THE WEDNESDAY WHINGE has a new look but won’t be dispensing with the theme and focus on the THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY side of what is happening in racing. The Whinge will continue to provide an opportunity for The Cynics to Have Their Say. Thanks again for your support for the most read column on this website and one of the most read on racing websites in the country. Our popularity continues to grow despite the bagging it cops from some high profile officials, especially in Queensland, who cannot cope with constructive criticism of any kind. We encourage supporters – and critics – to continue to contribute but plan to restrict the Whinge to less than 10 of the best items each week. Our message to those who continually bag us is simple: IF YOU DON’T LIKE WHAT YOU READ, THEN DON’T REVISIT THE WHINGE.
CHAIRMAN'S POSTCARD FROM THE MALDIVES TO HIS MATE ‘COWBOY BOB’ 
WITH racing at Toowoomba very much back in the news after the track was given a clean bill of health yesterday and declared ready to cope with the primary Saturday Weetwood and Cup meeting next month, a couple of emails were quick to arrive overnight:
THE first that we have elected to run was from our old mate GODFREY SMITH who came out of hibernation to pen this piece for the Whinge. He wanted to emphasize that it was written very much tongue-in-cheek in the hope that those involved and others who read it treat it in the spirit it was intended - not too seriously.
‘AFTER reading that RQ Chairman Kevin Dixon was enjoying a well-earned overseas break and knowing how important repair work on the new Clifford Park track is to him and his good mate, the Toowoomba Turf Club Chairman, Bob Frappell, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pen this very much tongue-in-cheek imaginery postcard between the pair:
HELLO my loyal little servant back home in OZ, greetings and salutations from The Maldives (I won’t explain where that is except to say it’s a far cry from your happy hunting ground at the poker tables of Las Vegas). I hope Toowoomba is treating you well Cowboy Bob.
I was on the bat phone to the Deagon Bunker and got the great news about how superbly your track has recovered in plenty of time for the big Saturday meeting next month for the Weetwood and Cup.
That should silence the knockers from those low-life websites who said we’d never make it (keep circulating the instructions that no-one and I mean NO-ONE is allowed to read them or have what’s on them read to them).
I also whizzed off a postcard to our old mate ‘Furlong in Front’ Steve Dickson just to reassure him that ‘the most positive thing he did as Racing Minister’ is back on the rails and ready to rock and roll.
Make sure you send Steve an invitation to bring an LNP support group along to Cup day. I know they’re boring, like to listen to their own voices and some will want to ride a few goats around the back paddock, but they were very, very good to us in wasting many millions of taxpayers’ money that they shouldn’t have on that new track which we both know has been an absolute basket case.
I know you have to appear to be politically fair (I’m very apolitical as you know) and provide the same invite for ‘Billy – I’m still getting my feet under the desk’ Byrne – but we just have to go through the ritual of niceties with him and whoever he brings along from that mob. Let’s face it, thanks to another Billy our boys might soon be back in power and then we can really turn what some of those Neville Nobody critics call the ‘pits’ into a real ‘racing palace’ that will do your term as Chairman proud.
Trust me my little Cowboy mate I have a good feeling about the way the wind is blowing in racing and politics in our great state – barring of course that stench that won’t go away and keeps heading our way from those bloody dogs. I tried desperately to stop Big Steve from resigning as a Board member – even offered to buy him his very own pie shop – but he was determined to leave.
That aside, I am confident it won’t be long and both you at Toowoomba and myself at RQ will be back to that promise of a ‘furlong in front’ of the rest. Of course, I just have to offload the dogs first – and somehow then the trots – and the ‘living baiting’ will no longer concern us.
Before I forget make sure you promote that big Cup day meeting. We desperately need it to be a success – on and off the track. We will make sure that the same track ‘expert’ who rooted things up at Gatton doesn’t get the same gig to check out Toowoomba. I’ll get them to light a firecracker under your new CEO like we used to have to do when he was at RQ. You get the daughter-in-law to pump up the marketing (after all they’ve had a pretty easy time in the TTC office a la Wade Birch while the track has been closed for racing). There are always a few spare bucks in our budget at RQ if you desperately need it. And make sure those good guys at that radio station that always put a positive spin on what we do and bucket the critical websites get their just rewards, apart from the race book association and anything else that you can be put their way.
I’ll get a message through to our little servant at the BRC – hope he’s back from his latest junket to Alaska or wherever – to get the racing spin doctor off his arse and make sure there is even more positive coverage in Rupert’s journal. We’ll have good news coming out of our ears regardless of how the track plays on Cup day.
Just make sure the day goes off without a hitch. Whatever happens, ensure the champers is on ice, the prawns are fresh, the right people are treated like Royalty and – hopefully – a big crowd will turn up like used to happen before you made that silly decision to move the Weetwood away from Show Day.
If the crowd is poor it doesn’t really matter (I had to feel for another good mate of ours from the ARB on hearing that The Championships hit a few hurdles at the weekend. What about the crowd on Monday? You used to get near that for Weetwood day). Whatever happens, we’ll still have a nice day – you can bring along that trusty old guitar of yours and serenade my missus with a country song – while the poor old punters can watch it on Sky1 (here’s hoping that’s been organized and it doesn’t wind up alongside the Hatrick dogs on Sky2).
Can’t wait to see you again soon – all the best to the family for Easter, especially that good young lad of yours – how many winners has he trained now – is it one or two? Hope he hasn’t lost another horse in the swim up there though.
It’s just so nice to be able to get away – put my little legs up on the beach – in the knowledge that my kingdom of racing is safe and in the capable hands of such loyal supporters as yourself.
Your great mate – Little King Kev (so sorry I had to write so small to fit all of this on the one Postcard).’
WILL RQ AND TTC WIND UP WITH EGG ON THEIR FACES AFTER BIG DAY? 
AND on a more serious note there was this one from a contributor who is becoming a regular, STU WILLS, of TOOWOOMBA:
‘THE news spread throughout the Downs racing fraternity like a wild fire today (Tuesday) after the new Clifford Park track had been declared ready for a return to racing just in time for the big Saturday Cup meeting.
There are still a few doubters that it will have recovered from the return meeting later this month especially if the weather is not kind to us. Toowoomba is already regarded the basket case of racing in Queensland and if something goes wrong on the one day when we are being showcased to the nation then it is going to be super embarrassing.
In fact if that happens heads should roll, starting with the Chairman of our illustrious club, whose stocks are already at rock bottom. Those who like their racing in Toowoomba – not to mention others who make it a once a year visit – cannot believe that the Weetwood isn’t run on the Thursday Show Day holiday where it proved such a major drawcard for so long. What’s that old adage: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Murphy’s Law suggests if something can go wrong in racing in Queensland it will happen at Toowoomba. Worse still, if something needs fixing at Toowoomba then Racing Queensland will spare no expense fixing it.
The support races on Cup day should be run as the LNP GOVERNMENT TRIBUTE, THE STEVE DICKSON TRIBUTE and the KEVIN DIXON TRIBUTE. I don’t think we’ve left anyone else out, apart from the TAXPAYERS OF QUEENSLAND TRIBUTE but that won’t happen.
Regardless of how much extra work they do or how many more millions they waste on Clifford Park the problems will never be solved. The track should have been built bigger or better still they should have sold the joint and rebuilt a major complex somewhere else with the proceeds. But that’s just a bit too progressive I believe for some of those who took over from Neville Stewart, the Chairman who not only put Toowoomba on the racing map but pioneered twilight racing in this country.
Rumor goes Nev and his wife struggle now to receive an official invite to the big days. If that’s right the current hierarchy should hang their heads in shame after what he contributed to the Downs racing scene.
Promotion of this first virtual ‘stand alone’ carnival Saturday for Toowoomba had better be first class. The ‘all star cast’ have had plenty of time to organize the show considering there has been very little TAB racing there for some weeks.
Toowoomba probably deserves its day in the carnival spotlight. One cannot help but feel that in view of the problems that have beset the club during the Frappell era it would have been safer for all concerned, however, to have made it a Sunday feature meeting.
Time will tell!’
EDITOR’S NOTE: We are letsgohorseracing are the last ones who would want to be spoilsports. We sincerely hope that the track plays well, that Toowoomba proves it is worthy of a stand-alone carnival Saturday and that after this year it becomes a permanent fixture on the calendar. Seriously…..!!!!
STAKEHOLDERS ARE STARTING TO BECOME UPSET OVER MORE LOST MEETINGS 
RATHER than send an 11th hour email I had a phone call last night from a high profile industry identity with a lifelong passion for racing in Queensland.
“I’ve had a gutful of this situation with these tracks,” the caller said. “when is the new Government going to do something before there are none left at all to race on in the south-east.
“What is causing all these problems? We’ve had bad weather before and the tracks haven’t failed to recover like this. It’s getting to the stage where stakeholders are starting to suffer badly. It’s just not good enough. I never thought I would say it but heads need to roll at Racing Queensland because they seem to be just sitting on their behinds and doing nothing.”
RATHER than run several emails of a similar tone that we received bagging Racing Queensland over the current situation with the tracks we decided to run this Media Release as a response. It doesn’t address the issue of what is being done about the tracks but it is an attempt to return some of the lost money to stakeholders.
RACING Queensland will increase prizemoney to mid-week Metropolitan stakes at the Gold Coast meeting this Saturday and the Sunshine Coast this Sunday after (Wednesday’s) Ipswich meeting was abandoned to allow the surface further time to recover.
Racing Queensland CEO Darren Condon said stakes had been increased and strong consideration would be given to splitting races at the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and any other weekend meetings to compensate participants for recent interruptions to the schedule caused by wet weather and track conditions.
“After a stewards’ inspection this afternoon (on Tuesday), it was determined the Ipswich track was not suitable to race tomorrow (Wednesday),” Mr Condon said.
“As a result of this and the number of meetings affected by interruptions in recent weeks, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will carry mid-week Metro prizemoney to ensure there are opportunities for participants to maximize their returns.
“Any horse which accepted for (the) abandoned Ipswich meeting will be eligible to nominate for any other race for which acceptances have not yet closed.
“Any chance we have to split a race in accordance with the race fields policy at these meetings will be acted on and we won’t hesitate to run the final races on the Sunshine Coast card under lights if necessary on Sunday.”
Mr Condon said the Ipswich track needed time to recover for the upcoming winter program. This would include the April 29 meeting being transferred to the Gold Coast.
“While it is unfortunate we are not able to run at Ipswich, the mid-week Metropolitan stakes at the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast meetings will provide significant opportunities for participants.”
Meanwhile, Mr Condon said Toowoomba would return to racing on April 18 after an inspection on Tuesday morning, which would be welcome news for participants in the region.
“I would like to thank all clubs for their co-operation and the participants for their understanding as we navigate the infrastructure projects and recent interruptions,” he said.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO OFFER ABSURD STAKES THEN AT LEAST GET THE TRACK RIGHT 
STAN QUIRK of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘RACING NSW has no control over the weather but if you are going to offer an absurd $10 in prizemoney for a single day’s racing then make sure you provide a track that can cope with the wet.
In the eyes of many who have followed Sydney racing for some time that isn’t the case at Randwick any longer and perhaps more money needs to be spent on upgrading the track surface than pumping it into stakes.
No-one really can question the decision of stewards to call a halt to proceedings on Saturday morning. It’s not often I agree with Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys but his comment was spot on that:
“You can make millions of dollars but that won’t buy a life. We were not going to put jockeys and horses at risk, the dollars didn’t come into it.”
Safety is paramount in racing and must outweigh everything else.
But instead of setting aside tens of millions in prizemoney – when the same quality fields would have been attracted for half as much – why not think of the stakeholders and the punters and allocate what is needed to ensuring Randwick is as good an all-weather surface as it once was.
Even allowing for the rain that had deluged the course one could argue it still did not play fairly on Monday. But that’s a story for another day.
My final word on the first day of The Championships – did it deserve a bigger crowd of just over 11,000 even on the Monday – of course it did. Cripes, they probably got close to that – or even more – at Oakbank for the big jumps meeting in South Australia.’
IT CERTAINLY HELPS WHEN A HORSE LEADS RATHER THAN SITS OFF THE TRACK 
MERV SMITH of GOLD COAST writes:
‘PERHAPS I am talking through my pocket but I almost fell off the lounge chair when I saw Glen Boss take the Queenslander Miss Cover Girl to the front in the P J Bell at Randwick on Monday.
I have long been a great fan of this filly and stand corrected but cannot recall her ever leading in a race. I even read where trainer Kelly Schweida said that although he and Boss had decided that going forward was a necessity the way the track was playing he did not expect her to lead.
Punters need to be a tough breed to survive. I was on her when – with all due respects to the wide alley – I felt Miss Cover Girl was slaughtered by Michael Cahill when she ran favorite, saw plenty of the outside fence and failed to place at the Gold Coast at her previous start.
This was a Group 3 event in Sydney and she was double figure odds (they didn’t forget to back her mind you) but it was a bit hard to line up the form. I did notice looking through the form that she had won at her only start on soft going but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to convince me to try and recoup some of my losses.
Not that you are probably interested in my punting exploits but I did get it right in the Doncaster Mile backing Kermadec chasing the outlay I lost on him courtesy of a Nash Rawiller slaughter job in the Australian Guineas.’
‘FABULOUS BAKER BOYS’ OR JUST ‘CANNY KIWIS’ WHEN IT COMES TO PUNTING 
MAL WARBURTON of SYDNEY writes:
‘SOME might call them the ‘Fabulous Baker Boys’ but I think ‘Canny Kiwis’ would be a more appropriate description after the big Easter Monday meeting at Randwick.
You needed to be a spendthrift with a good sense of humor to back up on Mongolaian Khan in the Derby after his woeful effort a little over a week earlier in the Rosehill Guineas.
Even trainer Murray Baker admitted he was ‘a bit plain’ and ‘might be feeling the effects of a tough campaign’ after Mongolian Khan ran fifth and was beaten over six lengths by his main Derby rivals in the Guineas.
Granted the horse jumped to a Derby distance and got his favored wet track surface – he had been unbeaten in three starts on the soft – but it was still a massive turnaround in form in the eyes of any punter.
Then to ensure dad Murray wasn’t outdone son Bjorn produced a form reversal winner in the last – the Adrian Knox – when Candelara led and never looked like getting beaten at long odds.
She was a bit hard to come into after a tiring seventh in the Nolan Classic at Kembla Grange but made some of those that beat her home in that race look second rate on Monday. I see they put it down to race fitness and the wet track.
Might I suggest it had something to do with the on-pace bias in most races at Randwick on Monday? I can’t recall a race day when three tracks displayed worse leader bias – it happened at Randwick, Sandown was awful and even at Oakbank.’
A POOR JOKE TO SUGGEST SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE SWAP CARNIVAL DATES 
DON JACOBSEN of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘WE have come to expect in Victoria that those running racing in NSW will do anything – even bordering on the outrageous – to steal our thunder and now Robbie Waterhouse is even talking about the Melbourne Cup date.
Perhaps he was just joking – let’s hope he was desperate for something controversial to write in his column in the Sydney media – but to suggest they should swap the dates for the Melbourne Spring and Sydney Autumn is totally absurd.
Mind you, some of us south of the NSW border wouldn’t put anything past those running the show at the ARB. It wouldn’t matter when they were running The Championships, how much prizemoney they offered or what sort of weather shone down on them, it will never rival the Melbourne Cup carnival for popularity from the general public or racing excellence.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: What ROBBIE WATERHOUSE wrote in part in his column in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD was this:
EVERYONE was disappointed at losing Saturday’s Doncaster meeting. The trouble is that autumn in Sydney is a rainy season. Of the past 78 years (records I’m using started in 1937), only 13 have had no rain in the week before Easter. The average is a soaking 34mls (the median is 10mls). Last week, Randwick had 43mls over the corresponding period.
It would be regarded as a stale and stupid April Fools’ joke to propose the VRC move its Melbourne carnival to the autumn and our Doncaster/Sydney Cup to the spring. But the opposite weather patterns of both cities show it is an obvious move. Melbourne is dry in autumn and often wet in spring. We are the reverse.
I well remember Easter 1978 – Randwick had 293mls in the few days before and I, as a young bookie, made the mistake of thinking the top-class mare, Maybe Mahal, had too much weight with 57kg with a 45½ limit in the conditions and lost my money, not for the last time!
Randwick was a great wet-track in those days – 293mls and the going was slow!
Anyway, today’s (Monday’s) Randwick meeting is as good as any we have ever seen in Sydney. It is a fascinating card. Great horses, mysterious, as in “very little”, mud form and a problematic track. I believe ‘down the outside’ will be the pattern today. It’ll be a great day’s racing.
BOUQUETS TO HAWKINS FOR QUITTING BUT WILL THE INDUSTRY LISTEN TO HIS WARNING? 
ALLISON WAGNER of BRISBANE writes:
‘YOU know that things have reached rock bottom in the greyhound industry in Queensland when an owner-breeder with the passion and love for the sport that Steve Hawkins has elects to quit as a Board member.
Hawkins had the courage to resign – something many believe his fellow Board members should do as well – but more to the point he delivered a broadside to the industry to change its ways or ‘die on the vine’.
And why wouldn’t Steve be disillusioned after learning of the deaths of all those poor dogs at Bundaberg. He is a director of Greyhound Australia’s Welfare Working Party and that’s a voluntary role.
The story doing the rounds in the industry is that Hawkins resisted requests from All Codes chairman and close mate Kevin Dixon not to resign. It must have been a difficult decision.
He listed business and family interests as having a major bearing on the outcome but those close to the big fellow maintain that the ‘live baiting scandal’ has scarred him deeply.’
COMPLAINTS CONTINUE ABOUT COMMUNITY RADIO STATION POLITICIZING RACING 
THE NAME & ADDRESS of this CONTRIBUTER has been with-held because we don’t want to identify where this community radio station is based in Australia:
‘MANY complaints are being fired into the Australian Broadcasting Control Board about the way a certain community radio station is being used to promote self interests and the interests of mates while pumping up their own image with those running racing.
The people involved with this station – which has a listening audience that you could capture in a closet – have been the source of much concern to the racing industry in a certain region in the past and this could also come back to haunt them.
There are standards and rules that have to be adhered to when running community radio stations in particular that largely are funded by the taxpayers. These forbid the use of the station to promote self interests – even disguised as charity. No favoritism for any organization, political group, or individual is allowed under any circumstances. And worse still if the people involved are suspected of receiving quid pro quo for what they do then that is bordering on complaints being referred to a far more serious body.
In case the dills running this community (for the help of our mates and ourselves) racing station don’t understand that means you can’t promote your own businesses, yourselves, your friends in racing or even those running the industry (because you might think the Brownie Points earned will spare you from any complaints from their perceived rivals).
My friends and I might be in the minority audience who listen to this station but we tune in just to see how bad it has become and if it can get any worse. We will not stop until the ABCB does something about these blokes and replaces them or closes this station down.’
THE CORPORATES WILL BET ON ANYTHING – NOW HOW MUCH RAIN WILL FALL IN SYDNEY 
WE thought MERV the MAD PUNTER might have retired but this email suggests he is still alive and well and ready to bet on just about anything. He writes:
‘DID you happen to see this betting option which is probably easy to win on than the second day of The Championships will be at Randwick on Saturday?
Rather than me explain here is a promo piece on what is being offered:
RANDWICK looks set for another wet track on the second day of The Championships on Saturday.
Online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au has framed a market on whether a hard rain is going to fall.
The prospect of no rain during the meeting is $3.50, but 0.01mm - 4.99mm is the favoured drop at $2.00.
“Rain postponed last Saturday’s meeting, but the chances of that happening again are slim according to the odds,’’ said sportsbet.com.au’s Will Byrne.
According to the Bureau Of Meteorology there is a 20 - 40% chance of rain and about 1 - 3mm forecast for Sydney on Saturday.
Market courtesy of sportsbet.com.au
How much rain will fall on Randwick on Saturday?
$3.50 0 mm
$2.00 0.01 - 4.99 mm
$5.00 5.00 - 9.99 mm
$9.00 10.00 - 14.99 mm
$7.50 15 mm or more’
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in the above e-mails should not be interpreted as those of JOHN LINGARD, the owner-editor of the letsgohorseracing web-site. That is why he has added an ‘EDITOR’S NOTE’. Every endeavor is made to verify the authenticity of contributors. We welcome any reasonable and constructive responses from parties or individuals.
