

And whether people want to admit it or not, independent media voices like The Thoroughbred Report are one of the last remaining checks against that culture becoming completely normalised.

This case is not simply about a defamation dispute.

It is about power.

It is about whether independent racing media can still operate without the threat of being financially crushed for publishing material that challenges influential figures within the sport.

Because if the message being sent to the industry is that questioning powerful administrators can result in years of legal warfare and enormous financial pressure, then the message underneath that is crystal clear:

Stay quiet.

Do not challenge authority.

Do not ask uncomfortable questions.

Do not step out of line.

And if people think that environment creates a stronger industry, they are completely delusional.

Strong industries do not fear scrutiny.

Strong leaders do not fear criticism.

Strong systems do not need intimidation hanging in the background to protect themselves.

The Thoroughbred Report has become important precisely because it has been willing to say what others will not. Whether people agree with every article is irrelevant. The point is they have created discussion in an industry that too often tries to suppress it.

That is healthy.

That is necessary.

And frankly, racing needs more of it, not less.

Because without independent voices, the entire conversation around racing eventually becomes controlled by the same small circle of powerful interests protecting themselves while everybody else is expected to nod along quietly.

That is how industries stagnate.

That is how trust erodes.

That is how the public eventually disconnects completely.

Vicky Leonard deserves enormous credit for standing her ground under pressure that would force many others to back down immediately. Regardless of the outcome, it takes serious courage to continue fighting when facing the financial and emotional weight that comes with a legal battle of this scale.

Many people inside racing privately support what TTR represents.

Now is the time for them to stop whispering privately and start speaking publicly.

Because this moment matters far beyond one courtroom.

If independent media can be intimidated into silence, then the entire industry loses something incredibly important, the ability to have honest conversations without fear.

And once fear becomes embedded inside an industry, transparency disappears very quickly after it.

People in racing need to decide what sort of future they actually want.

One where only safe, controlled narratives survive.

Or one where independent voices are still allowed to challenge power, ask questions, and force accountability into the open.

Because without people like Vicky Leonard and publications like The Thoroughbred Report, racing risks becoming an industry where silence is rewarded and honesty is punished.

And that would be a disaster for everyone involved.

[Thompson Thoroughbreds Australia @TTARacing]

Just a reminder on how to donate towards Vicky’s case - The amount of support she is getting from our industry is amazing but there’s still a major shortfall to make sure she can make it to the end of the process. Please keep the donations coming.

https://t.co/jbrIfo0WsD

[Vicky Leonard @vickyleo]

Update on the V’Landys vs TTR defamation case, for those following along.

Huge thanks to everyone for their support, we have an interesting few weeks coming up!

[Media Watch @ABCmediawatch]

And now to some jolly news for lovers of the gee-gee...

#MediaWatch

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

One for everyone in the thoroughbred industry to watch - from 5.23-12.12.

[Thompson Thoroughbreds Australia @TTARacing]

Great to see Media Watch get across everything happening in the racing game in NSW - Have a watch here from the 5 minute mark forwards. Sums it all up quite well.

https://t.co/VoACMeXmqD

[Anna Connors @_annapower]

@TTARacing The quote given to AFR is a lot less spiteful than the one given to TTR….