The Tamworth Jockey Club is "probably" a month behind in its preparations for two of its biggest events of the year, the Tamworth Country Championships Qualifier and Tamworth Cup, TJC administrator David Jewell has said.
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Jewell also said he had "no idea" how the Racing NSW probe into the club was progressing.
"My focus is very much on the Country Championships in four weeks and the [Tamworth] Cup six weeks after that," he said, adding: "We're probably a month behind where we need to be. [But] we're catching up."
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Tickets for the Country Championships were due to go on sell on Monday. Jewell said there had been a "hold up" in setting up a new online sales system.
Marketing material for the meeting has also been completed.
The $150,000 Tamworth Country Championships Qualifier is on March 7 and the $200,000 Tamworth Cup is on April 23.
Racing NSW appointed Jewell to the TJC administrator role early last month after the club's board stood down while the sport's governing body holds an inquiry into why the club did not follow certain Racing NSW policies and procedures.
The TJC is searching for a new general member after Wayne Wood's short tenure in the job ended with his sudden departure last month after, Jewell has said, "he was of the view that the job that he accepted has changed".
Last month Jewell told the Leader that he was doing the work of a GM, while also looking after the club's day-to-day operations as administrator.
We're probably a month behind where we need to be.
- David Jewell
He had said: "The situation we have at the moment is that we don't have a track manager, we don't have a board and we don't have a general manager.
"So, effectively, I'm overseeing all of those roles. So I'm a busy boy."
Jewell - a Central Coast resident and a former chief executive of Wyong Race Club - said of the process to replace Wood: "We're going through trying to get a shortlist.
"I'm being held up a little bit with Racing NSW at the moment - back and forth about potential candidates and working out an interview process."
He hoped to soon get "the green light" to interview candidates.
Jewell said he was not privy to the status of the Racing NSW inquiry into the TJC.
"I'm not in the loop and don't really need to be or want to be," he said.
The matter "sits with Mr V'landys" (Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys), he added.
In a statement last month, Racing NSW said race clubs were held to "stringent requirements" in respect to the "tendering and procurement process for any significant expenditure" - and that was the focus of the inquiry.
Jewell has said the inquiry centred on the tending process for work done on the TJC's cinder track late last year that cost about $50,000 and was paid for by the club.
"And there's a couple of other issues as well that I'm not really prepared to go into at this stage," he said.
A comment was sought from Racing NSW.
