Board Members

Tony Mitevski

President
Tony was appointed as Director in July 2019 and as President in March 2020. Tony has had a lifelong love of thoroughbred horse racing, which was passed on to him by his late father, a huge enthusiast of the sport. Tony’s passion and understanding for this sport has translated in many successes as an owner of horses.  Notably, the 2013 Melbourne Cup and Australia Cup winner, Fiorente, Group 1 winning horse Glencadam Gold, other group winners including Libran, Julieanas, Heartbreak City, the Belmont Gold Cup Winner, Red Cardinal, Singing, Privlaka and Great House to name a few.  Tony’s horses have also won both State and National awards. Tony is a regular attendee at race meetings in Sydney and interstate.  He has also attended meetings at Royal Ascot and at the Belmont racetrack in New York as well as Dubai. Tony runs a successful Labour Hire Company in Sydney.  He is excited to be a part of the NSWROA Board and is looking forward to bringing his vast knowledge and innovative spirit in helping to promote a sport that he loves and in which he is an enthusiastic participant.

Darren McConnell

Vice President

Darren joined the NSWROA Board in November 2022.

He has a passion for racing that has developed throughout his life, from owning harness horses in his 20’s through to the present, where he currently has shares in 6 horses with a range of trainers in Sydney and Brisbane.

He is keen to further the interests of racehorse owners as key industry participants with a focus on equine welfare and attracting and retaining new owners to the sport.

Darren’s career spans 30 years in the human resources and recruitment fields and he currently is a Director of two organisations. The first, a national recruitment firm supplying contract and permanent recruitment services in white collar and the second a digital transformation consultancy firm.

Darren has extensive experience with member-based organisations gained through his six years as an elected Director of Cronulla Sharks Leagues Club and Cronulla Sharks Football Club where he held roles including Vice Chairman, Head of Nominations and inaugural Chairman of Sharks have Heart Foundation.

Darren holds a Master of Business in Employment Relations from UTS and has also completed the Foundations of Directorship Course with Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mitchell Stone

Treasurer

Mitchell (Mitch) Stone was appointed a Director in March, 2017.

Mitch has had a love of racing from a young age; hailing from a racing family in Orange he has attended country, city and international race meetings for much of his life.

He was previously on the board and later became Chairman of the AJC Young Members Advisory Committee. Having recently purchased a share in his first racehorse, he hopes to see many more young people take up the opportunity and share in the enjoyment and excitement it brings.

Mitch is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in Business Advisory Service, Corporate Finance and Tax for the last 14 years. He currently specialises in the pub and hospitality industry.

Mitch is passionate about giving back to the sport he loves and getting more young people involved in the ownership of racehorses.

Julieanne Horsman

Secretary

Julieanne Horsman was appointed a Director of NSWROA in January 2023. She took on the role after stepping down from the board of Young Professionals in Racing where she strived to create pathways into the racing industry, behind the scenes experiences and networking opportunities for 18 to 35 year-olds. 

A journalist by trade, Julieanne worked at ACP Magazines, Win Television and Radio and Channel 9 News before combining her skills with her passion and joining the Racing NSW Media Team. She spent almost six years promoting all aspects of the industry including Thoroughbred retraining and rehoming initiatives, and counts her involvement with Spur equine therapy program, run jointly by Racing NSW and RSL LifeCare, as a standout.

She recently joined City Tattersalls Club as the Chief Of Staff and is delighted to be working in an organisation with a strong racing history. Julieanne is also a Director of the Kennedy Foundation and is one of the judges for the annual Rod Allen Award for Australian Racing Writer of the Year. 

Julieanne has small shares in racehorses with Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones, Danny Williams, Kim Waugh and Annabel Neasham and also adopted former Godolphin galloper, Cul De Sac, as her pleasure riding horse. 

She describes one of her proudest moments in racing as being chosen as the Face of the Wagga Gold Cup in 2012 and she continues to regard it as her favourite race carnival along with the Bega Cup, Snake Gully Cup, Scone Cup and The Everest.  

Darcy Lawler

Director

Darcy Lawler was appointed to the Board of NSWROA in January 2023.

His background and education are in hospitality and in particular, Rugby League administration, managing South Sydney Junior Rugby Leagues Club in the 1980’s and early ‘90’s.

For the past 20 years, Darcy has been involved in Recruitment and Labour Services for Workforce International Group, currently in the role of National Operations Manager.

Darcy was a member of the STC for nearly 40 years and transitioned to the ATC, of which he is still a loyal member.

He first tasted horse ownership in the 1990’s, owning several under the trainership of the late John Morish, enjoying some city success. Darcy now has four horses in training with Matthew Smith.

Darcy admits to ‘loving a punt’ and was hoping racehorse ownership would curtail that desire, to no avail!

His aim as a Director of the NSW Racehorse Owners’ Association is to assist in raising the Association’s profile with the new generation of racegoers.

Assoc Professor Dr Bernard Hudson

Director

Dr Hudson was appointed to the NSWROA Board in June, 2022.

He is a qualified specialist physician in infectious diseases, as well as a qualified pathologist (microbiologist) and the director of a busy clinical and laboratory service at a large Sydney teaching hospital.

He first ventured into racehorse ownership, then breeding, on a very small scale in the late 1970s till he went to work in Papua New Guinea in the 1980s. Dr Hudson ventured back into racehorse ownership and breeding in the late 1990s.

His best horse to date has been Tokamak, winning 2 listed races in a career cut short by injury. He owned his father and mother, so breeding and successfully racing such a homebred was a particularly satisfying outcome.

“As a racing owner and member of NSWROA, I know owners have an essential role in the industry and, accordingly, should have a strong voice. Costs for horses are borne by owners. Without horses and owners there are no breeding or racing industries. Happy owners stay in the industry and bring friends and family into the industry on an ongoing basis. I am keen to help develop, and support, initiatives that enable owners to have the best possible experiences that racehorse ownership brings.”

Peter Waters

Director

Peter Waters was appointed Director in June, 2022. Peter has had a love of racing from a young age, passed on to him by his grandfather who had success in breeding and racing in South East Queensland in the 70’s.

Peter has had shares in racehorses and dabbled in owning, breeding, and racing. Currently Peter has a share in a racehorse trained in Scone.

He and his wife Michelle retained their retired racehorses, which Michelle cares for and rides. They agist their horses in the Hawkesbury area.

Peter lives in Sydney where he owns and runs a manufacturing business specialising in gaskets and insulation materials for a diverse range of industries.

A member of the Sydney Turf Club for 40 years before transferring to the Australian Turf Club, Peter is also a member at Forster Tuncurry Jockey Club and makes a habit of attending their meetings when he and Michelle can get away.

Peter loves racing and enjoys sharing this interest with like-minded people, believing there is no better place to be a racehorse owner than in New South Wales.

Geoffrey Corrigan

Director

Geoff was elected to the NSWROA Board in May 2023.

He brings a long career in Government and a keen interest in thoroughbred and harness racing.

Geoff was elected to Camden Council 3 times from 1991-2004 and served 3 terms as Mayor and 2 as Deputy Mayor. He was then elected as the Labor State Member for Camden in 2003 and served two terms before losing at the 2011 election. 

During his time as a State member Geoff served as the Chairman of Staysafe for four years. He was also active on the Minister for Gaming and Racing’s committees and represented the Minister on many occasions.

Geoff has shares in many horses, most notably Vow and Declare who won the Melbourne Cup in his colours. Other current horses he has shares in include Green Belt, War Frontier, Apache Thunder and Khabalov.

Geoff also is currently trying his hand at breeding to try and put his long interest and theories into practice.

Stephen Warncken

Director

Stephen Joined the NSWROA Board in December 2023.

His earliest memories in racing are listening to the wireless on a Saturday afternoon and memorising the winners of the big historic races.

Stephen has owned racehorses and greyhounds over the last 3 decades and continues to search for that elusive star. He is in the ownership of Nowra Cup winner, Floating, who is qualified for The Big Dance.

Stephen’s career started in finance before finding a career in operational and transformation roles in the logistics industry.  Stephen holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Denver, USA.

A member of the ATC (formerly AJC) for more than 20 years, Stephen hopes to heighten the profile of racehorse owners in what is an exciting time for our sport.