Who is the racing official at the centre of Chris Minns scandal

A horse racing official at the centre of a political scandal is a former mayor who also once ran as a federal Labor election candidate.

NSW Premier Chris Minns will be referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over accusations he didn't declare a long-time friendship with Australian Turf Club's (ATC) Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations, Steve McMahon.

The allegations centre around an informal meeting between the pair earlier this year before the state government fast-tracked a deal to turn Sydney's Rosehill Gardens Racecourse into a new suburb with 25,000 homes.

It's understood Premier Minns and Mr McMahon have known each other for more than 20 years through their Labor connections in Sydney's south.

Before he joined the ATC, Mr McMahon served as Hurstville Council mayor in Sydney's south, from 2011 until 2013, when he was preselected as the Labor candidate in the federal seat of Barton after former attorney-general Robert McClelland decided to not recontest.

Mr McMahon walked away from politics after Liberal candidate Nickolas Varvaris won the federal seat, despite Labor previously holding it on a 8.9 per cent margin.

But Mr McMahon'...
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