It’s as a great an idea as it is obvious – one membership for all Victorian tracks. Could it be on the way?
One ticket to access the members facilities at all times for all the big races – country cups too.
It ain’t rocket science. Sydney and Brisbane already do it.
For an Australian Turf Club membership it’s $617 a year [plus an expensive $500 joining fee] which provides access to both Randwick and Rosehill. In Brisbane, it’s only $330 a year to access Doomben and Eagle Farm.
In Melbourne it costs punters who want to join all three metropolitan clubs a staggering $1370.
A Moonee Valley membership sets you back $305 while a Melbourne Racing Club membership [which provides access to Caulfield, Sandown and Mornington] costs $450. Both clubs have recently run decent discounted membership campaigns.
The Victorian Racing Club remains the most expensive at $615 for a full membership [plus a steep $726 joining fee]. The VRC still boasts strong member numbers.
So when RV CEO Aaron Morrison teased the idea of one Victorian membership on SEN Track last week, a few were surprised, if not intrigued.
“Hopefully [one membership] is not too far away,’’ he said. ”I think there’s demand for that, of course. It’s really an obvious one, but we’ll work through that. There’ll be some other good innovations.’’
As obvious as it may be – and beneficial for punters – Betsy has been told it remains a pipe dream.
The idea [and it’s a good one] is seen as an RV concept. Some in club land still need convincing.
There is a view, which you can understand, that it needs to also benefit the club financially, which many view as a difficult prospect to overcome.
Betsy has been told a one club membership product would likely need to be capped at how many could be sold.
There would need to be guaranteed revenue splits, it wouldn’t provide voting rights [not that a vast majority of punters would care] and clubs would view it as an RV product, and it’s unlikely to be cheap, unless RV decides to subsidise part of the cost.
But the bottom line is as of last week, the concept which is likely to be popular with punters, is not close to getting off the ground. RV is likely to continue to work with the clubs to find a path forward.
Despite the denials of both the VRC and MRC [they held unofficial talks around the potential of merging earlier this year] many still see it becoming a possibility again at some stage. Moonee Valley is set to close for at least 12 months for major renovations following the Cox Plate. MRC chairman John Kanga has spoken positively about working more closely with other clubs, including on products.
It still feels there is plenty to play out in this space.
A one club membership, as obvious as it is, seems a pipe dream for now. But it’s a dream RV should continue to pursue.
A single membership giving you access to all three metro racing clubs might soon be on the horizon 👀 pic.twitter.com/bNxEZXYRik
— Racing.com (@Racing) September 12, 2025
