About Us

Purpose

To be the key industry stakeholder providing an independent voice for all racehorse owners.

In partnership with all owners TROA will protect their interests, promote increased financial returns and the enjoyment of racing.

A Brief History of TROA

2004 was the 30th anniversary of establishment of TROA, which was formed following a meeting of 26 racehorse owners at the Hotel Australia on April 23, 1974.

The inaugural Chairman was Mr Geoffrey Bellmaine, Henry Harrison was Vice Chairman. The first committee members were Dom Dimmatina, Kevin Heffernan, Tom Trevaskis and Monty Millson. 34 foundation members joined the association.

TROA has had seven-elected Chairman since 1974,

Name	Years
Geoffrey Bellmaine	1974 – 1976
Dom Dimmatina	1976 – 1978
Henry Harrison	1978 – 1984
Gerald Cunningham	1984 – 1987
Nick Columb	1987 – 2001
David Lauritz	2001 – 2005
Martin O’Connor	2005 – 2006
David Moodie	2006 – 2009
Andrew Lafontaine	2009 to present

In 1987, Henry Harrison, Geoffrey Bellmaine, Kevin Harrison and John Dillon were the first TROA members to be awarded life membership. These gentlemen contributed an enormous amount to racing over a long period of time, and John Dillon continues to serve the industry as Chairman of the Melbourne Racing Club.

The Associations previous Executive Officer, Greg Buckingham compiled a summary of TROA’s activities as recorded in the minutes of committee and then board meetings. The summary makes very interesting reading.

A number of issues have been recurring themes over the thirty years of our existence including the obvious ones such as prizemoney levels, owner’s privileges on race days and the possible benefits of the registration of owners.