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CONFERENCE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUMP UP THE TYRES OF ‘LITTLE KING KEV’ 
JOHN O’BRIEN of BRISBANE sent this interesting email:
‘RACING Queensland hosts the Australian Racing Conference this week and there is one thing you can count on – supporters of the under siege local All Codes Board Chairman will be doing their best to pump up his quickly deflating tyres.
With the national spotlight on the Sunshine State – where racing politics degenerate from terrible one day to horrific the next – there will no doubt be a plan in place to ensure ‘little King Kev’ secures as much positive exposure as possible.
After all he is being anointed as the successor to Racing Australia chairman John Messara, another breeder, when his term expires next year. Unfortunately, by then the ‘apolitical’ boss of everything racing in Queensland may have been put out to pasture by the new Labor Government.
In his welcome message to conference delegates, Kevin Dixon says:
‘Racing Queensland’s strategic direction is centered on creating a compelling racing product to drive participation in the sport of racing and engage with a new audience of race goers and punters to drive attendances and wagering interest. This is a challenge for any sport and is one we are excited to be tackling.
With that in mind, the caliber of our keynote speakers for this year’s conference is astounding and collectively, as an industry, I’m sure we will all take away some useful insights from their presentations.’
WOW – what a load of garbage – the new audience of race goers obviously missed the bus to Doomben for the first big meeting of the carnival there. Only 6,000 turned out – most disappointing indeed for the restructured fixture – especially, as someone so succinctly pointed out they get tens of thousands to a Broncos’ home game in Brisbane on any given day or night, regardless of the opposition for the leisure dollar.
And as for the wagering interest – well punters large and small still steer well clear of betting on the Queensland product, largely because of the massive upsets, the poor performance of many favorites and a general lack of confidence in policing of the racing.
As for the caliber of the keynote speakers for the conference which the little King described as astounding, well I’ll let you be the judge in a couple of areas there.
One session focuses on ‘The Future of the Wagering Landscape’ where two of the main questions for discussion will be:
· HOW does racing ensure that thoroughbred racing remains the wagering product of choice for wagering customers?
· DOES the racing product need to change to retain existing customers and attract new ones?
Perhaps they could be addressed firstly to Gerard Daffy, Media Manager for UBET, which has received so much positive publicity from their form guide stable-mates at The Courier-Mail in recent times.
Daffy might like to explain why it takes UBET so much longer to post Fixed Odds markets compared to the bigger and more popular operators. He might also like to explain why so many former RQ employees are now working as market framers (one might question their credentials) at UBET. And why, as recently as last week, a greyhound owner invested $200 each-way on his dog which won at healthy Fixed Odds only to discover he had been paid the odds to $20 each-way (without being told the bet had been reduced) and when he tried to telephone to find out why he was put on hold for so long that he finally hung up.
Then we have a session on ‘Breeding’ facilitated by Radio TAB race-caller David Fowler. He’s the bloke that regularly interviews little King Kev on his show (the Monday Arse-lickers some call it) and asks him all the feel-good questions while they back slap each other about what a wonderful job RQ is doing under Dixon’s leadership. It’s finger down the throat stuff but rewards where they are due and Fowler bobs up with a Conference gig.
His panel includes Vin Cox from Magic Millions. Wonder if Fowler or someone will be prepared to ask him how many millions racing in Queensland is contributing to their ‘big day’ at the Gold Coast next January and in future years.
Perhaps he might also like to ask Breeders’ Association boss Basil Nolan if he thinks his group will suffer when a breeder with common interests is shown the door at RQ and replaced by someone driven by more independence as Chairman and how much bleating he will be doing if that happens.
No doubt the overwhelming panel response to the first question on the discussion list: ‘What are the critical issues for the breeding industry?’ will be unanimous – appoint more breeders to key positions running racing.
Another session facilitated by Fowler – he is going to be busy at Conference (little time to get King Kev some sandwiches and a cold one) – involves ‘the issues facing racing administrators’.
Hope they have plenty of time here as one of the panel members is Darren Condon, CEO of Racing Queensland – given a free rein he could probably speak for a week about the pitfalls of loyalty from certain colleagues and the outrageous suggestion that a high profile integrity head is being groomed by the current hierarchy to replace him, not to mention the on-going saga of the ‘live baiting’ dramas and what is happening at the Commission of Inquiry.
When the conference draws to a close and the shuttle buses leave the CBD with many weary and hung over delegates heading to 10,000 day at Doomben the heavy equipment can move in to the Sofitel to empty many loads of bulldust that will have been spoken over the past two days – but chances are the delegates will return to do it all again next time and the back slapping will be repeated over and over again.’
IF YOU DARE TO CRITICIZE ‘LITTLE KING KEV’ COUNT ON HIS ‘MATES’ TO RETURN FIRE 
BEN WILSON of NORTH QUEENSLAND sent this email on happenings in the ‘big smoke’:
‘A situation has again occurred to highlight what happens to those who dare to criticize or question the job being done by Kevin Dixon and his cronies at Racing Queensland.
With the help of another of his ‘spin doctors’ in the mainstream media, Dixon used a timely interview with David Fowler on Radio TAB to attack The Sunday Mail editor Peter Gleeson.
You might remember that Gleeson has been one of the few at Queensland Newspapers prepared to express what the majority believe – that new Racing Minister Bill Byrne should put a broom through the Boards running the three codes of racing in Queensland and eliminate the Industry All Codes Board of which Dixon is chairman. A few weeks ago in an editorial Gleeson called on the Boards to resign in the wake of issues ‘dogging’ the industry in this state.
Did Dixon return fire through the traditional outlet – a Media Release from RQ? No way. It was left up to another of his ‘media mates’ to introduce the question in an interview and pave the way for him to go on the attack. Little wonder they call the show ‘The Monday Arse-lickers’ or ‘Racing Radio Propaganda’.
Phil Purser of justracing reproduced part of the Fowler-Dixon interview on his website and as I didn’t hear the program myself (I don’t need to have political racing propaganda shoved down my throat), here is what was quoted concerning Peter Gleeson.
DF: “Well the Carnival is going well and ah no one would dispute that, so why did The Sunday Mail editorialize two weeks ago to say that your Board (All Codes Board) and your individual code (thoroughbred, harness, greyhound) Boards should stand down”.
KD: “Yes I was, ah, a little taken aback by that David. I mean at the start let’s say right up front that the Editor of The Sunday Mail is welcome to have his opinion and ah, you know, no one can take that right from him. However I would have thought it was appropriate, given the events that are currently going on in the greyhound industry, um, that ah, that he should have disclosed that he’s the owner of a number of greyhounds and has close relatives who are greyhound trainers. Ah, and clearly, um, that experience, you know, goes towards helping form that opinion. So um, you know while I welcome his opinion but I would have thought the disclosure of that was probably appropriate as well”.
DF: “It wasn’t a long editorial but ah, just to quote from it, ah, ‘nobody is prepared to take responsibility for the dire predicament confronting all three codes’. Now you can make a very, very strong case against that in terms of greyhound racing that like since ah, the live baiting scandal was surfaced, or was aired ah publicly, gee I’ve ah got to say Racing Queensland is ah I don’t know how much more that you could have done over the, over the ensuing months”.
KD: “Yeah, that’s right David and ah I think it’s a big stretch to be able to say the other two codes are in any sort of dire straits. In thoroughbred, as we were just talking is bounding along. Harness are also enjoying success that they haven’t had for some years, so you know I think to say it’s in dire straits is a bit of a stretch”. (Kevin Dixon’s discussion continued on for a short time about the greyhound industry which has no effect on the general tenor of this article)
DF: “One thing that strikes me and I’m not just referring to this (The Sunday Mail) editorial, but I’ve seen it in other places, is they is they bring up the, the punters line. To be quite honest, to be quite honest, punters don’t give a flying fig about what is happening in the politics of racing. I will exclude the live baiting scandal because that became ah, a, a really mainstream issue, but in terms of what Racing Queensland is doing with what club, I know it can be important for the the people concerned and and to a degree the licensees, but the punters just want their races to run on time and be run fairly. I think they get thrown into this, this, this, ah, critical group very unfairly. They don’t care.”
KD: “Yeah, no, I think that’s right David. Punters don’t care. Um, and, ah, they’re there to watch the races, to have a bet, um, go to the races and have a good time and ah, you know a lot of the stuff that’s goes on in the background, ah, is unfortunate because it consumes the time and effort of people like yourself, ah, on stuff that really doesn’t matter”.
DF: “There is a, a, a, trail of negativity that has has dogged racing in Queensland, ah, for some time. Ah, even before the the live baiting issue became a real issue for you. Ah, it is the same people, ah, over a period of time. Now does it wear you down, because it seem, does seem relentless and I’ve got to say, I’ve got to say, on, in one instance, it seems to have become very personal”.
KD: “Yeah I think David that, it, it certainly doesn’t worry me. Um, I, I, you know, really could give a you know what about, ah, what, you know some of those people say, but it does worry me from the point of view of its effect on the industry. Um, because it is a negativity that we, that we don’t need. If you look at where it’s coming from, it is a small group of people who have at some times in the past ah enjoyed um much more notoriety, and or influence or participation in the management or the decisions made in the industry and times have moved on and ah those people um also you know in some instances also, have enjoyed some of the privileges of being involved at that level and ah those of, those of, are not there for them anymore at all, so they are extremely negative um, and they can only but believe I think that given that these things aren’t coming their way anymore, somebody else must be getting them and that causes even more grumpiness. Um, I think that ah what they don’t realise is that it wouldn’t matter if it’s the current RQ (Racing Queensland) Board, or some other RQ Board, um, if they get their wishes, because times have changed and it’s the community and the racing fraternity sentiment and what they need and what they desire and the way to make it work going forward that’s changed, not just the people, and, ah, they would be I think very disappointed if they had their way and changes were made. Although having said that, um, I also note that in particular ah some of those people that you refer to ah, have allowed their ah personal vendetta to colour their view about facts. Um, we saw an article in The Sunday Mail this week, um, where it said that ah, the three code Board structure should be got rid of because it was put there by the LNP government. Well, no, it was put there by two governments ago, um, ah, with a Board that covered all three codes. But the reason that someone would write that, even though it’s factually incorrect, is they’re hopeful that someone will take notice of that and therefore it will fire up, ah, you know some passion to make a change. And if you look at most of the commentary that comes from that very small group of people that you refer to, it’s based around that fundamental notion that if I say something and create enough, um, things for people to worry about, try and connect them to a flavour of government, or another flavour of government, try to connect them to, you know, their Brisbane centric, if I think that the sentiment in the country will get over it (bla, bla, bla - the interview continued)......”.
Once again the theme – with the help of his patronizing media mates – is to attack those who dare to offer objective comment or criticism of the job Dixon is doing as Chairman. And as Purser said somewhat sadly Fowler failed to take him to task about a number of important issues in racing, specifically the shemozzle with the Eagle Farm track redevelopment. Then again why would we expect anything different from someone who prefers to call detractors ‘negative nobody’s’.
Not to worry David. In a few weeks time you will have a whole new group to get on side with – and no doubt you will have no problems with changing your racing persuasion to suit the occasion. ’
‘LITTLE KING KEV’S FAVORITE SPIN DOCTOR NAMED AND SHAMED BY MEDIA WATCH’
STU WILLS from TOOWOOMBA writes:
AND on the topic of another media organization that will be getting a wide berth from RQ we have MEDIA WATCH where ‘Little King Kev’s’ favorite ‘spin doctor’ from The Courier-Mail was named and shamed this week.
We received several emails to the Whinge on the issue (a couple too hot to handle – it seems Pin-Up Boy Nathan isn’t as popular as he thinks) but here’s one we did decide to run along with the transcript from the popular ABC program.
‘NOW that someone has raised the propaganda disguised as feature stories in the News Limited dailies about UBET perhaps someone might start taking a look at other free advertising disguised as news that high profile racing journalists are writing and the free plugs that some studs are getting from some race callers and Sky commentators.
Nathan Exelby, Racing Editor of The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail, obviously felt he was doing what the boss would smile upon when he waxed lyrical about the rebranding of TattsBet as UBET. No amount of dressing up could change the attitude of most punters to this organization – it’s still the same rank failure it always was.
Now rather than me rave on about this disgraceful piece of patronizing journalism for a newspaper that collects millions from UBET to run form guides, here’s the transcript I have lifted for you from the Media Watch archive in the hope you will run it.
The whole thing started with comments about how a ‘real racing columnist’ in Kenny Callander quit the Daily Telegraph because his writing was being censored he believed after back-door complaints by the bosses at Racing NSW – those fine two gentleman who see themselves running the industry in this country (but not to suit the breeders of course).
Anyhow here’s how it played out on Media Watch:
Now ... Before Callander quit, Media Watch was already looking at racing coverage in Queensland after we noticed this recent puff piece in The Courier-Mail.
UBET IT’S BETTER
Tatts apps woo punters ...
— The Courier-Mail, 30th April, 2015
Three weeks ago The Courier-Mail devoted a full page to the rebranding of Queensland’s only betting agency. And racing editor Nathan Exelby could barely contain his excitement.
PUNTERS today are waking up to race and sports betting 21st century-style, with racing vision placed literally in their hands, as TattsBet was replaced by UBET at a launch in Sydney overnight.
— The Courier-Mail, 30th April, 2015
Exelby was equally enthusiastic about UBET’s recruitment of Nathan Sharpe and Jonathan Browne:
... two of Queensland’s greatest sports stars ... as the inaugural ambassadors for the launch of the UBET brand.
— The Courier-Mail, 30th April, 2015
Now ... just like Racing NSW and the Tele, Tattsbet or UBET pays big bucks to The Courier-Mail to publish that daily form guide, which we understand is around $1.5 million a year—which again News Corp refuses to confirm.
And UBET/Tattsbet has also been getting some pretty good coverage :
FIRST LOOK
TAB OF THE FUTURE
IT’S A SURE THING
— The Sunday Mail (Qld), 7th December, 2014
That story in December about revamping Tattsbet’s offices also ran in Adelaide’s Sunday Mail and Hobart’s Sunday Tasmanian.
And when the first new shop opened in Brisbane in April it was again big news in The Courier-Mail and in the Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin.
And back in November when the rebranding was first announced Adelaide’s Advertiser—which we’re told is paid around $2 million to run the form guide— also waxed lyrical:
Give blow-ins a run for their money? UBETcha
— The Advertiser, 27th November, 2014
That story was published in The Courier-Mail, NT News and Melbourne’s Herald Sun even though UBET doesn’t have betting shops or on-course bookies in Victoria.
So ... are these stories all getting a good run because they’re so thrilling ... or is it also because UBET is such an important customer?
Well, sadly, we don’t know because the Advertiser refused to answer Media Watch’s questions while The Courier-Mail didn’t bother to reply.
But it looks to us like that money is having some influence—and not just in those News Corp papers but in all the racing media.
And we know that many in the industry agree.’
And so do the punters and readers (what few there are left of us) of The Courier-Mail in Queensland.’
A FEW IMPORTANT QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED ON BROADCAST DEAL WITH SEVEN 
STEFAN MEIER from PASCOE VALUE SOUTH, a regular contributor, sent this interesting email on the media rights situation in Victoria:
‘SO, it seems Victorian vision rights are about to be decided (in the coming weeks, of course).
The offers are tabled and won't change significantly, so we're told.
Having listened to new RVL prez David Moodie on RSN yesterday (Monday ) doing a hell of a lot of talking, but saying very little, his interview, of course, understandably, unable to divulge any pertinent information regarding the offers, left the audience pretty much in the same ‘mushroom’ situation as usual. Obviously both the Channel Seven and Tabcorp offers have their pros and cons, but among some of the scenarios we would like clarified are,
1) Is the Channel 7 offer ‘exclusive’? Will Sky still show Victorian vision at all? Of course if it is, you can just imagine the dogs breakfast watching races at home will be trying to channel surf around.
2) What channel is Seven proposing to use, 7 Two or Seven Mate? You may not think that this is important, however I wonder if they have considered that most people who follow racing already have Foxtel for Sky hooked up and unless you have a package that includes HD you'll need to stump up an extra 10 bucks a month to watch Seven Mate even though very little of other programming is broadcast in HD. That will be your first $120 bucks a year extra you'll be handing over to a Telco instead of punting.
3) What will be the situation for pubs and clubs? If the Seven deal is an exclusive, will pubs still show wall to wall Sky and just have one or two tiny sets on Victoria, somewhere in a corner with no sound?
4) What will Seven show if a sole Victorian meeting on any given day is washed out?
5) How are they addressing the online situation as reported in The Age recently that one customer’s monthly broadband bill went from $140 to $650 since starting to watching racing.com online? And that a very high percentage of their traffic only watched the actual live race and logged out immediately to save on data usage. How much of all the expensive interviews and pre race is actually being watched?
6) Is there a ‘Plan B’? Does Channel 7 have a ‘get out’ clause if Tuesday afternoon Maidens from Warracknabeal don't turn out to be the ratings winners they are expecting or after seeing the numbers in general, advertisers don't prop up the millions it will be costing year after year, so for that matter do Racing Victoria have a ‘get out’ clause if the Seven deal starts bleeding Victorian racing of millions for no return?
All we seem to hear about are endless rants about ‘eyeballs’, ‘visions’ and ‘futures’. How about someone out there asking some questions and getting some debate on the table about how this ‘master plan’ will play out for us, the punters and racing fans, and how about before you sign off on anything, you get some feedback and ask some questions of us, after all we're the ones that will be stuck with it, oh and just by the by, we are also the ones just in case you forgot, who without, you haven't even got an industry to run.’
VICTORIAN RACING WILL NEVER FORGET THIS DISGRACEFUL TREATMENT FROM SKY 
PERCY SMITH of MELBOURNE sent this timely email:
‘IT was refreshing to hear new Racing Victoria chairman David Moodie declare his support for a broadcast deal with the Seven Network.
What Sky Channel has done to the coverage of Victorian racing since the demise of TVN is downright disgraceful and an insult to any punter or person who loves following racing here.
It has been revealed in a comment piece by Shane Anderson of RSN that the past two Saturdays Sky has virtually ignored racing at Caulfield and Flemington – blacking it out from its international coverage.
It is easy to see who is running Sky – and that’s Racing NSW – they will do anything to try and destroy the one rival that will always finish ahead of them.
David Moodie, in an interview on RSN, made it clear he was in favour of the ‘ground-breaking’ concept of a long-term broadcast rights deal to show all-year-run coverage of racing in Victoria on a digital platform on the Seven Network.
Sky might be playing hard ball with the current coverage whereby the coverage of Victorian racing is suffering – inexplicably as Moodie said when they prefer to show ‘Toowoomba ahead of Melbourne’. Brainwave that one!
But behind the scenes the figures being leaked outlining the Sky offer for vision of racing from Victoria must be sticking in the throat of Messara and V’landys. NSW is reportedly being paid $10 million compared to the $30 million being offered to Victoria. It suggests that Sky values Victorian racing three times higher than the Sydney product which they are currently cuddling so much.
In conclusion I was delighted to hear David Moodie say: “The punter is more important to racing than the owner. If the punter doesn’t bet there is no prize-money for the owner to race for. The first thing we have to do is protect the punter. We want to have Integrity in this state at the highest level in the world. If we don’t have the punter we don’t have an industry.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE is the thought-provoking comment piece by SHANE ANDERSON of RSN run on the RVL website, racing.com:
IS there a better known brand in Australian racing than Flemington?
Home of the Emirates Melbourne Cup, it is Australia’s truly international racecourse. It has, for over 150 years, been the pinnacle of racing in this country.
It is well known that Flemington is Australia’s premier wagering racetrack. It can hold up to $1million more than other metropolitan tracks on any given Saturday. That is a significant differential.
Caulfield, like Flemington, has international recognition and is one of Australia’s more prominent venues.
Yet, for the past two Saturdays, both venues have been warehoused by Sky Racing in the package of racing that was offered to the lucrative US wagering market as Tabcorp’s broadcaster chose to provide coverage of interstate venues.
On May 9, Sky Racing chose to show Doomben, Morphettville and Rosehill instead of Flemington. Then, this past weekend, the broadcaster promoted Scone, the Sunshine Coast and Morphettville in preference to Caulfield.
The argument will be made that Doomben and Morphettville were hosting Group 1 cards and deserved coverage, which is an understandable position. It is important to showcase premium product.
US broadcaster TVG, which takes the Sky Racing feed, is limited to a maximum coverage of 20 races from Australia per evening.
One could assume that Racing NSW, with the recently negotiated deal with Tabcorp and Sky Racing, has demanded that all NSW thoroughbred products must be marketed internationally. That is why all races programmed at the Rosehill and Scone meetings were shown.
But the failing to have broadcast its product globally at every opportunity reinforces why the Victorian industry is adamant that it wants to manage its own international rights. The expectation from each state that has negotiated with Sky Racing is that their product will be offered as widely as possible.
What is the use of the Victorian industry in giving Sky Racing its product for international wagering when it can’t control whether Sky Racing uses it or not and there is no penalty for not using it?
Racing Victoria’s language around the broadcast of its product has been consistent for many years. It wants Victorian thoroughbred racing shown as widely as possible, via multiple mediums, spread across many international racing jurisdictions.
The Victorian Racing Industry has a joint venture relationship with Tabcorp for wagering. Sky Racing sits outside of the joint venture, Tabcorp own it and use it to their advantage.
When Tabcorp announced that it had a reached agreement on a long-term media rights deal for NSW thoroughbred racing on January 28, it highlighted that Sky Racing will have the domestic and international media rights for all NSW thoroughbred racing.
The deal gave Sky Racing the right to continue to market NSW thoroughbred racing to international wagering and media operators. Similar deals exist with other states around Australia. David Moodie, newly appointed chairman of Racing Victoria, acknowledges this. Sky Racing have many deals with the states which makes it difficult for them to meet all to the satisfaction of each racing authority.
There appears to be so many deals done now that it is impossible for them all to be serviced to the satisfaction of all parties.
Negotiations continue for Victorian thoroughbred racing media rights, which includes international rights. Victoria would clearly be expecting a minimum requirement of coverage as a key part of this.
There is an argument that the overseas markets have choice of what product they want to take but that appears thin at best. There is another argument that suggests overseas punters don’t differentiate between Australian racing products. One would think that in this day and age, with so much information readily available digitally, that is also thin.
Last spring, the Melbourne Racing Club proved how easily Australian product could be produced for international audiences, by creating product for the lucrative Hong Kong markets that included ‘clean feed’ footage of horses in the back parade ring. This was repeated on Blue Diamond Day as well. Sky Racing still syndicated this as part of the existing international rights deal but the club coordinated the production.
Using the past two Saturdays as an example, the Flemington and Caulfield brands are known in racing as premium Australian product. This accumulation of product over the years gives Sky Racing the power of choice yet the clubs get no guarantees.
You can clearly understand their frustration, especially in Victoria.
‘GENERAL PERCEPTION THAT DAVID MOODIE IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB’ 
BOB ABRAHAMS of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘THERE seems to be a general industry perception that David Moodie is the right man for the job as new Chairman of Racing Victoria.
Moodie has been described as Victoria’s most successful breeder and racehorse owner and therefore has links with some key players.
He would be well aware that Racing Minister Martin Pakula is so fed up with perceived conflicts of interests that he is contemplating an independent Racing Commission and prefers to have the person running racing in Victoria wearing just one hat.
Therein lies a possible problem for Moodie as he settles into the job, especially if he tries to douse the flames that threaten to spread involving the Cobalt crisis. Not that one would expect any interference from a man of his experience, influence and ethics but Moodie needs to avoid any suggestion of a conflict of interest.
Those three words were the ones that have just claimed his predecessor Rob Rolston in different dramatic circumstances when outside interests reportedly conflicted with his role of chairman.
I was pleased read in a story by Matthew Stewart in the Herald-Sun shortly after the appointment that Moodie fully understands that he is perceived as conflicted.
In fact he was quoted as supporting the Pakula view that the traditional nature of RVL and its board of breeders and owners needs to evolve, to put it at arm’s length from the sport’s participants.
Moodie has a window of opportunity before the next Board elections in October to prove that is the case. There are some interesting times ahead for racing in Victoria – the media rights tug of war, the Cobalt saga and the possible return to the saddle of the controversial Dan Nikolic.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE’S a story of interest from the HERALD SUN and quoting DAVID MOODIE from an interview he did on RSN with SHANE ANDERSON on Monday:
NEW Racing Victoria chairman David Moodie on Monday declared broadcast rights was the “groundbreaking” issue that would define the industry’s next 20 years.
The peak body is wrestling with a full return to the TAB-owned Sky Channel or a switch to free-to-air broadcasting with the Seven Network.
Moodie said the structure of the RVL board, put on the agenda by Racing Minister Martin Pakula, was another important issue.
But media rights were vital to RVL’s future and “a very big decision”.
“We are talking here about the next 10-20 years of where the industry is heading,’’ Moodie said.
“It is not about the dollar. Both offers are fairly well set.
“There is a gap between what the industry would receive from Tabcorp (reported to be $30 million a year) and what the industry would need to put in for coverage on Seven.
“It is a bird in the hand versus a grand concept.
“We have the chance to do something groundbreaking and get it right.”
Moodie said a hook-up with Seven, which would run Victorian racing 363 days of the year on one of its digital channels, would have no effect on RVL’s wagering relationship with Tabcorp.
“I am a supporter of Tabcorp, which provides $340 million annually to the Victorian industry through the wagering joint venture. But the media rights are a totally different issue,” he said on RSN.
Moodie said Tabcorp had produced a revised deal (believed to be on Friday), but he was not sure it would be “a deal-breaker”.
Moodie said after talks with Pakula it was clear RVL’s governance structure “needs to be reviewed and changed”.
He said the composition of the board, with 14 stakeholders involving owners, breeders, even union officials, was from 2007 and “needed modernising”.
He admitted racing had been “riddled with self-interest” for a long time.
“I think certain high-profile governance people that have had the roles in racing over the years have coveted the role, have probably taken certain advantages of the role, not wanted to give the role up and have been there for their own edification,”Moodie said.
“I can tell you it ain’t me. I put myself last. If there is any question of conflict of interest, I will be so far down the queue that you will not see me.”
‘RACING CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT ‘DAN THE MAN’ – IT’S A NO BRAINER’ 
HARRY ORCHARD of MELBOURNE writes:
‘IGNORE all the ‘do-gooders’ determined that their man Dan gets a ‘fair go’ – it’s a no brainer – racing can survive without the likes of Nikolic.
Racing Victoria – in the opinion of many – should by now have marked his file ‘Never to be Relicensed’.
Of course that won’t happen and we will hear all the legal rants of ‘done the time for the crime’ and ‘deserves another chance’.
Give us a break – this bloke has had more chances and more lives than your street-wise Tom. Many rate him a repeat offender and it’s just not a workable situation having him riding in Victoria under the stewards’ panel headed by Terry Bailey.
The minute Nikolic steps out of line and is questioned there will be cries of discrimination.
Punters – professional ones especially – will be watching closely the betting activities in every race he rides along with the tactics adopted by some of his mates in the riding ranks. Whether they deserve it or not it is a fact of racing life with all the innuendo floating around – past and present.
Nikolic hasn’t even returned to the saddle – officially at least – and already he is embroiled in another drama allegedly involving a betting account held by his girlfriend, Tania Hyett, and the Betfair activity where a horse was backed heavily to lose.
Racing has had a gutful of Danny Nikolic and a straw poll would reveal that not too many want him back riding in Victoria – or anywhere for that matter. Let’s wait and see if the powers that be have the balls to make the right decision regardless of whether he argues restraint of trade or not.’
DOESN’T THE VRC REALIZE THAT ‘IF IT AIN’T BROKE YOU DON’T TRY TO FIX IT’? 
PAUL ANDERSON of MELBOURNE writes:
‘PERHAPS the VRC should adopt that old motto – ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ – when it comes to marketing and promotion of the Melbourne Cup.
Like many others I agree with the sentiments of Lee Freedman who has publicly bagged the ‘Racing Royalty’ theme of this year’s carnival and claims it should be aimed more at the punters than the elitist and wealthy.
The Melbourne Cup carnival is the most successful – by a country mile – in Australia, so why change what has been a successful formula? It continues to attract mammoth crowds unlike The Championships in Sydney which flopped badly in trying to emulate it.
The trouble is these days when you engage some high flying marketing and promotional people they feel the need to change what has been successful to justify their outrageous price tag.
All that happens is you drive away those who have attended for years or at the least offend them by targeting an audience that really couldn’t give two hoots about racing – all in the name of doing something different.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE is a story by BRENDAN COMICK in THE AUSTRALIAN which highlights the protest by Lee Freedman at the new Melbourne Cup marketing campaign.
FIVE-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Lee Freedman has lashed out at the Victoria Racing Club’s “elitist” advertising campaign promoting this year’s Flemington carnival.
Flemington is being promoted as the Playground of the Racing Royalty, featuring the queen of the turf Gai Waterhouse and James Cummings, the grandson and training partner of Cups King Bart Cummings among other familiar faces.
The VRC says it is reaching out to those that currently attend the historic racecourse over Cup Week, but others that will contribute to growth.
A clearly riled Freedman chose to use Twitter to vent his frustration, getting plenty of support in highlighting the promotion was skewed towards the wealthy.
“Who dreamt up this ludicrous Racing Royalty theme? Lure the average punter, not this rubbish,’’ Freedman tweeted of a gilt-edged portrait that is more Downton Abbey than downtown Melbourne in the spring.
VRC executive general manager, brand marketing & international development, Amanda Chase said the campaign was a deliberate departure from those before it and included playful ways to engage the potential audiences through greater use of non-traditional media.
“Through our new direction, we want to give people the chance to get close to the thoroughbred heroes of our sport, see them in action, and fall in love with racing through our storytelling,’’ Chase said in March when tickets went on sale.
“We are boldly saying, ‘Flemington is not just any racetrack’, setting ourselves apart from our competitors to inspire our current customers and evoke a desire for others to join.
“Flemington is the custodian of the world’s most vibrant racing carnival, but also provides opportunities to engage with our audiences year round.
“We anticipate the new campaign will drive growth in attendance figures to the Melbourne Cup Carnival of between 5,000 and 10,000 over a two-year period.’’
Flemington’s greatest assets — human, equine and physical — appear in the portrait that features in a television commercial and other advertising.
The commercial showcases the beauty of the thoroughbred, the exhilaration of racing, the journey towards the carnival and the joy of being a racegoer, VRC member, horse owner or Fashions on the Field contestant.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockeys Damien Oliver, Kerrin McEvoy and Michael Rodd feature in the campaign with thoroughbreds, backdrops of Flemington’s iconic lawns, rose gardens, grandstands, mounting yard arch and clock tower.
Flemington’s longest-serving employee, keeper of the thousands of roses Terry Freeman; farrier Mark Cummings; racecaller Greg Miles; Fashions on the Field contestants; fashion designer Dom Bagnato; and milliner Melissa Jackson also participated in filming.
SHAME ON STANLEY HO FOR RETIREMENT TREATMENT OF HIS FORMER STAR 
GLEN OLIVER of SYDNEY writes:
‘ONE of the world’s leading racehorse owners, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, should hang his head in shame at the treatment afforded in retirement to his one-time champion Viva Pataca.
It has been revealed in a story in the South China Morning Post that one of Hong Kong’s most successful racehorses is certainly not living out his retirement in plush facilities.
Unlike fellow Hong Kong superstar, Silent Witness, one of the major drawcards at Living Legends in Melbourne, Viva Pataca is apparently confined to ‘dungeon-like’ stable conditions in Macau.
For the 93-year-old tycoon Ho, for whom Viva Pataca won over $HK80 million before being retired four years ago, this is a shameful situation. What it would cost to properly look after the racehorse that gave him so much pleasure would be like pocket money to him.
It’s time the Hong Kong Jockey Club and its stewards got off their behinds and did something about this – so too the Macau Jockey Club – that is if both organizations are not too afraid of the power and influence that Stanley Ho wields in that part of the world.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE is a story by KYLIE KNOTT in the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST relating to the above disgraceful situation:
FOUR years after he was retired, Hong Kong's most successful racehorse - the multimillion-dollar winning Viva Pataca - is languishing in a spartan Macau stable.
As other champions like the record-breaking Silent Witness live out their final years in plush overseas retirement facilities, the horse that won the most money in Hong Kong racing history is being kept in "dungeon-like" conditions in a stable at the Macau Jockey Club, according to people who have visited him.
Owned by 93-year-old tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, the gelding won over HK$83 million before retiring, aged nine, in 2011.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club described the circumstances in which Viva Pataca was being kept as "unconventional". Ho did not respond to repeated questions from the Sunday Morning Post.
John Moore, who trained Viva Pataca, said it was time for the horse to be sent to a farm for retired champions. "He's spent long enough in a stable in Macau and deserves a paddock where he can live out the rest of his life with grass up to his knees," he said.
Archie da Silva - owner of Silent Witness, which was retired to Australia in 2007 - said: "It's a joke, it's disgusting. A champion like Viva Pataca should be retired to a nice home in Australia or the UK where it can live out its days in peace and quiet."
Chris Riggs, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's head of veterinary clinical services, said it was up to the owners to do the honourable thing and look after a horse in retirement.
A racing insider said the horse had access to a sand yard about the size of a tennis court "maybe once or twice per week" and that the stables in Macau were considerably smaller than in Hong Kong. "It's a disgrace. Being in a situation like that drains a horse's spirit," he said.
Repeated requests by the Post to the Macau Jockey Club to visit the horse were rejected. A spokesman said Viva Pataca's daily schedule involved "paddock and hand walk", without giving more details.
Bill Nader, executive director of racing at the HKJC, said the club recently became aware that Viva Pataca was in Macau but had no idea why it had returned from New Zealand, where it had been sent immediately after its retirement. Nader said Viva Pataca's situation, for a horse of its calibre, was not "a conventional retirement".
Viva Pataca made his Sha Tin debut on January 1, 2006. He won 13 of 44 starts, making HK$83,197,500 in prize money.
CALLOW IN STRIFE OVER ‘CUTTING OFF JOCKEY NICK HALL’S PONY TAIL 
OUR STORY of the WEEK that you may have missed comes from the SUN-HERALD and involves jockey NOEL CALLOW:
RACING Victoria is not splitting hairs by putting jockey Noel Callow on notice for workplace harassment.
Callow last month at Caulfield cut off a ponytail section of jockey Nick Hall’s locks as a practical joke.
However stewards have threatened to cut up rough if Callow does anything similar “in the workplace”.
“We have an Australian rule of racing that says the stewards may penalise any person who in their opinion is guilty of workplace harassment of a person while they are acting in the course of their duties when employed, engaged or participating in the racing industry,” said chief steward Terry Bailey.
“The incident with Noel Callow in our view falls into the category of workplace harassment and he was put on notice that if there was anything similar again then he may be charged. That type of conduct these days is not tolerable.”
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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.
