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.
DECISION TO ISSUE WADE BIRCH WITH SHOW CAUSE LONG OVERDUE
GLEN BURKE of BRISBANE writes: 
'THE decision to require Wade Birch to show cause why his services should be retained as General Manager Stewards and Integrity Operations at Racing Queensland in the wake of the live baiting scandal was long overdue.
Birch, the golden haired boy of former All Codes Board boss Kevin Dixon, was able to prove a real Houdini during the era of the previous hierarchy. But once they were asked to leave the building his days were numbered – or should have been.
Stood down soon after the greyhound scandal erupted in Queensland after the 4 Corners expose, Birch managed to return to his job under terms that were quite amazing, if the reports are correct.
If it was true that he was allowed to work limited hours at RQ HQ because he had a problem with CEO Darren Condon (who was subsequently given a show cause as well), then there was certainly no level playing field for those feeling the heat of the ‘live baiting’ inquiry.
Birch wound up taking holidays in the middle of the most important time in Queensland racing – the winter carnival – another amazing decision. He told fellow stewards – or so I am reliably informed – in a recent telephone hook-up that he would soon be taking the job of Alan Reardon who is supposedly retiring as Chief Steward (some might say he should never have been given a golden handshake to return to RQ).
The latest rumor is that Birch has told fellow stewards, after being stood down with a show cause on Tuesday, that it’s business as usual and that he is confident of returning to head up the Integrity Department. If that happens they might as well shut up shop at RQ.
With all due respects to his talents as one of the youngest Chief Stewards in the land, Birch has to wear some of the responsibility for inaction on the ‘live baiting’ problem, along with his former boss Kevin Dixon. To try and lay the total blame at the feet of the CEO all because he missed a warning email is simply farcical.
If Birch is allowed to return when the new Integrity Unit has been established, under hopefully a new and far more experienced leader, then it should only be in a regional chief stewarding role – somewhere like Rockhampton or Toowoomba would be appropriate in the eyes of many.
But realistically there should be no place for a Head of Integrity who allowed this greyhound situation to occur on his watch whether he wants to say he knew nothing about it or not. He must have at least suspected something was going on but like a lot of other things happening behind the scenes in racing in Queensland, no-one seems prepared to act.
The first important step has been taken to separate integrity from the commercial side of racing. Now a new broom is needed to run both sides of the operation to regain the confidence especially of the punting public which has been missing for too long.
If the likes of Dixon, his All Codes Board, the Greyhound Board and Birch are victims in this scenario then let’s call them collateral damage that had to happen. It’s time to set new standards, not only for the policing of greyhound racing in this state but for each of the codes – it’s long, long overdue in harness racing and the least said about the lack of a level playing field at the gallops the better.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: IN an interesting aftermath to the show cause on Wade Birch, RQ issued a MEDIA RELEASE and the mail is strong that this secondment will become permanent in the near future. It reads:
DETECTIVE Superintendent Mark Ainsworth of the Queensland Police Service has been seconded to Racing Queensland for three months in the role of Integrity Advisor to oversee the implementation of the MacSporran Commission’s recommendations.
Mr Ainsworth will be tasked with providing advice around the Racing Queensland restructure, as well as advising the CEO and Board on strategic and operational issues impacting on the delivery of Integrity and Stewarding Services.
In recent months, Mr Ainsworth has headed up the Queensland Greyhound Taskforce, investigating live-baiting in the greyhound industry.
‘INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE TOLD HOW MUCH KPMG IS COSTING RQ’ 
‘MR PARKER’ of the SUNSHINE COAST poses an interesting question:
‘IT is almost one month since the Premier announced the appointment of Mr Ian Hall from KPMG to act in an interim capacity at Racing Queensland.
It was interesting to note from Tuesday’s Australian that presumably the same Ian Hall of KPMG was appointed a month ago as the joint administrator for the failed Sydney stockbroker firm BBY.
Undoubtedly there are skills being brought to both organizations which are not available outside those skills of a professional administrator.
By the same token the racing industry has not been told what the cost of this interim administration of RQ will be, and although unrelated to RQ, in a circular to BBY creditors dated 20th May, the remuneration of the administrators was listed on page 17 of the letter.
In the matter of BBY the joint administrators and their team appointed rates are:
Official liquidator, administrator or partner, appointee $650 per hour exclusive GST
Director $600 per hour exclusive GST
Associate Director $550 per hour exclusive GST
Senior Executive $500 per hour exclusive GST
Executive $300 per hour exclusive GST
Senior Analyst $250 per hour exclusive GST
Analyst $200 per hour exclusive GST
Administration $140 per hour exclusive GST
These remuneration rates are specifically for the administration of BBY Ltd. but, presumably there is some relationship to the cost of currently administering RQ.
If the letter from the former Chairman of Racing Queensland Bob Bentley is to be believed, his former Board and administrators would be able to bring similar skills to those of the administrator for less cost.
When the first Bentley Board sat in 2001 the industry was in a parlous state with negotiations with Sky Channel at an impasse, prize money in decline, and an industry in disarray. It is looking very likely that the recently former administration made decisions for the now which were never able to be sustained in the medium term let alone the longer term.
What is becoming clear to the industry and racing people is that this is in stark contrast to the Bentley administration which assured the industry of steady sustainable long term growth.
Another inconvenient truth is that notwithstanding Bentley's ability to deliver year on year surpluses for nine consecutive years to the industry, his administration was also able to deliver metropolitan prize money that was closest to Sydney and Melbourne ...........ever.
The big difference between financially prudent and financially reckless.........’
‘DAD’S ARMY’ FINALLY HIT PARDIRT – BUT WAS IT TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? 
MONTY JONES of GOLD COAST writes:
‘IT took until the last major day of the Winter Carnival for the ‘Dad’s Army’ of the Integrity Department at Racing Queensland to hit the headlines.
Such is the squeaky clean nature of racing in the Sunshine State that – unlike Sydney and Melbourne – there has not been a hint of illegal ‘drug’ activity behind the scenes.
That was until last Saturday when former harness ‘heavies’ John Hackett and Norm Torpie found five bottles of an unknown liquid in the stables of Tatt’s Tiara candidate Diademe trained by Sydney-based Kiwi Bjorn Baker.
The ‘blame game’ for ‘ownership’ of the bottles, labeled ‘Kentucky Green’ has already started so don’t expect this to be an inquiry that is completed overnight – especially the way the investigative process works in Queensland – at snail’s pace or in reverse gear (just look at the Cobalt inquiries).
It’s time that RQ appointed a ‘gun’ Integrity unit – like the one that jumps fences and achieves results in Victoria – not one that too many believe just pays ‘lip service’ to an industry battling for any punter or public confidence in its product.
And my final word on the subject – here’s hoping this ‘discovery’ by Mr Hackett nets far better results than one last year in the country which suddenly disappeared off the radar – but that’s another story.
The first place ‘raids’ should be conducted by a new Integrity Unit if they want to achieve instant pay-dirt is up the Range at that joint where they are all bleating about the changes that have occurred at RQ – and perhaps it’s not just because the basket case club was the most cuddled financially in racing in this country.’
‘SO MUCH FOR THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN RACING – A SET OF DOUBLE STANDARDS’ 
GLEN JACKSON of TOOWOOMBA sent this email:
‘FIVE years ago Racing Queensland stopped the Gold Coast Turf Club from holding a race down the straight for bikini clad women.
The innovative chairman of that era, Andrew Eggleston, was backing the promotion for scantily-clad fillies and mares to run from the barrier stalls. But RQ boss at the time, Bob Bentley, ensured it did not happen.
“This does nothing for the image of making the Gold Coast a city of repute. So we won’t sanction it. It won’t go ahead,” Bentley said at the time.
Fast forward the clock and we have the upcoming Mackay Cup Calcutta being held in a downtown ‘girlie' bar. And believe it or not Racing Queensland (including the Board recently departed) has done nothing to prevent this from happening in a topless bar with posters already out promoting ‘Lunch with the Lads’ at $170 a head.
Some locals have described it as a disgrace but not a whimper from officialdom. It’s hardly a place where you could take your wife or lady friend along to the normal Calcutta function. This does nothing for the image of racing that promotes the involvement of women in the sport.
Back in the day when Eggleston put forward his far more acceptable racing promotion he got shot down in flames. At the time he explained: “This is not a race for floozies in bikinis. It will be run by Athletics Queensland featuring elite runners including top beach sprinters to raise money for surf lifesaving.”
One wonders who the topless bar Calcutta will raise money for in Mackay, especially when the club is in debt and has a terrific facility at the Ooralea track where a ‘properly conducted’ event could occur.
There are plenty who believe that Andrew Eggleston was the victim of yet another ‘political witch hunt’ of racing politics in Queensland. One wonders where he is now and whether he would be available for a comeback to help get racing in this State out of the mess it is in.’
TIME THREE AMIGOS REALIZED SCUTTLEBUTT HATCHED IN QTC DUNNY DOESN’T WORK 
STU WILLS of TOOWOOMBA, a regular contributor, sent this message:
‘THIS is a note to Kevin, Bart and Bill (alias ‘Billy the blogger hiding as Generator.’
Do you all not get it?
Kevin Dixon has been in charge of the racing industry for the last three years until his recent demise, trying to change the situation by continually through the mainstream media making feeble attempts to shift the blame.
This does not measure up in solid facts. The industry is in a mess, and as said before, ‘a fish rots from the head’ and it has landed squarely in Dixon’s lap.
Dixon’s All Codes Board has failed at the first hurdle to turn a profit, grow the industry assets and manage integrity.
The previous Board endured three Commissions of Inquiry, were subjected to numerous referrals to the CMC, were continually harassed by the three of you and your media and political mates on almost a daily basis, with issues that were no more than scuttlebutt hatched in most cases in the dunny at the QTC.
Yet the Bentley Board knuckled down and returned surpluses for nine consecutive years.
Fellas, it’s time to give up, accept that the situation is entirely of your own making – three Commissions of Inquiry, extensive examination of the previous Board’s personal life, computers and corporate decision making and spending upwards of $12 million of industry funds. In all, over 20,000 documents examined by three Commissions of Inquiry, the CMC and ASIC.
Result nothing!
If these highly qualified professionals found nothing what makes you three ‘dumbos’ think you are smarter?’
‘PERHAPS SOMEONE SHOYLD HAVE CLOSER LOOK AT BRISBANE GREYHOUND CLUB’ 
BRIAN JAMIESON sent this email on the continuing greyhound saga:
‘WITH all the drama surrounding greyhound racing at present one would be expecting that all involved, including licensees and race clubs, would be doing their very best to show the industry in a professional fashion.
Not so it seems for the principal greyhound track in Queensland, the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club, which is based at Albion Park.
Not so many years ago the club was involved in controversy when it lost a reported six figure sum through fraudulent practices by a staffer and now apparently another cash flow crisis has hit the club with supposedly a five figure sum disappearing which has caused disruptions between Board members.
It would seem that management of this club should be under close scrutiny. More so if anyone surfing the internet arrives on the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club’s website.
If you are interested in looking at the tab Winning Photos you get a blank screen. If you look at the club’s Gallery page there is a montage of pics from, wait for it, 2006. That’s nine years out of date.
If you are interested in seeing results of ‘recent’ trials at the track you might be disappointed. Unless of course you can back track to October 2014 which is the ‘most recent’ trial results, only eight months out of date.
Perhaps you might like to see its Latest News, especially considering there is so much turmoil within the industry right now. If you think news releases published in April are most recent, according to the club, then you will be right. The most recent news updates is from April 13.
If you want to see latest results then you have a choice of selecting any of the four days racing is at Albion Park. No matter which day you select you get the results of the same race every day and that race seems to have been held last year.
Perhaps you might like to see what is racing this week. You can click on any day they race at Albion but you might be a tad disappointed as the most recent fields are those for races held in April.
Not hard to see why greyhound racing is in such a state, and this is the performance of what is supposedly the principal greyhound track in Queensland.
It might be time for some sitting on the Board of Bris Greys to extract their collective digits, have a good hard look at what’s going on within the club’s structure and bring it into the 21st Century where professionalism is paramount.
Given the club’s lethargic website, which should be the mirror on the industry for the general public, it’s a major surprise they it can conduct a race meeting.
Surely someone within the new regime at Racing Queensland will take a look at what goes on as well.’
KIWIS HAVE AN ENDLESS LIST OF EXCUSES FOR THEIR FORM REVERSALS 
YOU have to hand it to those wily Kiwis – they have an endless excuse book when it comes to form reversals.
Yet another was produced after Addictive Habit improved a furlong to win the Listed middle distance race at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Kiwi trainer Lee Somervell was rightly questioned by Chief Steward Ian Brown about the form reversal. He put it down to the softer surface but also raised suspicion that a few visiting horses might have caught a virus on the flight over from New Zealand.
Well, if that was the case, why didn’t someone advise the stewards who could have passed the information onto the punting public as an explanation why the Kiwis weren’t firing as well this visit?
Addictive Habit obviously staged a magnificent recovery. He was struggling before the turn when beaten over seven lengths in the G3 Lord Mayor’s Cup at Doomben at his previous start then dropped slightly in class and stepped up in trip to win at the Gold Coast.
More importantly someone thought he could win. The horse firmed from $21 to $9 and was the first they wanted to back when Fixed Odds betting opened midweek. In contrast early favorite for the race The Offer blew like a gale to $6.5 and struggled to beat three home.
GOOD TO SEE RACING VICTORIA REFUSE TO BE INTIMIDATED BY SKY 
ALBY MORGAN of MELBOURNE sent this email:
'IT’S been a long time coming and refreshing to see in the wake of the demise of TVN.
The biggest state in racing in Australia and the one with the product that everyone wants to watch has sat Sky Channel on its backside.
More to the point it has sent a message to those calling the shots behind the scenes at Sky (especially those at Racing NSW) that RVL will not be intimidated in the decision making process.
Sky no longer has a monopoly which they no doubt cock-a-hoop thought would occur in the wake of the TVN demise. RVL realized that Sky needs them as much as they need to have their product broadcast. Look forward to a cap in hand approach now for Sky to show the best racing in Australia.
To echo the words of RV CEO Bernard Saundry: “This is an historic day for the industry with all the Victorian clubs now united in committing to support the Seven West Media proposal. This paves the way for the Victorian industry to achieve its future goal of ensuring that Victorian thoroughbred racing can be viewed in every lounge room and on every mobile phone across Australia.”
Seven West has started broadcasting the racing.com coverage on its free-to-air Channel 78 as an interim measure to the launch of its premium coverage in late August.
WILL THE SEVEN WEST DEAL WORK – OR END UP JUST ANOTHER TVN DISASTER? 
STEFAN MEIER, of MELBOURNE, a regular contributor, has his say on the new broadcast deal with Seven West Media:
‘OK it's a done deal, great, Victorian vision goes free to air this week most likely today, with a full steam ahead bells and whistles launch later in the year. Will it work, won't it work? Is it worth taking a stab at it? Opinions are certainly divided amongst those in the media.
Personally, not wanting to sound like a wet blanket, but for me the figures just aren't going to stack up. Why will it fail? Simple, the exact same reason TVN did, no viewers. It's already off to a rickety start with no arrangements in place as yet for Foxtel subscribers to access the station.
Now seriously, of the small percentage of people who follow racing most I would think already have Foxtel to watch Sky if they are even half serious about it. What they haven't taken into account is that this is in all likely hood a HD channel and not all Foxtel customers pay the extra $10 a month to access HD or have an antenna set-up to switch from the Foxtel feed to terrestrial, why would you ? So there is one thing they can start working on right away, before trying to get new ‘eyeballs’ into racing, provide the service at least to the ones that are at least vaguely serious already. That may all be a waste of time anyway, because as soon as it's back on Sky how many people are going to channel surf backwards and forwards all day and why, for what reason, to watch mounting yard and filler stories, and miss races in other states you might want to bet on ? Come on, really.
In principle the FTA idea sounds like good one, but it's a bit like after reading the other day that knitting was becoming more popular, the Australian Wool Board ‘seizing’ the opportunity and going free to air with a 24 hour a day knitting channel and expecting to recruit thousands upon thousands of new knitters and quadruple their wool sales! Ridiculous isn't it? Well RVL doesn't think so, and are prepared to put in millions to find out. Millions mind you that could have been used to promote racing to new people in a thousand and one ways and if this free to air idea is the best they can come up with, well I'm no marketing genius, but something's fishy about the whole deal. Here all of a sudden you have Seven West Media, who happen to have a mothballed channel once known as ‘Fresh Ideas’, a ‘lifestyle’ data-casting channel, flogging fruit blenders and fitness machines 24 hours a day, that failed so badly they closed it down.
I don't know, it just sounds as though this ‘dog with fleas’ channel was just sitting there and all of a sudden a light globe in some bright spark at SWM goes off and ‘Hey Presto why don't we flog this thing off to the racing industry under the guise of adding to our live sport portfolio’? Who the hell knows, we could charge them millions, promise them cross promotion and advertising revenue, what the heck let's pitch it to them and see if they bite? In the meantime a guaranteed $30 million a year from Tabcorp goes up in smoke..
The other huge risk they are taking of course is that most of the projections about the venture's success are based around advertising, presumably in the main from bookies. Twenty four hour a day saturation gambling ads are sure to draw the ire of the anti gambling lobby, that's a certainty you can bet on with confidence. The gambling industry is already under fire in the sports betting arena. This could tip the scales their way and lead to inevitable bans, just like the pokies. Where will this leave the venture? In dire straits one would imagine.
I wish them the very best of luck, I just wish it was Seven West Media picking up the tab for this experiment not the Victorian racing industry who can ill-afford another TVN style financial meltdown. Have RVL been sold another pup by the voracious media industry? We'll have to wait and see, and maybe not that long!’
HORROR STORIES SUGGEST 
DEAGON BUNKER IS RUDDERLESS AT PRESENT
MAX ADAMS of BRISBANE writes:
‘THERE are some horror stories emanating from the Deagon bunker which suggests the joint is pretty much rudderless at present.
I notice where Terry Butts in his Silks & Saddles column called for the reappointment of Darren Condon as CEO to add some sanity to the RQ situation.
I don’t often agree with what Butts’ writes and have not missed how the steward he did not want as chief in the north is suddenly flavour of the month but on this occasion he is right.
Condon did little more than deserve a slap on the wrist over the email that his PA forgot to pass on to him about a complaint from Animal Liberation Queensland relating to the ‘live baiting’ at the greyhounds.
Even the MacSporran Report after the Commission of Inquiry recognized that the CEO role was too big for one person with three codes involved.
I believe the All Codes Board, especially the Chairman, had to be sacked but so does the Head of Integrity Wade Birch. The fact that he is there and Condon is fighting for his job is an absolute farce and a sad indictment on the way this Government is handling the situation at RQ.
If you are a stakeholder or a member of the racing public just try calling RQ and getting an answer to simple question. Your call is bounced from one area to another and then if you finally get an Irishman or a Kiwi don’t expect your problem to be resolved. For a major organization or business it’s being run like a headless chook.
Throughout the state problems are going unsolved. It could be Christmas before the new Board is in place with all the processes that are required, legislative change just being the start. Unless someone like Condon, who knows how the place works, is put there as CEO, there is a gloomy future ahead for RQ.’
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.
