PHOTO: Jessica Meech and her husband, Steve Burgess, at Ellerslie to cheer on Entriviere.
There aren’t many people in racing who are universally liked.
But Jessica Meech is someone who is.
She’s passionate about racing, both as a horse owner and a punter, she’s on the committee of the Wellington Racing Club and she’s the General Manager Corporate & Governance Services at TAB NZ.
She’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
Meech started working for TAB NZ (the then New Zealand Racing Board) nearly eight years ago as their General Counsel.
“I came from Chapman Tripp, a big commercial law firm, and I thought it was time to do something else,” remembers Meech.
“This job came up at the TAB, and I’d always had a love of thoroughbred racing in particular, so that’s what brought me over. I started off doing just legal work, but my role has broadened out to encompass a much wider range of things over the years.
“I love that I get to help with making this amazing industry even better. I’ve been really lucky in the opportunities that I’ve been given, and also that managers and board members have shown confidence in me. It’s rewarding to be in a role where you can help to influence decision-making at a high level.”
Meech has survived a number of TAB “cleanouts” over the years, and has worked under a number of different CEOs. Her survival is testament to both her passion for the game and the high regard in which she is held by others.
“I have a strong set of values and morals that I believe in. I stick to those when things get tough, and potentially that’s how I’ve managed to survive,” says Meech.
“I expect a lot of myself, and of others. I’ve surrounded myself with really great people; my team is amazing and a lot of them have worked for me for a significant portion of my eight-year tenure.
“My colleague, Sam Moncur (General Manager Finance), joined the TAB three weeks before me, and the two of us have worked our way up through the organisation. We were both appointed to the executive leadership team last February, originally on a secondment basis. About three weeks after our appointment, Covid-19 hit and the whole world changed. I remember saying to him at the time, ‘I hope we aren’t jinxed!’
“I’ve learnt a great deal from people who’ve been and gone, both good and bad! For me, it’s an industry that I love. I feel very fortunate to be able to combine my work and my passion – there aren’t many people who can say that.”
Her enthusiasm for the racing caper stems from an early age. Her father and grandfather were both aficionados, and she grew up attending the races at Trentham regularly, along with Randwick where her grandfather lived.
At age 14, her life changed forever.
“My father passed away very suddenly when I was 14 years old. He had a heart attack a couple of months after his 40th birthday. That’s why I’m a firm believer that life is short and you have to make the most of things.
“My mum (Maggie) and I decided a little while after he passed away that it would be nice for us to get into owning racehorses as a way of continuing on his legacy. We got involved in a syndicate called Boyzangels Partnership, managed by a good friend of ours, Robert Lahman. There was a big group of us and we had three horses with Rachael Frost, who trained at Otaki in those days.
“Our first horse was Madredeus, who won six races. I feel like the racing gods go, ‘okay, we’re going to hook you in’, because she won three in a row and we thought, ‘this game is easy!’” she laughs.
Meech and her mother got the racing bug , and have now lost count of how many horses they’ve been involved in over the years.
“Racing became our thing. We’d follow our horses around the country and we’d go to the Melbourne Cup every year. It became a really special thing for Mum and I to do together, and it’s continued on.
“We started off with three horses and we’ve ended up with a lot more. It’s taken us to some amazing places and we have met some remarkable people.”
Currently, Entriviere is their stable star. Meech lights up when she speaks about her.
“The glamour mare! The superstar!” she laughs.
“Ones like her help to pay for the slow ones! She has taken us on the most wonderful journey this season; from breaking her maiden on debut in September last year, to winning two Group Threes at Ellerslie and going down by a nostril in a Group Two on Day 2 of the Championships at Randwick in April.
“I couldn’t be prouder of her and I cannot wait to see her strut her stuff next season.
“The feeling when your horse wins is indescribable. It is the best feeling in the world and I think if you could bottle that feeling, you would be a millionaire.
“People much more knowledgeable than me say that I shouldn’t, but I think of my racehorses as pets. I adore them, I’m very attached to them.”
Meech and her mother have had horses with a variety of trainers over the years, but these days, their horses are all with Te Akau Racing.
“They are such a classy operator,” she enthuses.
“Their communication is second to none – you’re never left wondering what’s going on. And they have a plan for every single horse. It doesn’t matter if it’s a maiden trying to get that first win or Entriviere; there’s a clear plan for each horse.
“We’re not big owners. We have small shares in a few horses, but we are still treated as important and that’s the kind of service they give to all of their owners. I think that’s part of the reason why they’re so successful.
“And I think Jamie Richards is an absolute marvel – I’m yet to meet anyone who works harder than he does, and I think that anyone who has such a strong work ethic deserves all the recognition and success. And he’s supported by a very strong team in David Ellis and Karyn Fenton-Ellis and all of their wonderful staff.”
Meech adds, “It’s also wonderful to see one of their stable riders, Danielle Johnson, riding in such super form and running away with the jockeys’ premiership this season. She’s an inspiration, particularly to aspiring female riders, and I’m delighted that five of her wins this year have come with Entriviere; they have a special bond and she’s had such confidence in her since day one.”
Meech is also heavily involved with the Wellington Racing Club, and has been on their committee for over seven years.
“I’d be at the races anyway, so I might as well be making a positive contribution to the industry!” she quips.
She turns 39 this month. Notwithstanding the fact she isn’t yet 40 and already has an extraordinary list of achievements to her name, Meech remains grounded.
“I guess I don’t see my achievements as particularly amazing. I’ve worked hard and I’ve been surrounded by good, supportive people and I’ve seized opportunities when they’ve come along.
“I think women, in particular, often focus too often on the aspects of a job that they haven’t done before or think they can’t do, rather than all the bits they can and the wealth of experience they can bring. There’s a lack of females in senior leadership positions and that’s something that I want to do something about,” says Meech.
“I think if you want to drive good decision-making, and you want to have a broad customer base, then you need to have diversity within your organisation. Part of that is gender and part of that is ethnicity, along with lots of other elements.
“For me, that’s something that I certainly want to focus on in the next few years; helping to build women up and bring them up through the organisation.”
She is also a strong advocate for change when it comes to New Zealand’s whip rules.
“I think the time has come to make some decisions about the future use of the whip. Jockeys are incredible people who put their lives on the line every time they go out there; I certainly respect their concerns about needing to carry the whip for horse control and safety reasons. However, I think use of the whip for other reasons is something we need to think very seriously about.
“If we ban it (for everything other than health and safety), it can be a positive story. I think it’s going to happen eventually, so rather than having it done to us, we have an opportunity to take control of the narrative.”
After a tumultuous time, particularly exacerbated by last year’s lockdown situation, Meech is optimistic about racing’s future in New Zealand.
“If you think about where we were just over 12 months ago, it was dire, and I never want to go through that kind of period again. Seeing 230 staff made redundant was a horrible situation.
“For the business to have gone from rock bottom to where we are now is an extraordinary turnaround. Of course, we were very fortunate to get significant support from the government and that’s obviously been a big part of it, but there’s been a variety of other factors too which have contributed to where we are now.
“It means that the outlook is really positive now and to be a part of that is exciting. There are obviously still some hurdles to get through, but I think the future is bright for the industry.
“We breed amazing horses, we have skilled riders and some fantastic trainers. We’ve got horses that go overseas and are competitive there. We’ve got all the ingredients. The TAB has got itself back in the green and I think the industry has a lot to be optimistic about.”
