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.
QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED ABOUT INTERFERENCE IN RQ APPOINTMENTS 
BEN RUSSELL of GOLD COAST writes:
‘QUESTIONS need to be answered about the whole appointment process for the new Racing Queensland Board which one could argue seems to have involved some political interference.
Racing Minister Grace Grace continued to tell us about the wonderful list of candidates they had to choose from. Sadly this ended in instantaneous controversy and a major meltdown when the list was finally announced – after several unexplained delays.
With all due respects to those chosen, if this was the best available then the Minister and the Labor Government are easily pleased.
But there are questions that need to be answered, other than why a check wasn’t done on Jim Rundle’s Facebook postings before he was declared the sole thoroughbred representative on the new Board. It would have avoided the embarrassment that occurred within days.
What the industry wants to know is this:
How could Eden Ritchie Recruitment, the high profile company responsible for preparing a short list of Board members, advise candidates as late as last Friday afternoon that the Minister’s Department had ‘nothing to report on the status of the new Board’ when it had already been appointed earlier that day and a Media Release had already been written for distribution at six the following morning – delayed by several hours so that the story could be ‘leaked’ exclusively to The Courier-Mail.
This is almost like a script from an episode of Fawlty Towers. How could the recruitment company be told that there was no action at the station on the day that the Racing Minister had decided the new Board?
Why didn’t they make a Media Release on Friday (RQ was an illegal entity from the time the previous Chairman resigned the day before, as it did not have a Board member) confirming the appointments and then organize an exclusive for The Courier-Mail with the new Chairman. Surely this was an important enough story to make to all the mainstream media without simply allowing it to go ‘exclusive’ to the CM.
Was stockbroker Steven Wilson in the original list of applicants for the job as RQ Chairman or was he seconded by the Racing Minister because of her business involvements with him in the past and do these represent a conflict of interest?
It is our understanding that not only were they involved with the South Bank Corporation but Grace Grace was a Director of Hyperion Flagship Investments (with Mr Wilson the Chairman), from which she resigned when elected to Parliament.
Were the Jim Rundle Facebook revelations an ‘easy out’ for the Minister after the influential ATA of Queensland threw their toys out of the cot over his appointment and will they have a role to play in the appointment of his replacement which some sections of the industry are most concerned about?
The honeymoon is well and truly over for Grace Grace as Racing Minister and it won’t even begin for Steven Wilson as RQ Chairman. The vultures are circling.
Queensland needs change in racing – at the top from an industry-elected Board that the stakeholders have confidence in to a new Integrity Unit that the punters have confidence in. Perhaps the hope of the side is the Queensland Racing Unity Group and their suggestion of a bipartisan approach to the selection process.’
ARCHIE BUTTERFLY – SOME QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT HIS IDENTITY 
SEVERAL of our readers emailed asking if we could reveal the identity of ‘Archie Butterfly’ and querying if he had any connection with the racing industry. Here is one that was received from STU WILLS, an occasional contributor from TOOWOOMBA:
‘COULD you tell us more about this blogger, Archie Butterfly, who seems to have been largely responsible for causing a good man in Jim Rundle to resign from the RQ Board?
Archie Butterfly is obviously a nom de plume so what my mates and I would like to know is if he has any ties with anyone in racing which we suspect he does and if so, who are they?
It would also be handy to know just what Jim posted on his Facebook page that was so offensive. Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech in this country?
I have been around racing long enough to know that there are plenty of bloggers expressing opinions on forums etc that are disguised political views on behalf of organizations, race clubs and stakeholder groups not prepared to speak out for themselves. Some of these views are not only defamatory but downright offensive and at times totally incorrect or a twisting of the truth.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve done some research and discovered that Archie Butterfly is the real name of the author and was actually changed by deed poll from Brenden Sheehan. Archie is quite a talented writer and does his homework thoroughly on the subjects of his story. He is well informed on racing and doesn’t mind handing out a spray on his website, itsnotnormalisit, which, by the way, is worth a read – even if some of the facts about letsgohorseracing and myself were a shade wide of the mark. Not to worry, I adopt the attitude, especially in racing, ‘if you hand it out, you have to be prepared to cop it back’ and at least Archie, who I once worked with in my early journalistic career, was decent enough to send me a copy of what he was writing and tell me why he had written what he did about Jim Rundle and others in racing. That is unlike the gutless wonder, writing under the pseudonym of ‘Amara’ on one of those out of control racing blogs who attacked me during the week. And to think this weak-kneed former RQ Board member has a supposed high profile business reputation. But back to Archie – Amara will keep for another day – and I would just like to correct he and others in racing on one thing – I am not a mate of Jim Rundle, I have never met or spoken to the man. As far Archie’s defense of the Australian Trainers’ Association and comparing them with Rundle’s Queensland Trainers’ Association, he should stick to comparing apples with apples. Instead of highlighting the membership of the ATA nationally, how many members does the ATA have in Queensland compared to the QTA old mate? That might surprise you and I do believe the QTA was formed because the ATA was not seen as a voice for trainers outside the south-east corner. Rather than follow the mainstream media who continually ‘pinch’ Archie’s stories from itsnotnormalisit without his consent, LGHR gained permission to reproduce excerpts from some of those that have been at the centre of the Rundle and racing storm in recent times.
For a full read go to itsnotnormalisit and have a gander at some of his stories:
JIM RUNDLE SLAMMED OVER ALLEGED RACIST VIEWS ON FACEBOOK 
‘The racists are now in charge of the Racing Queensland ranch – I guess that’s the last time Darley and Godolphin race a horse north of the Tweed River – thanks a bundle Mr Rundle’
This read in part:
JIM Rundle, the new State Government appointee to the Racing Queensland board is a racist.
An Islam-loathing, halal-boycotting extremist who associates with and supports right wing nut-jobs and kooks of the Cronulla riots variety.
The man is a disgrace, and is completely and utterly unfit to represent the racing industry on the statewide board that runs the code.
Doesn’t the fool understand that the biggest racing stables in Australia are owned by Muslims?
Do the names Darley and Godolphin mean nothing to him? You know, those horses that race in all blue and are usually trained by John O’Shea and ridden by James McDonald? The ones that win a whole bunch of the big races
Has he never heard of the Sheikhs? They’ve owned a few Melbourne Cup winners I believe.
What about Dato Chin Nam, Bart Cummings 50 year friend who owned Saintly, the ’96 Cox Plate and Cup winner?
Does anyone imagine that any of these high-profile owners will ever bring a horse from their super-sized stables to the Brisbane Winter Carnival again while this clown Rundle is in charge of the Queensland circus?
APPOINTMENTS TO RACING QUEENSLAND BOARD COME UNDER ATTACK 
‘Now Queensland’s got a Racing Minister who’s never been to the races, a Racing Chairman who builds cathedrals and privatizes everything he sees, and a Racing Board representative who’s a Driving Instructor – All we need now is a Grave Digger – What’s That Mum? – We’ve Got One? – Oh that’s right, her name’s Anastasia’
THE state of the racing industry in Queensland has just plummeted from farce to disaster with the appointment of a professional driving instructor cum financial planner who has less than half a dozen horses in work and hasn’t trained a winner in 18 months as the sole Thoroughbred representative on the Racing Qld board.
Jim Rundle’s the blokes name, and he is probably the worst trainer since Fats Domino, with 4 winners from his last 50 starters, and 3 of them with the same horse in a glorious 6 week stretch way back in 2013.
The bloke has no credentials for the role of representative of the racing industry whatsoever, except perhaps one.
He’s actually been to the races and had a bet.
Which puts him one up on the Racing Minister.
What an absolute joke Queensland racing has become.
We are now the laughing stock of the Australian industry, and so we damn well should be.
Someone call for the men in white coats, please. And hurry.
QUESTIONS OVER THE ASSOCIATIONS FOR RQ’S NEW BOARD CHAIRMAN 
And: ‘Off and racing – Racing Queensland’s new Top Hog has had some interesting mates over the years – hasn’t he?’
BRISBANE stockbroker Steve Wilson – a long time board member of the Centre for Independent Studies, the Tory think tank that is the enemy of working class Australians – has just been appointed by Grace Grace, the Racing Minister who until a few months ago had never been to the races, to head Queensland Racing.
It’s a bit like Malcolm Turnbull appointing me, who drank cask wine for most of my life before I gave the whole plonk game up as a bad joke, the head of Wine Australia. It’s a goddamn joke isn’t it, and one that the Liberals would never be party to, because only Labor appoint the enemy to top posts when they could and should appoint their own, and only a forensic psychiatrist skilled in diagnosing inferiority complex’s could explain it.
The only answer I can come up with is that Labor aren’t Labor at all, but I guess when the party’s Federal leader was the protege of the crooked capitalist Richard Pratt, and the State Racing Minister is the niece of infamous crime figure Gerry Bellino, well why would anyone be at all surprised?
But as a child sex abuse victim I do have major concerns about the new head of Racing Queensland’s past associations with abusers and those who cover up abuse.
RUNDLE HAD TARGET PINNED TO HIS BACK FROM THE TIME HE WAS APPOINTED 
ALAN JOHNSTON of NORTH QUEENSLAND sent one of many emails referring to the Jim Randle resignation days after being appointed to the new RQ Board:
‘FROM the moment his appointment as thoroughbred representative on the new RQ Board was announced, Jim Rundle had a big target pinned to his back.
Granted his exit was not expected to be as soon but it was only a matter of time. Too many powerful forces were determined to destroy him.
Whatever happened to freedom of speech in this country? What do Jim Rundle’s views on Muslims or asylum seekers have to do with his ability to serve horse racing?
There are plenty of others with far more radical views than he expressed on Facebook that continue to hold down far more powerful positions – one could even wind up the President of the United States.
Jim Rundle’s views – allegedly posted on his Facebook page – were apparently originally exposed by a website blogger who provided a timely opportunity for his enemies to pounce.
Racing Minister Grace Grace obviously doesn’t agree with some of the things that former Parliamentarian and colleague Billy Gordon has been accused of. They might have thrown him out of the Labor Party but she still seems comfortable sitting alongside him in the House and accepting his vote when needed.
This whole Rundle affair smacks of hypocrisy and the more one delves into the circumstances behind his forced resignation there is one awful big stench about it.’
OPPORTUNITY TO FORCE RUNDLE TO QUIT ‘A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE’? 
DARYL ATKINSON from ROCKHAMPTON made this contribution to the WHINGE on the RUNDLE affair :
‘ONE suspects the decision by Racing Minister Grace Grace to force Jim Rundle to walk the racing plank was a matter of convenience.
His appointment was already a controversial one and some high profile trainers in the south east corner were starting to make noises because of past personal differences with Rundle.
All of a sudden out of a magical hat appear these allegations that Rundle shares views considered racist in terms of political correctness and he is forced to quit only days after his appointment as the thoroughbred representative on the new RQ Board.
It’s all too convenient. Rundle has long been a thorn in the side of the Queensland branch of the Australian Trainers’ Association which is used to getting its own way, even if it meant jumping from one political ship to another or supporting one RQ Chairman or another with differing political backing.
Again in racing in the Sunshine State, politics is the big winner and the industry the big loser. Whether you agree with his supposed views on things outside racing, Jim Rundle would have been a terrific thoroughbred representative and a much needed voice for the country and bush.’
‘QUEENSLAND BRANCH OF ATA SHOWS TRUE COLORS IN RUNDLE AFFAIR’
AS I am a COUNTRY BASED TRAINER and won’t to avoid the arrows that will be flying after this I would ask that you with-hold my identity:
‘THE Queensland branch of the 
Australian Trainers’ Association might be celebrating the early demise of Jim Rundle from his Board appointment but that group showed their true colors this week.
They are the biggest political fence jumpers in the history of Queensland racing – ensuring they are on side with the Government of the day and the Chairman of Racing Queensland, whoever it may be.
This might be fine for their members in the south east corner but it has come at a cost to those of us who are based outside that area. To that end Jim Rundle ensure we had a voice. Now that he is gone we fear an ATA favored appointee which will mean that once again the playing field is far from fair.
Barry Baldwin’s threat to resign as president of the ATA in Queensland concerned no-one outside the south-east corner. He and his big name trainer mates couldn’t care less about their bush colleagues. What did one of them say at a meeting: ‘We are a bunch of nobodies who are useless at training’?
At least we didn’t have to make a success of our newly-formed Queensland Trainers’ Association by organizing a regular hoedown with the Chairman and officials of RQ to get what we wanted. There was never any chance of that happening for us. We might have been more representative of the training fraternity in Queensland but we were treated second rate from the outset.
We have never read a more arrogant statement in our lives than the one distributed by the ATA this week that: “The simple fact is the professional trainers that provide the majority of our race fields and are responsible for the majority of the economic churn that in turn supports the industry through betting turnover and employment, are not in any way associated to Mr Rundle or his Queensland Trainers’ Association.”
Are they saying that the rest of the trainers in Queensland are a bunch of amateurs and contribute nothing to the industry? The majority of these blokes – some of whom have been spoon fed at Deagon – have had it too good for too long.’
PATHETIC TURNOUT FOR THE BIGGEST DAY ON THE SYDNEY RACING CALENDAR 
LEN ABBOTT of MELBOURNE writes:
‘HOW disgusting was the crowd at Randwick on Saturday for Day One of The Championships?
Not too much written by the parochial Sydney racing scribes on this embarrassment but it has got plenty of air play.
It just goes to show that no amount of money will get a crowd to the races in Sydney. They just aren’t interested any more.
You couldn’t have wished for a better program of races and there were plenty of highlights and drawcards but they just didn’t turn up in the numbers expected.
Less than 24,000 is an absolute disgrace especially when compared to the big days of the spring carnival at Flemington which is what Messrs Messara and V’landys are determined to upstage.
They have to be kidding. They have no chance of competing letting alone upstaging it. Where to next or what will be the excuse – probably the timing? It wouldn’t matter if they had the spring dates of the Cup carnival they would still struggle to attract a half decent crowd.
It’s absolutely pathetic when the showcase of Sydney racing lags far behind the big days of the Melbourne spring not to mention Stradbroke at Eagle Farm and even Ipswich Cup day.’
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.
