Hedley fallout hits racing
LEADING Far Northern horse trainer Roy Chillemi says local racing will survive the financial collapse of its biggest patron, Cairns businessman and horse owner Tom Hedley.
On Wednesday morning, receivers were appointed to the Hedley Private Group with debts between $150 million to $200 million.
Yesterday, the Cairns Jockey Club announced that Mr Hedley had resigned as president, with vice-president John Smith of Babinda Electrics taking over until the annual meeting later this year.
Mr Hedley was a passionate racing fan and together with Mr Chillemi, who trained exclusively for Hedley for five years, won some of North Queensland’s biggest races.
Mr Hedley, however, started scaling back his racing interests as early as last year.
Mr Chillemi is unsure what the future holds for his friend of more than 30 years. "He’s given away a lot of his horses to friends and such," Mr Chillemi said.
"I hope he has the capacity to keep his interest in racing at some level but at the moment there is a lot of sorting out to do.
"Whether he can get back into racing at the level he once was I don’t know.
"People are wanting answers at the moment but I just don’t know.
"In a month we might have a clearer picture but it could even take longer."
Jockey Club committee member Greg Smith said Mr Hedley had turned racing around after it was in the doldrums for several years.
He said Mr Hedley had put in a substantial amount of time, money and in-kind support revitalising the track and drawing crowds back to Cannon Park.
"You can’t underestimate what he did out there. He was very hands-on, he was unbelievable," Mr Smith said.
"What Tom has done for racing is his legacy to the jockey club."
He said at some stage the jockey club would honour Mr Hedley for his tireless contribution to horseracing.
Mr Chillemi said the absence of Mr Hedley and fellow acing supporter John O’Brien could be overcome.
"The horses they own are still here, they are still racing and haven’t been discarded," he said.
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We'll race on: Trainer Roy Chillemi says the Far North racing industry will soldier on despite the demise of Tom Hedley's financial empire.
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