Racing Australia | Horse Racing Results

Executive Team

Paul Eriksson - Chief Executive Officer

Paul joined Racing Australia in September 2022 after completing three years as Chief Executive Officer of Tasracing, a State-owned Corporation responsible for the commercial operation of Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound racing in Tasmania. Paul is an experienced senior Executive having successfully managed finance, governance, information technology and human resource functions across a wide range of industries including, but not limited to, regulatory, not-for-profit, entertainment, sport, manufacturing, and software development. Prior to joining Tasracing, Paul was the Group Chief Financial Officer for the Cronulla Sharks (Football Club, Leagues Club and Property Development).

David Connell - General Manager - Finance & Commercial

David joined RISA in October 2006 after three and half years as Financial Accountant for Racing Victoria Limited (RVL). Prior to joining RVL, David was Group Accountant for SMS Management & Technology Group from 1994 - 2002. From 1990 - 1994 David was Financial Accountant for Mercy Hospital for Women. Prior to that David held a range of Finance roles. David is a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA). David is responsible for the financial operations of RISA. In addition David is the Key Person and Responsible Manager of the Thoroughbred Trainers Service Centre (TTSC) Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) as well as day to day operations of the TTSC. With the merger of RISA and the ARB David assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer for Racing Australia.

Karen Day - General Manager – Equine Welfare & Traceability

In May 2020 Karen commenced as the first National Equine Welfare & Traceability Executive for Racing Australia with primary responsibility to implement world best practices and safeguarding the welfare and traceability of Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia. Prior to joining Racing Australia ion 2016 Karen was appointed the first Equine Welfare Manager for Racing NSW a role she held until July 2019. Karen has more than 20 years working in Media, Publishing and Marketing, Karen has a multi-disciplined skill set covering business leadership, marketing, consumer and customer data management, sales and operations. In 2015 Karen established a training facility that focused on preparing retired Thoroughbreds for life after racing, predominantly in the sport of show jumping, working with young riders and established international show jumpers.

Dr. Natasha Hamilton - Equine Genetics Research Centre Director

Dr Hamilton was awarded her PhD in equine genetics from the University of Sydney in 2005. Before starting at Racing Australia she was as a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science where she taught neurophysiology and equine science. Her research has always revolved around horses, with a particular focus on the genetic factors that affect health, disease, soundness and career length in racehorses. Natasha is Chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities Gene Doping Control Subcommittee, International Horse Genome Workshop, International Society of Animal Genetics, and is an associate member of the International Group of Specialist Racing Veterinarians. Dr Hamilton commenced as the inaugural Director of the EGRC in January 2018.

Jacqueline Stewart - Keeper of the Australian Stud Book

Jacqueline commenced with the Australian Stud Book in 1998 and was promoted to Deputy Keeper of the Stud Book in 2004, serving a ten year apprenticeship to then Keeper of the Stud Book, Michael Ford. In this role Jacqueline led the transition of the Australian Stud Book from paper based transactions to online transactions. Upon Michael Ford's retirement in early 2014 Jacqueline was promoted to be the 8th Keeper of the Australian Stud Book, the first female to hold this role in its 146 year history (as at 2014) of the Australian Stud Book. Later in 2014 when the Australian Stud Book was purchased by Racing Information Services Australia (RISA) Jacqueline led the transition of the Australian Stud Book to RISA and the integration of the Registrar of Racehorses and Australian Stud Book operations. Jacqueline represents Racing Australia as the owner and operator of the Australian Stud Book on the International Stud Book Committee (ISBC) and is an Industry Advisory Panel member for the Thoroughbred Horses AgriFutures Australia program.

Dominique Dolgener - Equine Genetics Research Centre Manager

Dominique graduated with a MSc (Hons) from Macquarie University in June 2005 and was employed as a Research Assistant in the ACRF Unit at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. After a short foray as Account Manager with Applied Biosystems, Dominique started at Roche Diagnostics Australia in June 2009 as a Technical Product Specialist in the Applied Science Business Area with a special focus on molecular biology workflows. In September 2014 she joined the Molecular Systems team as a Field Applications Specialist (FAS) assisting with installation, training and troubleshooting of instrumentation utilized for human diagnostic tests. Dominique has a very keen interest in PCR-related applications and is especially interested in the development of new testing methodologies. Dominique joined the EGRC as the inaugural Equine Genetics Research Centre Manager in 2018.