Self-confessed racing afficionado Andrew Demetriou, who led the AFL through one of its most successful periods and has just joined the NBL as advisory board co-chair, said on Tuesday that the racing industry had “not come near me” the four years since he left the AFL.

Demetriou has remained out of sport since leaving the AFL in 2014, focusing on his director roles with a number of companies including Bastion Group and Crown Resorts, while he is also the chairman of Capitol Health.

Speaking on SEN, Demetriou said with some surprise that no one on any level of the racing industry had invited him to be a part of the sport.

“I loved it from the time I first went to the showground trots and had 50 cents the place on Big Ben and got back 70 cents. I thought, how good is that,” Demetriou said.

In the last five years Victorian racing has fallen sharply behind the NSW racing industry, with many believing the gap is widening by the week.

Initiatives such as multi-million-dollar sprint race the Everest, and the creation of the Championships each autumn, have largely left Victorian racing behind.