Racing Victoria sacks chief veterinary officer after vetting blunder scares governance concerns

Racing Victoria’s chief veterinary officer hire collapsed in less than 48 hours, turning what should have been a routine appointment into a governance embarrassment for the regulator.

Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith, a Hong Kong-based veterinarian with more than 40 years’ experience, had been announced as Racing Victoria’s new chief veterinary officer and was due to start on August 10, 2026. Instead, chief executive Aaron Morrison reversed the call after reports resurfaced a 2018 Melbourne Magistrates’ Court matter involving threatening voice mails sent to former Melbourne Racing Club executive Jake Norton. Robertson-Smith had been charged over using a carriage service to menace or harass, before the matter ended with a diversion order.

The speed of the backflip is what makes the damage so stark. Racing Victoria did not just change its mind, it did so after publicly putting the appointment on the board, then pulling it back when the basic background question it should have answered first came into view. That raises the uncomfortable question now hanging over the organisation: how did a candidate for one of its most sensitive integrity roles get through the initial checks?

That role is not symbolic. Racing Victoria’s Department of Equine Welfare and Veterinary Services sits inside the integrity machine and is responsible for doping control, medication management, and the health, safety and welfare of racehorses. When the person meant to oversee that system is forced out before day one, the issue is bigger than an awkward personnel change. It goes to the regulator’s judgment, its vetting standards and its ability to protect the industry’s credibility.

Racing Victoria has said it will resume the search for a chief veterinary officer, but the fallout will not vanish that quickly. In an industry already under pressure over animal welfare, integrity and public confidence, a mistake like this does real damage. If a regulator cannot clear a senior appointment cleanly, it invites scrutiny of every future hire that touches the sport’s most sensitive ground.