Eighteen full-time jobs have been cut by the Australian Turf Club in a restructure aimed at reducing its debt.

The merger of the Australian Jockey Club and Sydney Turf Club to form the ATC took place in February 2011 but brought with it high debt levels.

The ATC has also suffered significant revenue losses during the multi-million reconstruction of Randwick Racecourse.

ATC chief executive Darren Pearce announced the redundancies on Tuesday. In addition to the 18 full-time positions lost, eight fixed-term contracts will not be renewed and nine roles currently unfilled will not be replaced.

Pearce said he was disappointed the changes resulted in job losses but they were necessary to secure the future of the ATC which has almost 2000 full-time and casual employees.

"Horse racing, like almost every other business and industry across Australia, is not immune to an ever-changing business world," Pearce said.

"We must continue to look at ways of operating more efficiently to ensure we can compete, and we have been forced to make this difficult decision.

"Every day across Sydney and NSW tens of thousands of people enjoy watching and investing on the races and we want to provide them with the best possible service and experience."

The $150 million redevelopment of Randwick was funded by a $150 million grant from the state government, contingent on the money be spent on the grandstand and other public facilities with the club still responsible for maintenance of tracks.

Another $24 million will be spent at Rosehill to improve public access to the track and amenities.