Luke Cann excited to start as Warrnambool Racing Club CEO

Cann, 45, has been the operations manager at the club for the past six months and was appointed to the top job on Monday.

"It's a great thrill to have got the job," he told The Standard.

"I'm glad the committee has shown the faith in me.

"I rate it as a dream job as we work on the biggest event in Warrnambool, namely the three-day racing carnival which has the Grand Annual Steeplechase as its flagship event.

"It's really special that the committee has seen fit to give the job to a person who was raised and educated in Warrnambool.

"It means a lot to me.

"I've always been passionate about the races and now I've got the chance to drive the club forward."

The father-of-two said he was looking forward to the challenges the job presented in the future.

"We've just come off a very successful May carnival a couple of weeks ago," Cann said.

"I've been lucky to have gained a great insight in how the club runs over the last six months in my job as operations manager.

"I worked closely with numerous stakeholders including hospitality, marquees, corporate and traffic management and I'm confident that will hold me in good stead.

"I had also worked previously in sponsorship and marketing at the club for five years which are other key parts of the business."

Cann said he was eager to help out a hard-working team as the club tries to make its successful carnival even more appealing for punters.

"We've got a great team at the club," he said.

"They're all keen to see the club grow and make the May carnival in particular a better event for patrons to attend.

"There's a couple of things that we can tweak to ensure the carnival continues to grow but I'll sit down with the committee and interim CEO Carl Hufer to discuss those thoughts in the next week or so."

Hufer took over as the interim CEO in April, replacing Tom O'Connor who resigned from the job in March.

Hufer oversaw the running of the 2023 carnival last month as thousands of fans flocked to watch the Ciaron Maher-trained Rockstar Ronnie, with Irish-born jockey Chris McCarthy in the saddle, lead from start-to-finish to win the Grand Annual Steeplechase on the final day.

Cann starts in the job on Monday, May 29 and racing will return to the Warrnambool track on Sunday, June 18.

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