The proposed board, which would have consisted of the club's president and vice-president and four board members appointed by an appointments committee, was some way off becoming a reality.
Only 60% (39 votes) of the 65 members at the meeting voted in favour of the new board structure - 15% (or 10 votes) short of the 75% required to begin the process to create the new board.
The mood from speakers during the discussion prior to the vote was a mixture of caution and concern, with several speakers worried the power would be taken away from the members.
Club member Ross Pettitt said he did not agree the proposed structure would put the power back in the hands of the club members.
''We'll have two voices out of six on the board, but two is not a majority,'' Pettitt said during the discussion.
''I would prefer a little bit more say for the members.
''It may be a good thing but you will have to suck the egg to see what comes out of it.''
Local trainer Kerry Dance expressed similar concerns about the control of the club being left in the six-person board's hands.
''Hopefully, you get it right if it goes through,'' Dance said.
''If you don't, we have to wait 12 months to change it.''
Forbury Park club president Peter Gillespie was more philosophical after the meeting than last year, when a different proposal missed out getting the majority by just 4%.
''It's a bigger against vote this year and they obviously want the status quo,'' Gillespie said.
''I honestly thought this was an improvement and a way of really taking the club to the next level in terms of sponsorship.''
Gillespie said it would be interesting to see how Harness Racing New Zealand viewed the decision to stick with the status quo after the national body's chairman told a forum in July the governance structure needed to change.
''It's confusing when Gary Allen, the chairman of Harness Racing New Zealand, sits there and says as far as the industry goes, we have to have this new board structure here for them to start to take us seriously.`That's all he had to say - that it has to go through - and I think the club members who voted against it see two different clubs. They see a club that's kind of like a rugby club, but don't see the business that is Forbury Park and how big it is and how hard it is going to be to manage going forward.''
Gillespie said he took the point of those concerned about members not getting the chance to vote for certain positions, but added the club could not even fill its committee last year.
''I think they thought we were just trying to take the club over but that wasn't it at all.
''The crazy thing is now they have no say anyway - the board has all the say. This was a chance to get more people on the board.''
