IN his popular column, ‘SILKS & SADDLES,’ published in the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, respected racing writer TERRY BUTTS suggests that the Government should take note of the Stafford by-election result at the weekend and remember that racing draws plenty of votes.
Here is the Butts’ column:
RACING AND POLITICS SHOULD NEVER BE ON THE SAME PAGE
IN an ideal world politics and racing should never be on the same page.
But it is an unfortunate and indisputable fact that the administration of racing changes with the change of Governments.
And perhaps it is even more pronounced in Queensland.
The racing community of this state bagged the Bentley era. And now the same people who bagged him and his Board are declaring he was no worse than current Kevin Dixon regime.
There have been grave doubts cast upon the recently negotiated and much anticipated Tatts deal that was being hailed as the saviour for racing this state.
But just how much financial benefit will be derived, especially in the country areas is still a question - not a fact.
There is much discontent in the racing community from administrators to strappers and government has done little neither to allay the fear nor to boost the confidence of stakeholders.
STAFFORD BY-ELECTION RESULT A WAKE-UP CALL FOR THE GOVERNMENT
THE weekend result of the Stafford by-election should be a wake-up call.
And Government must realise it can ill-afford to lose the votes of the racing community. Yet it seems to be doing its best to alienate them.
Firstly, it allowed the Racing Minister Steve Dickson to totally ignore the recommendations of the million-plus Queensland Commission of inquiry into Racing that suggested - no recommended - sweeping changes to the Queensland racing landscape.
How could that happen? People still ask.
The Premier himself must be aware his Racing Minister is a disaster and losing votes by the day. Some of the Minister’s statements, both inside and outside of Parliament, have been outrageous – an embarrassment.
And the sad thing is that Newman had a ready-made Racing Minister in his Cabinet - Gold Coast-based Ray Stevens.
But Stevens got scrubbed because he had the temerity to vote against the would-be Treasurer and ‘spokesman for everything’ Tim Nichols in a party room ballot BEFORE the election.
That should have been a warning to us all about the fickleness of the people we put into power with such a stranglehold majority.
Stevens no doubt wouldn’t be interested in the job now and who could blame him.
RESIGNATION OF TWO SENIOR BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED
THE resignation of two senior Board members from the Queensland All Codes Racing Board should have been investigated and the result made public.
All we know officially is that deputy chairman Barry Taylor and Harness Racing member Brad Steele resigned.
Racing is entitled to know why.
Was it really over the Tatts deal which is the popular belief?
According to those who claim to know him, Taylor was never going to be comfortable with being vice-captain to Dixon, and his eventual exit from the Board was not unexpected.
Seriously there is no longer room for complacency. The Newman Government must immediately take a serious look at racing - and the way it is being managed - because it surely faces another backlash at the ballot box.
A new Racing Minister might be a start - though perhaps he is not the only one who needs replacing.
COBALT POLICING THE NEW PHENOMENON IN RACING
FLAVOR of the month in racing is no doubt the new phenomenon of cobalt administration.
Stewards nationwide seem to have the lid on the milkshake tubing which was at one time rampant on racetracks all over the country.
Years ago it was caffeine and then EPO (elephant juice) for a short time - until that unfortunate incident (fiasco) on Perth Cup day way back when.
Cobalt chloride makes the body believe that it is not receiving enough oxygen, which results in the body producing more EPO, the hormone responsible for controlling red blood cell production.
Excess EPO production has been linked with the deaths of several athletes and cyclists since the 1980s.
Victoria again leads the way with concerted a bid to wipe out the use of cobalt in Australian racing. It has been detected in several NSW pacers and at least one racehorse trainer in Sydney is facing as charge over its use.
Queensland stewards have been active collecting pre-race blood samples from several horses all over the state in recent weeks.
It is believed the samples are frozen and may be tested for cobalt after a threshold (like TCO2) has been established.
Victoria already has cobalt threshold of 200 microgram per litre in urine.
Cobalt Chloride is found naturally in horses at levels far less than the threshold of 200mcg/litre of urine, and according to the Victorian vets many horse with a reading above that figure would have to have attained it “unnaturally”.
In simple terms cobalt can assist in generating more red blood cells enabling a horse to perform at its peak for longer.
Little wonder it is being hailed as the new flavour of the month, and you might wonder just how long it has been in use.
But the stewards are warning: “We are on to it.”
Apparently it was first used by the harness racing trainers in Canada.
And of course it’s not the first enhancer to emanate from that part of the world
The use of Cobalt for blood doping by human athletes has been around nearly a decade.
Experiments with laboratory rats show that Cobalt improved endurance. It is inexpensive and easy to acquire, but difficult to find in drug tests because the detection window is brief – between four and six hours.
It can also be fatal-and beer drinkers BEWARE.
In the mid-1960s a brewery in Quebec, Canada, was among several North American beer makers to add Cobalt to its formula to stabilize foam. An alarming number of heavy beer drinkers in Quebec developed heart disease and died from cardiovascular failure, and the evidence led to the breweries that were adding Cobalt to their beer. The practice was quickly stopped, and so, too, did the deaths.
DISHARMONY IN ROCKY BETTING RING DESPITE REPORTS TO THE CONTRARY
WHILE harmony seems to have returned to the Mackay racing scene that is not the case in the Rockhampton betting ring, according to my CQ spies.
We reported a few weeks ago that the three regular bookies at Callaghan Park had decided to call it quits citing poor attendance and turnover at the regular TAB meetings.
That was subsequently denied by the bookies - but be assured I certainly didn’t make it up.
One bookie has been operating solo since Cup day until last week when veteran Vince Aspinall made a return to his old stand along with Kevin Moulds.
So with a reshuffling of staff and a minor concern over supply of fluctuations all is seemingly back to normal…well sort of!
TRAINERS HAPPY WITH EARLY WORK BEING DONE BY NEW MACKAY CEO
IN Mackay the new CEO, Ben Michelmore, called a meeting with trainers last week which has been described as “cordial and amiable”.
One trainer said for the first time in years he can see a ray of hope.
“Everyone came away from the meeting with a good impression of the new bloke. He wants to help - not be a hindrance to the game - which is a good start.”
FORMER VICTORIAN GALLOPS INTO TOWNSVILLE CUP CONTENTION
TALKING of Mackay, the up-and-coming local star, Weathervane, galloped into Townsville Cup contention with a stout win at Cluden on Saturday.
With regular jockey Trinity Bannon on board, the vastly improved ex-Victorian could not have been more impressive.
And the engagement of Robert Thompson for the Mackay-trained Imeldamay has brought that horse into strong contention for the Cleveland Bay. Thompson had several offers apparently but chose the Manzelmann-trained last start restricted class winner.
Meanwhile, westerner Le Cap retains firm favouritism in the sprint following his brilliant win in the Lightning.
Mark Pegus, a regular Townsville visitor, rode in Darwin on Saturday but is expected to make it to Cluden on Cup day to ride Assimilator in the Cleveland Bay. He won on the same horse last Cup day.
There were no real surprises in the nominations with Trajet the only Brisbane visitor to be ridden by former Townsville jockey Kelvin Wharton.
IF TOWNSVILLE DOESN’T GET NEW TRACK ‘THERE WON’T BE A CUP DAY NEXT YHEAR’
THE double-header on Saturday is certain to be a bumper with VIPs and horses arriving from all over. It is hoped that a few of the heavies from RQ will be on hand, and that they walk the track to see for themselves how urgent a new Strathayr is for the area.
“If we don’t get the new track there simply won’t be a Cup day next year,” said chairman Kevin O’Keefe.
“It really is just holding together and that’s only because of pain-taking care by our track maintenance crew,” he said.
Last Saturday was a record Ladies Day. Figures were up in all areas by as much as 50 per cent.
It augurs well for a record Cup day attendance.
COLUMN COURTESY OF TERRY BUTTS AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, one of Australia's leading rural newspapers.
TERRY BUTTS can be contacted by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
