The Board of RSN has announced the appointment of Bernard Saundry as its chief executive with effect from July 11.

RSN Racing & Sport is a leading radio station owned and operated by thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing bodies of Victoria, broadcasting racing and sports to Melbourne, and to much of Victoria through various repeater stations, in addition to a digital broadcast.

For the past five years, Saundry has held the role of chief executive of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

Previously he held the positions of chief executive at Racing Victoria, Harness Racing Victoria, Western Bulldogs, and national racing broadcaster Thoroughvision (TVN). He remains the Chairman of AFL New Zealand.

During his time as Racing Victoria Chief Executive, Saundry presided over the establishment of Racing.com which now broadcasts Victorian and South Australian thoroughbred racing on its digital platform nationally and on Australian sport’s only dedicated 24/7 free-to-air television channel.

“The RSN Board is thrilled to announce the appointment of Bernard Saundry as our new Chief Executive Officer,” RSN Chairman John Stewart said.

“Bernard is an incredibly experienced sports administrator who brings an intimate knowledge of Victoria’s three racing codes to the role, together with his experience in leading and building racing broadcasters in TVN and Racing.com.

“Given his strong knowledge of Victorian racing, our business and his established relationships with many of our key stakeholders, Bernard can hit the ground running in July leading a talented team of staff and presenters here at RSN.

“We have recently embarked on a review of our operations and programming and one of Bernard’s first priorities will be to complete that important work and implement outcomes that ensure we’re delivering an informative and engaging broadcast centred around showcasing Victorian racing.”

Mr Saundry said: “I’m excited at the opportunity to lead the team at RSN and to rekindle my working relationships within the three codes of Victorian racing.

“RSN has been pivotal in showcasing and promoting thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing to generations of racing fans and punters and I’m keen to ensure that it remains the station of choice into the future."