DID JASON SCOTT GO BEFORE HE WAS PUSHED & WERE HIS ENEMIES OUTSIDE SOUTH-EAST CORNER CONVINCED THE BRC IS RUNNING RQ?

POLITICS continues to play too strong a role in Queensland racing – the latest victim being the Control Body CEO Jason Scott who made some of his predecessors look second rate but has failed to survive.

There was no shock behind the confirmation today that Scott had resigned. Insiders say he left before he was pushed. His time was limited under the new LNP Government and there were too many outside the south-east corner with a target on his back and were questioning whether under he as CEO it was RQ or the BRC who are running racing in Queensland.

The same fate awaits RQ Board Chairman Steve Wilson – missing in action since his close friend Grace Grace was dumped as Racing Minister at the last election. Doubt even his old school mate Bill Sexton, a good bloke and former QTC Chairman, can save him.

‘Whirlwind’ might as well follow the lead of his CEO because it’s only a matter of time before he is shown the door. Former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is the obvious replacement for Wilson but does he want the job? One would hope so!

Whatever happens, the LNP and new Racing Minister Tim Mander need to reassure the industry that new appointments are made for the right reasons and that this is not just another ‘political’ rearrangement of the deck chairs on the good ship RQ Titanic.

The fallout from the Brisbane Racing Club AGM has arguably played a role in Scott’s departure although he would no doubt deny that. The confidence many had in the job he was doing collapsed after he agreed to look into concerns about issues at Queensland’s leading club but failed to follow through.

Wilson and Scott have allowed RQ to get too close to the BRC in the opinion of many stakeholders who have the ear of the LNP. They have Scott closely linked to Richard Morrison (who is likely to replace Neville Bell as Chairman) and fellow director Terry Svenson (the CEO of Queensland Cricket). Questions have been raised about whether Scott travelled with Directors of the BRC to America for a Broncos game last year. Nothing wrong with that and LGHR has no confirmation it occurred but his enemies are saying it wasn’t a good look in view of what has happened since.

Critics have accused Scott of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ after what happened at the AGM concerning serious issues raised by Member Wally Gleeson and have described his response to calls for minutes of the AGM to be released as ‘appalling’. Expect more to be heard of this when the new Government announces a widespread Review into the Three Codes of Racing.

A Media Release on the RQ website states:

RACING Queensland has announced its Chief Executive Officer Jason Scott will conclude his term in 2025.

Earlier this week, Mr Scott, who joined RQ in early 2023, confirmed he would be leaving his post later this year, ensuring a smooth handover to his eventual successor.  

During his time leading RQ, Mr Scott’s strong wagering background has proven highly beneficial, with the overall degradation of the Australian wagering market, recalibrating after the highs experienced during the global pandemic, impacting all jurisdictions including Queensland.

Having previously enjoyed successful stints as the CEO of Ladbrokes Australia and Vice President Trading, VIP and Retail Operations for BetMGM, RQ was able to maintain its increasing market share during Mr Scott’s tenure, whilst also delivering record-breaking revenue, returns to participants and prize money.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time leading the Queensland racing industry,” Mr Scott said.

“It’s been incredibly challenging, and equally rewarding, to work in an industry that is my passion, but there are other challenges that I would like to pursue.  

“While I am not leaving immediately, ensuring the Board can conduct a thorough process to appoint my successor, there are many things to look forward to including three highly anticipated Winter Carnivals, new stables in Townsville and lights in Redcliffe and the grand opening of the world’s best greyhound venue at The Q.”

During his time leading RQ, Mr Scott has overseen the completion of the $70 million Gold Coast Turf Club redevelopment, with Aquis Park hosting its first night meeting late last year.

The GCTC also hosted Australia’s richest ever night race meeting last week when The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions was staged under lights.

RQ Chair Steve Wilson AM said he was grateful for Mr Scott’s service over the past two years. “Jason has done a stellar job in his successful tenure as CEO,” Mr Wilson said.

“The economic headwinds have been challenging since he assumed the role, but he has taken that in his stride, growing our revenue, market share and stature as a racing jurisdiction.

“He has also served with distinction on the Racing Australia Board and as its representative on the Asian Racing Federation Executive Council.

“The Board and I are thankful for the sterling job that Jason has done and we look forward to him continuing to do so during his transition.”

RQ will commence advertising for its new CEO in the near future with Mr Scott expected to remain with the organisation until early in the new financial year. 

The Scott resignation poses more questions than answers. IF he found the job so ‘challenging and rewarding’ why is he leaving?

He says there are ‘other challenges’ he would like to pursue. One wonders if that includes the CEO role at the Gold Coast Turf Club.

Why resign if you don’t have another job to go to? Perhaps it’s because the LNP behind the scenes has made it quite clear that they did not want him to continue in the job.

It’s not as though they have someone in mind for this important position or one assumes it wouldn’t be advertised.

Here’s a tip from LGHR. Scott Whiteman, the former GCTC CEO, who has done a remarkable job turning Country Racing Victoria into a more financial outfit than Racing Victoria, would make a perfect replacement.

Whiteman once harboured dreams of returning to Queensland but was reluctant because of the political challenges the job presented. If the LNP can bring some stability to racing, Scott should be approached forthwith.  

 

 

HERE WE GO AGAIN: IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA DAY ON THE FIRST TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER – WITH APOLOGIES TO THE WOWSERS!

IT'S 'Groundhog Weekend' – and LGHR has again hopped aboard one of our favourite hobby horses – declaring how much more appropriate it would be to celebrate Australia Day on the first Tuesday in November rather than the 26^th of January.

Melbourne Cup and Anzac Day are the two collective days on the Australian calendar that unite our people more than any other. For many one begins with darkness and remembers great losses, the other ends in darkness trying to forget great losses.

Both capture elements of the larrikinism and egalitarian impulse that are embedded deep within this nation’s unique spirit.

All of which again raises the perennial questions: Why is Cup Day, one of our quintessential annual rituals, not a national public holiday? And, what could be more appropriate than celebrating Australia Day on the first Tuesday in November?

The wowsers and cultural wankers continue to insist that we should not tell the world how strongly we feel about a horse race or gambling. That’s bullshit! There can’t be too many events more Australian than the Melbourne Cup – so what better time to celebrate our national day especially with the debate over whether the current date is fitting for Australia Day?

Australia doesn't have many traditions. Attempts to get Halloween off the ground stalled due to one too many home-owners telling the little ankle-biters to ‘piss off.’ Australia's equivalent of America's Thanksgiving Day is Australia Day on January 26, allegedly commemorating the landing of the First Fleet of convicts in Botany Bay.

One could argue that there is much more emotional resonance in celebrating pioneering pilgrims who broke bread with the natives than there is in celebrating criminals that stole bread and were duly hung.

Needless to say, Australia has no tradition of putting the old ball and chain on our legs, and subsequently walking us down the street in tribute to the founding fathers. Likewise, Australia has no statues of the pioneering convicts holding up their shackled wrists in triumph!

Whilst many national days around the world involve citizens reflecting on the achievements of the ancestors that they have not personally lived up to, Australia’s national day involves citizens acting in a vastly superior way to the people that the date acknowledges.

Many believe that the 26^th of January is an inappropriate date for Australia Day as it merely represents the arrival of the British to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. Others believe it insults the ‘rightful owners of our land – the indigenous population.’

They argue that it does not represent the birth of a nation. Which brings me back to my original point – when you consider that Australia’s top three heroes are a cricketer, a racehorse and a bush ranger – perhaps it is fitting the only times the nation stops as one is to commemorate our war heroes and to have a wager on the Cup.

As a celebration of free speech and freedom we'll go out on a limb and say it: For many Australia Day simply celebrates the worst aspects of our national character, where rather than being a day for thoughtful reflection on our history and our values, it’s degenerated into a half-witted contest to see how much meat you can throw on the ‘barbie’ and how much grog you can drink.

This isn’t a wowsers' warning against barbeques and beer. Far from it! We're keen supporters of a drink with our mates and we’ve never met a meat product we didn’t adore. But as the basis for a national holiday, getting plastered, while standing around a four-burner which is groaning under the weight of calcified chump chops and snags, seems to place us well down the order of intelligence. Sadly, for many, this is what Australia Day has become, and all it will ever be.

A piss-up, where the closest we get to a consideration of what makes us who we are is to slur that this is God’s own country, an absolute bottler of a joint, you wouldn’t be dead for quids and yeah, while you’re near the Esky, can you get me another Coldie?

Even the Federal Government’s Australia Day campaign is framed around the banal idea of cooking meat, with advertisements featuring Soviet-style imagery of buffed young Aussies proudly holding meat trays, urging us to ‘Barbeque like you have never barbequed before.’

Our concern is that many Australians are stuck at the first hurdle and can’t get their minds past the chops and the Fourex. The two things which should be the focus of this national day – reflection on our history and values, and the importance of holding citizenship – are being shoved aside as we treat Australia Day like one big barbeque or, for some, in more recent times a reason to protest.

And for every group of kids who use it as a chance to proudly and peacefully drape themselves in the flag and parade along the esplanade – indifferent to the fact that they’re demonstrating national pride with an emblem that’s sullied by another country’s ensign – there’s a few ratbags who imbue the practice with pushiness and hostility. As if failure to fly the flag or join the moronic ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,’ chant is tantamount to treason.

Certainly food for thought but for LGHR and our mates no Australia Day would be complete without a punt – and there are plenty of opportunities whether you want to head to the track, the local pub or club, or just enjoy a barbie at home and watch them go around on the box.

There are race meetings for the traditionalists this long weekend starting tonight (Friday) with the Group 2 Australia Stakes under lights at Moonee Valley, supported by the Goldmarket meeting under the new lights on the tourist strip backed tomorrow (Saturday) by the Blue Diamond Preludes meeting at Sandown, the Sunshine Coast Cup meeting and sadly a featureless fixture at Randwick (they couldn’t get enough entries to run the Carrington Stakes).

On Sunday (officially Australia Day) they race at Ipswich, Moe, Wyong and Strathalbyn (for the Cup) but the most historic meeting is at Hanging Rock in Victoria which proves a major attraction for those looking for something different.

How much more Australian can you get than Hanging Rock Cup Day? No racecourse in the country attracts more non-race day visitors than the Rock. The scene of a book and a film (Picnic at Hanging Rock) draws tourists from throughout the world.

Racing at Hanging Rock is a tradition with some families over generations that never attend races elsewhere. They make the annual pilgrimage hail, rain or shine and it has become a way of life for many.

There are no special rituals that everybody undertakes on Australia Day although widespread protests that dull the occasion in more recent times need to be taken more seriously by our political decision makers by moving January 26 to a new date. We almost had a situation this year where major stores were refusing to sell Australia Day merchandise. It has to be an agreed date where people celebrate with family and friends at home, in parks, in the surf, watching and playing sport - or simply enjoying yet another public holiday.

But sadly, very few will be able to articulate anything about why we should celebrate Australia Day on January 26^th, let alone move the holiday to that first Tuesday in November.

 ON BEHALF OF LETSGOHORSERACING ENJOY A PUNT ON OUR SPECIAL DAY EVEN IF IT SHOULD BE THE FIRST TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER AND IF YOU SEE THE NEED TO PROTEST PLEASE DON’T DISRESPECT OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY OR OUR FLAG. 

 

LNP POISED FOR REVIEW INTO RACING WITH CHAIRMAN APPOINTED

THE natives are getting restless wondering what plans the new LNP Government has for the racing industry in Queensland with some concerned there has been little action at the station.

Rest assured no-one is asleep at the wheel and they won’t have to wait long for confirmation of the promised widespread review into the three codes with the announcement shortly of an Independent Chairman who has already been appointed we understand from interstate.

The Review will focus on several important racing issues with the future direction of the trouble-riddled Queensland Racing Integrity Commission high on the agenda.

The cost of running the unit will be one of the major issues addressed but earlier fears that QRIC would be dismantled are now looking more unlikely by the day.

LGHR has had several inquiries after an advertisement was circulated for a new Deputy Director of QRIC. The main question being asked focussed on whether someone had resigned.

That is not the case. When internationally-experienced steward Kim Kelly took on his role as Deputy Director it was in an acting capacity. That position is now being advertised and we understand that Kelly will be among the candidates which is good news for racing in Queensland.

Stakeholders might have to wait a little longer than they expect to hear who will form the new Racing Queensland Board. That is despite Sport and Racing Minister Tim Mander this week announcing five new Members of the Stadiums Queensland Board which will play a major role in the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.

Insiders are saying that Minister Mander may even wait until he sees the findings of the review into the racing industry before appointing the new Board. That will not please many who want change now.

They say the current Board Chairman Steve Wilson has gone MIA since the election which saw his good friend Grace Grace dumped as Racing Minister.

The same cannot be said for RQ CEO Jason Scott, another Labor appointee, who has been front and centre, especially during the recent Magic Millions track crisis where the work he did behind the scenes impressed many industry heavies.

LGHR has been told there were two major blow-ups at the MM – one when trainer Gai Waterhouse came face to face for the first time at the Sales with some of the owners of Alligator Blood who had removed the horse from her stable and transferred him to Chris Waller. They say her blast was priceless.

We have also learnt that there was a similar fiery verbal clash at the Millions between Jason Scott and the Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lyons.

Some are saying it had something to do with Scott’s assertion (like many others, including LGHR) that the pattern of the poisoning of the track was not consistent with vandalism and more a mistake in track treatment.Perhaps it was a more serious matter they clashed over.

Whatever, the story goes that Lyons, who was being groomed because of his hospitality background to manage the new hotel-units block the GCTC plans to build, has either resigned or has threatened to. We’re leaning to the former despite his close association with Chairman Brett Cook.

And to add fuel to the fire there is a strong rumour that Scott could take his place which we are told won’t sit too well with some key politicians in the new LNP Government who are pushing behind the scenes for his current contract not to be renewed by RQ.

HOOFNOTE: And don’t be surprised if the terms of reference of the Government Review into Racing sees key parties required to attend and explain to the Chairman why minutes of the BRC annual general meeting cannot be accessed. Interesting times ahead.  

 

IT’S BEEN LEFT TO ‘BIG BEN’ TO WRITE THE FINAL CHAPTER IN THE FAREWELL STORY OF RETIRING BRC CHAIRMAN NEVILLE BELL 

DAVID Fowler is no Andrea Borcelli when it comes to the ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ but it would seem, in a fitting tribute to one of the men he admires most in racing, Neville Bell, 'Feathers' somehow  forgot to ‘sing’ the final verse.

That was what we thought until a ‘little birdie’ whispered in the ear of LGHR that Fowler had unselfishly left the last say on the career of the outgoing Brisbane Racing Club Chairman to his good mate Ben Dorries.

Now being an award winning turf scribe from the Murdoch barn, ‘Big Ben’ will need no help from Manuel – the veteran racing media Jack-of-all-Trades with Queensland’s leading club – when he adds the finishing touches to the Fowler tribute before Bell chairs his final Board meeting on Thursday and says his final ‘goodbye’ to the club at the end of the month.

Just quietly we are told that down at the Farm they are relying on the literary expertise of Dorries to put a positive spin on the appointment of Richard ‘Call me Dicky’ Morrision tipped to step into the giant shoes that Bell has worn for so long as BRC Chairman.

Yes it is up to ‘Big Ben’ to complete the Bell testimonial – hopefully in a much-awaited ‘warts and all’ article in the CM and Racenet and heaven forbid not a repeat of the at-times finger-down-the-throat 4TAB interview by Fowler which addressed everything but what many folk wanted to hear.

For the record LGHR poses the question: Who could have done a better job than Neville Bell over the past decade? His legacy to the BRC and racing in general has been there for all to see.

Why then did he have to wait until the 11^th hour to stuff it up? It’s impossible – without some answers – to circumnavigate the ‘smokes and mirrors’ surrounding ‘who’s who’ when it comes to ownership of luxury units in the Village ‘zoo’.

Bell told Fowler his achievements in bringing the BRC Master Plan to fruition was a team effort – no doubt when ‘Dicky’ dons the crown as new BRC ‘King’ the industry will be made aware of the massive contribution that he has also made.

Nevertheless, a dark cloud will continue to hang over the controversy surrounding questions that the out-going Chairman refused to answer at the last AGM.

Good governance requires transparency and the refusal by the BRC Board to release a draft copy of the AGM minutes from the meeting held on October 16 will sadly overshadow some fine achievements when it comes to things that Mr Bell will be remembered for.

LGHR has been reliably informed that Ben Dorries knew of the issues that continue to haunt the current BRC Board but up until now has for some reason refused to write anything about it. Here is his final chance to objectively investigate and do the job that his mate Fowler failed to.

In a democratic society the media is expected to objectively report without fear or favour (sadly media identities like ‘Manuel’ has made the job of those who want to survive as racing scribes too difficult for too long).

Many believe ‘Big Ben’ doesn’t have the balls to rock the BRC boat. Surely one small slice of the BRC puzzle from the AGM won’t cost him that weekly free drink and feast of crumbed lamb chops in the committee room which will probably need an extension if retired directors like Bell and the likeable Dave Dawson continue to use it most Saturdays as their privileged place of refuge.

One of the intended purposes of this committee room (like others in race clubs throughout the State) should be to entertain winning owners and trainers who are the lifeblood of racing – not a ‘haven’ for ‘freeloaders’ who think it is their ‘God-given racing right’ after years of service to the club to hibernate there.

Major clubs need more younger, business-oriented Directors who don’t regard Saturday at the races as an afternoon out when you can entertain your mates with ‘free food and booze’ in the committee room. That is one tradition of racing that needs to die a sudden death.

Another concern for the wider membership of the BRC is who will be the new Chairman when Mr Bell departs at the end of the month. In recent years the Board has spent considerable money ensuring all directors undertake the AICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors) Course.

Insiders say this course has proved a little difficult to negotiate for some directors of the BRC, who shall remain nameless. They either took several attempts to pass the exam or chose not to do it to gain the qualification. The Annual Report discloses beside each director’s name whether he or she has the qualification.

Let us hope the new Chairman is well qualified to ensure transparency and integrity – and has passed the AICD examination. For him to get his new role off to a flying start – free of the latest gremlins that have sadly (in the eyes of some) eaten into Bell’s once flawless credibility, ‘Dicky’  needs to immediately release the draft copy minutes of the contentious AGM. Even more interesting would be the minute-taker’s notes used to formulate the minutes. These are said to be ‘precious’.

There are plenty of BRC Members who would have preferred to see Terry Svenson don the pads and walk onto the hallowed turf of Eagle Farm as the opener but he was LBW to the first ball bowled over by Morrison.

For our colleague Ben Dorries the task now of ‘talking up’ the in-coming Chairman has been likened by some to ‘making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.’ LGHR doesn’t agree with that sentiment for one moment and believes ‘Dicky’ – who we have never met – will make a fine Chairman but he needs to come clean on some dissention over whether he boasts a pass mark to the AICD exam or not.

In conclusion, as a turf scribe LGHR always found Neville Bell to be helpful and courteous to deal with. We wish him and his wife well as they sit back in their luxury unit atop the Village Green surveying the ‘racing kingdom’ that Neville helped establish in Queensland.    

 

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS WHEN WALLER HORSES LEAVE THE TRACK

LGHR received several emails focussing on last Friday night’s race meeting at Canterbury and questioning how depleted the fields would have been without the support of the powerful Waller stable.

Here is what one contributor (JEFF from MELBOURNE) had to say which just about sums up the thoughts of others who emailed us:

‘WALLER had 13 starters on the seven-race card in Sydney last Friday night and that was after he scratched multiple runners.

He had three of the eight in the first and won with Gatekeeper; three of the seven in the second; four of the nine in the third with Pretty Powerful and Heed The Omens running the quinella; two in the fourth (winning with plunged second string Sting In The Tail) and the well-backed Demiana which beat only one home in the sixth.

In the first three races Waller had nine of the 24 runners – without his stable there would have been five in the first; four in the second and five in the third.

It’s easy to see why Waller dominates in Sydney and why some meetings would struggle to survive without him. Is that a good thing when the Harbour City wants to be seen as the pacemaker of Australian racing?

And I haven’t even touched on the fact that it was the stable second-string that won the opener; how badly debutante that blew like a gale in the betting performed in the second; or how the favourite got lost in the fourth while the stablemate, plunged from double figures, saluted in the fifth.

But let’s adopt the attitude of Waller’s mates in the Sydney media and just put those little misadventures for the punting public down to things that happen in racing. They’re just animals – not machines.’

 

MOVEMENT AT THE GOLD COAST STATION HAS MANY GUESSING

BIG Richie Callander, who LGHR believes provides a good read in his weekly column at Racenet, has created much discussion with one item he wrote this week which suggested:

‘THERE looks to be movement on the Gold Coast shortly with a change at the helm. The man set to be parachuted in will be relieved as he jumps from a sinking ship.’

That prompted these two comments:

CHARLIE J of BRISBANE wrote:

‘MY mates and I have tried to solve the cryptic puzzle that Callander has created concerning movement at the station at the Gold Coast.

We don’t believe it could involve the Chairman as he is appointed by the Members and the Board. Perhaps it is the CEO who we thought was being kept in mothballs for when the club had its new high rise because of his hotel management skills.

Our tip from the clue ‘parachuted in and will be relieved as he jumps from a sinking ship’ is that it could be RQ CEO Jason Scott. We are told that he impressed GCTC officials and Magic Millions heavies with his behind-the-scenes efforts during the recent track fiasco. And after all is there another sinking ship other than RQ?’

And this one from BILL S of the GOLD COAST:

‘ONE would hope that Chairman Brett Cook isn’t the change at the helm that Richard Callander refers to in his Racenet column this week.

I am reliably informed that had it not been for the ‘Captain’s’ close association with a couple of key figures in the Gold Coast constabulary the club would still be waiting for an outcome on the ‘sabotage’ investigation.

My mates and I find it hard to believe that any vandal who knew what he was doing (and this guy obviously did with the pattern than he poisoned on the track), he would have attacked an area closer to the winning post.

Police have ruled out any track staff involvement after an independent report by a leading agronomist found the poisoning was “an intentional act of prepared sabotage” with the herbicide glyphosate applied to a 385sqm section of turf near the 500m mark with “malice and intent”.

What odds another independent agronomist might have come up with a different opinion. Science is a strange factor. In any case, it was the best outcome for the club who can now pursue an insurance claim for the said to be close to $1mn in damages bill.’

But back to my original reason for this email and there are plenty who believe that the GCTC would be worse off if Brett Cook were not to remain as chairman. As for the CEO, well that’s another story that I better not enter into.’

 

PICNIC CLUBS SNUBBING NEW RQ RULES & ELECTING TO GO IT ALONE

AN interesting showdown is looming between Racing Queensland and Western Queensland’s two remaining grass-fed Picnic Meetings who have refused to register with the control body but are pressing ahead with plans to race.

It will be interesting to see if rules placed on the club – which they claim cannot be afforded – will continue to be implemented with the LNP Government now in power and whether the Katter Party will intervene in the dispute.

SALLY GALL reports for the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER that:

INSTALLING shade structures for horses that have spent their lives in a paddock is one of several Racing Queensland requirements that have led Western Queensland’s two remaining grass-fed race clubs to make the difficult decision not to register with the statutory control body this season.

The many thousands of dollars needed to erect shade over the open-air horse stalls is just one of a number of standards being brought in that the Tower Hill Picnic Race Club above Muttaburra and the Oakley Amateur Picnic Race Club (or Kooroorinya), south of Hughenden, have decided they're not able to meet.

Both clubs have had to source alternative insurance for their events, resulting in an additional burden.

According to Tower Hill’s new President, Sam Nisbet, representative from the clubs met Racing Queensland officials in Brisbane in 2024 and became aware of a number of regulations – starting with barriers and not racing horses and not racing the same horse on consecutive days – that would have a major impact on racing style offered at the two clubs.

Tower Hill was founded in 1909 and its Facebook Page says the decision to de-register wasn’t taken lightly. “We are incredibly passionate about bush racing. It’s a love many of us have been born into. Others have come to a race meeting and never left because we love what they represent,” the Page says.

Mr Nisbet said no-one wanted to step away from Racing Queensland, but it wasn’t feasible to continue with the changes clubs needed to make to comply.

As for the ‘shade structure’ requirement, the main reason for Tower Hill’s decision to de-register, Mr Nisbet said: “We haven’t had shade for 100 years and there’s be no problems and our horses live in the paddock. Not only would this cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to install but you’ve got the cost of maintaining it.”

Another consideration was the Rule introduced in November 2023 stipulating that, except with the permission of stewards, a horse shall not compete in a race on consecutive days or in a race on more than five occasions during any 30-day period.

Both Tower Hill and Kooroorinya run two-day events with horses backing up on the second day.

“That would mean trainers would either have to bring two strings of horses or select what races they wanted to enter their horses in,” Mr Nisbet said. “That’s a lot of hard work for trainers for little reward.”

The clubs have also been told that they would need to look at using barriers. Rather than loading horses into barrier stalls, races are currently started the ‘old’ way with a flag. “Our type of racing just doesn’t suit the mould (of conventional barrier starts),” Mr Nisbet said.

A Racing Queensland spokesman confirmed they had met with representatives of both clubs once their licenses expired on June 30, 2024, to discuss their future direction.

Mr Nisbet said Tower Hill would continue to race with the integrity and standards it currently adhered to and its sister club, Kooroorinya was undergoing the same transition.

He said they had a big job ahead of them to be ready to race at Tower Hill on the Anzac Day weekend and at Kooroorinya on the Mother’s Day weekend.

The Kooroorinya Club was contacted for comment but did not respond.

   

WOMEN SHIFTING THE BALANCE IN JOCKEY RANKS IN QUEENSLAND

CONSIDERING the growing problem of insufficient jockeys meaning many runners at country and even some TAB meetings continues to result in horses being scratched, this is an interesting story by STEF ALLEN for the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER.

FOLLOWING high profile success stories like Michelle Payne’s Melbourne Cup win in 2015 and the world’s top-ranked female jockey, Jamie Kah, a new generation of young female jockeys have taken up the saddle, dominating a once predominantly male sport.

According to a QRIC spokesperson, while 73 per cent of jockeys in Queensland are male, 75 per cent of apprentices were female as of January 6. “Over the past few decades, the racing industry has become more inclusive, actively encouraging female participation,” the spokesperson told the NQ Register.

Tolga-based jockey Lacey Morrison has been riding for 25 years. She developed her love for horses through mustering on her family’s Springsure cattle property, show jumping, dressage, camp drafting and show events.

But it was when she started trackwork she found her niche. “I always wanted to be a jockey. I’m very fortunate I’ve achieved my dreams,” Morrison said.

When she 15, she moved to Toowoomba to start her apprenticeship through Racing Queensland. At that time, the cohort of new jockeys was mostly male, particularly in the provincial and metropolitan areas.

“There’s most definitely been a change. I noticed the change from 2005 onwards with the ratios changing at the more metropolitan areas to be even numbers of females to males, and it’s only grown each year,” Morrison said.

She believes there are many factors contributing to the rising number of females in the industry, from men choosing different careers, from women finding it easier to make the lower weights and having a greater ‘care’ factor for their horses.

“A lot of girls are coming into racing later in life, changing their career. There are definitely more female searching for work-life balance and they’re enjoying the balance of riding horses for a job,” she said.

 

SWITCH OF MAGIC MILLIONS TO TWILIGHT MEETING IS ‘NO-BRAINER’

AFTER the success of Friday night’s Magic Millions experiment the switch to a twilight meeting seems a ‘no brainer’ but this is racing in Queensland where they tend to procrastinate and do things differently.

For starters the Seven Network should have no say in the decision-making process. If if they don’t like it ‘Tough Titties’.

It’s time horse racing stopped allowing broadcast networks to dictate when races are run. If a twilight timeslot encroaches on their Big Bash cricket coverage, the nightly News, the Current Affairs Show or anything else, they have secondary stations to fall back on.

A decision on the future of the Magic Millions needs to be made firstly for the benefit on the horses participating. This is the hottest time of the year on the Gold Coast and twilight racing would make it better from a horse welfare viewpoint.

Suggestions it would affect turnover not being a Saturday afternoon card could be offset by running a meeting in Brisbane for metropolitan prizemoney and not a virtual midweek card.

This would silence the critics who believe the current situation is a restriction of trade with the major Saturday meeting restricted largely to graduates of the Magic Millions Sales when the primary fixture is supposed to be for all-comers.

More than 12,000 turned out (granted it was free admission but many were from the younger generation which racing has lost in recent times) to watch the bulk of the MM Card postponed the previous Saturday when the untimely ‘big wet’ made the track unsafe for racing.

The track played better than the washed out meeting when horses had to be near the rail and on the pace to have any hope in the three races run. Opinions are divided on Friday’s twilight outcome.

Some – including the top trainer of one feature race winner – conceded front-runners had an advantage. Others highlight how West Of Africa overcame a suicidal wide barrier and stormed home from last to win the Magic Millions Cup.

The answer’s a pineapple but have a look at any of the replays and clods of turf were being thrown up despite the track being rated in the Good range. Jockeys say the fast times recorded are because the base is harder than the surface turf. Work still needs to be done on the track.

The stable and its supporters can provide all the explanations they like the win of Bjorn Baker-trained O’ Ole in the $3 million MM Two-Year-Old Classic was a form reversal on her fifth at Wyong to Gallo Nero when she raced on the pace and struggled.

That is why from a Golden Slipper perspective, O’ Ole is a $21 chance behind the Chris Waller-trained Wodeton which won impressively on debut at Rosehill on Saturday. He cost $1.6mn and was highly spruiked going into that race.

Queensland’s leading trainer Tony Gollan – who now has well over 100 horses in work at Eagle Farm and on the Gold Coast – landed two of the MM features with Zarastro in the $2mn Snippets and Hidden Wealth in the $1.5mn QTIS Open.

Both were arguably form reversals – Zarastro raced on the pace and dropped out to finish 7^th to stablemate Cannonball in the Listed Falvelon at Eagle Farm at his previous start. Cannonball sat wide in that race but on Friday night finished 7^th beaten five lengths by the horse that he made look second rate in the Falvelon.

Hidden Wealth was a massive form reversal. He was a heavily-backed favorite in the Falvelon but dropped out to be beaten over nine lengths last behind stablemate Cannonball. He grew a leg on Friday night beating QTIS horses but it was still a very good field, including Cirfrado, Boom Torque and Yellow Brick.

Sadly, Chief Steward Josh Adams and his panel were asleep at the wheel failing to query the improved performances of the two Gollan horses which from a punters’ perspective is simply not good enough.

HOOFNOTE: POLICE are now declaring the poisoning of the Gold Coast track an act of vandalism and have cleared any Turf Club staff of being involved. But for some strange reason they have put the investigation into 'hybernation'. LGHR won't be making any apologies for assertions made in the past until police arrest someone and he or she is convincted which is likely to be next to never. At least it opens the way for the GCTC to claim insurance.

 

WHAT HAS IT COST TO FIX GOLD COAST TRACK, WHO FOOTS THE BILL?

AS trainers, jockeys, owners and punters anxiously wait to see if the Gold Coast track plays fairly on Magic Millions night, it’s time to address the elephant in the room.

How many millions has it cost to fix the poisoned section of the track and who will pay?

With the Government unlikely to ‘kick in’, some say the GCTC will dodge a bullet and that Racing Queensland – substitute the industry – will foot the bill.

Perhaps Chairman Steve Wilson, who seems to have ‘disappeared’ since his good friend Grace Grace lost her role as Racing Minister, might like to explain who is paying for the Gold Coast repairs and the installation of a ‘sight screen’ as a safety measure at Eagle Farm.

The story goes that the unsung hero of the Gold Coast debacle was Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch. He was the one who suggested transplanting the section of track to replace that damaged by poisoning.

Perhaps Barry might now like to ask his boss Gerry Harvey to spare a few shackles to pay for the costly repairs that enabled his Magic Millions circus to proceed. After all the amount we are talking about is less than new owners paid for some of the high priced yearlings at the MM Sales from which his company is the major beneficiary.

 

DEATH OF FORMER CHAIRMAN WHO PAVED WAY FOR SCTC SUCCESS

LES Geeves, a former Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Turf Club and rugby league great in Queensland, has died.

Geeves, who was 84, passed away on January 10. A celebration of his life will be held at the Victory Church in Bridgeman Downs, Brisbane, on Monday at 1pm.

As a Rugby League player, Geeves won Brisbane Premierships with Norths, played for his State and helped select some of the best sides to represent Queensland and Australia.

He played an integral part on the committee and as Chairman in the success story that has been the Sunshine Coast Turf Club.

David Aldred, a former CEO of the SCTC, paid tribute to Geeves:

‘A foundation member of the SCTC, Les served on the inaugural SCTC committee in 1982 for over a decade and a half before being elected the Club Chairman in the late 1990s. Les led the progressive provincial committee/board for 13 years.

At the time of his death, Les was one of only 14 SCTC life members. One of a handful of men who drove the establishment of thoroughbred racing on the Sunshine Coast, he paved a way for others to follow.

He was at the forefront of the planning of Corbould Park, built from a greenfield site that was once nothing more than a swampy paddock. He was instrumental in establishing and licensing the racetrack and the SCTC and in the early 1990s he was one of the Club's team that took Corbould Park from a part-time TAB Club to a fully-fledged TAB Club.

Not long after reaching the important milestone, Les, another former chairman Des Scanlan, and I pulled off a game changer for the Club, establishing a deal with SKY Channel (Sky Racing), the TAB, and the Queensland Principal Club (Racing Queensland) to race every Sunday.

Around the same time, the Club's TAB identity was also changed, with a push from the Club, to change the venue name from Caloundra to the Sunshine Coast, the Club subsequently creating history by running the SCTC's only million-dollar race, the Pelican Waters Queensland Million.

More than 30 years after starting the club in Caloundra, Les was still working to make the SCTC a success. He was there when the club built on course stabling, installed a Polytrack and erected floodlights for night racing.

And 18 years ago he was instrumental in the SCTC and Racing Queensland joint venture taking ownership of Corbould Park from the Caloundra City Council. The Council was originally gifted the property by the original landowner Edward Corbould.

One of Les’ proudest ideas was introducing the Sunshine Coast Guineas to the club’s calendar in the late 1990s. The race for three-year-olds was subsequently renamed the Winx Guineas after the superstar mare famously won the race.’

 

STAKEHOLDERS ENTITLED TO EXPECT LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AT GC

CONSIDERING the money that has been spent correcting the Gold Coast track, stakeholders and punters are entitled to expect a level playing field for Friday night’s rich Magic Millions meeting.

A repeat of last Saturday’s ‘farce’, when a biased surface favoured those drawn well and racing on the pace, will result in further embarrassment for the latest ‘basket case’ of Queensland racing.

As we have said before, if a trainer takes a horse to the track and the jockey fails to give it every chance of winning he can be charged. In contrast if a club prepares a track that isn’t fair to all runners, it’s declared ‘one of those things than happen in racing.’

There were reasons for the way the Gold Coast played last Saturday – some close to the action blamed it on a failure to aerate both sides of the track. The club has had almost a week to correct that problem. Here’s hoping they’ve taken time out from blaming sabotage for the poisoning of a section of the surface near the home turn, to address that issue.

Early markets certainly suggest the bookies aren’t convinced the track will play much different to last Saturday. Fancied runners drawn wide or backmarkers are twice the price they should be.

LGHR praised whoever was responsible for bringing the time of the $3mn Two-Year-Old Classic forward to ensure it was run before dark. There wasn’t sufficient time to ensure all youngsters had trialled under lights and it seemed the right safety measure to take.

We were told to get our mail right that the real reason for the early timeslot for the feature was to fit in with the Seven Network coverage. Farcically it seems there is the need to avoid a clash with the Big Bash cricket – and just when we thought Seven had several other Channels to fall back on. It’s time TV stopped controlling programming of races but that isn’t going to happen.

Horses drawn to benefit most if there is again a bias to front-runners in the Two-Year-Old Classic are Invincible Woman, Gallo Nero, Memo, Ole O’le, Vein Girl and The Playwright.

If the track was playing fairly there is so much early speed that La Bella Boom and Icarian Dream arguably could run over the top. But such was the situation last Saturday that backmarkers found it impossible to make ground.

Here are LGHR thoughts on the race – whether the track plays fairly or not:

GALLO NERO: Slight query that the end of a tough 1200m could test him.

ICARIAN DREAM: Not sure about the quality of her win in the G3 Bruce McLachlan and she has been up for longer than most in this field.

OLE O’LE: She has also been up for quite a while and could struggle at the end of 1200m

VEIN GIRL: One of two Munce starters – has been backed at big odds – is unbeaten but untried at 1200m. She should run it out strongly and is the BEST ROUGHIE in the FIELD. Her stablemate COOL ARCHIE, at Bolter’s Odds, one of Australia’s best judges rates him a KO Hope if the track if HEAVY.

LA BELLA BOOM: The jury is out on her last start win at the Sunshine Coast – she did have a month into that run so will be fitter – can’t be overlooked but not totally convinced.

INVINCIBLE WOMAN: The ‘Sally Snow’ camp will be cheering this filly home if you know the connection with one of her owners. She’s the one to run down – Damien Lane sticks after her impressive debut win – but untried at trip and fillies don’t have a great record in the race.

HI BARBIE: They found excuses for her 18-length defeat when favourite at Start 2. Her Listed debut win in November was against a small field and for ours she needs to grow a leg to win this. Gollan runners can do that!

THE PLAYWRIGHT: You have to respect any runner with the Waterhouse-Bott polish. She might go better ridden with a ‘sit’ than she did when run over by Icarian Dream and others in the Bruce McLachlan.

MEMO: Still a Maiden but the race sets up well for her, bias or no bias. There looks to be sufficient pace to suit. She’s prepared by Snowden and ridden by McEvoy. She should have won the MM 2YO 1^st-up at Wyong and then had no luck behind Gallo Nero at Randwick. We rate her the ONE TO BEAT.

Those who like a well-informed ‘leisure bet’ should join the winners and SUBSCRIBE to the LGHR LATE MAIL. We have a ‘special deal’ at present. Just email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. OR text 0407175750 for details.

 

THIS WASN’T ‘WATERGATE’ IT WAS WATERFORD, VIGILANCE NEEDED?

LET LGHR say at the outset that we did not agree with Mark Latham’s attack on Peter V’landys under Parliamentary Privilege which we felt was unwarranted.

Nor do we believe his outrageous suggestion that some leading trainers have a ‘hot-line’ to V’landys if they hit an integrity hurdle.

BUT shouldn’t that mean the Racing NSW Stewards’ Panel are even more vigilant.

Chairman Steve Railton, one of the most highly respected internationally experienced stewards in the land, knows all too well how it feels to have administrative bosses interfere in integrity – he was a victim many moons ago in Queensland.

With Latham’s claims causing much debate among stakeholders and punters, one would have thought that made ‘Railo’ extra vigilant in policing how the leading stables in NSW operate.

Sadly, several punters who use LGHR as a platform to have a ‘whinge’, believe the Railton Panel need to lift their act on occasions.

Saturday was the latest example – and not for an instant is LGHR suggesting anything untoward occurred – but considering the parties involved surely a couple of questions deserved to be asked after the Chris Waller-trained Waterford won the $500,000 Wyong feature, The Lakes.

Here are couple of examples of e-mails we received:

DES J of SYDNEY writes:

‘My mates and I had been following Waterford but dropped off after his more recent performances. Then out he comes, beats the outside alley, still manages to run a sensational late sectional and turns in what we believe was a massive form reversal. Surely the Waller stable should have been asked a question but I can’t find where that occurred in the official Stewards Report’.

And this one from SAM S of MELBOURNE, arguably not a big Waller fan:

‘I wonder how big Richie Callander, Waller’s good mate and outspoken on so many subjects, would have described the big improvement shown by the horse he part-owns in Waterford at the weekend. Was that the same horse we saw go round in the Summer Cup or The Gong or the Little Dance? From a punters’ perspective sadly this happens too often with Waller-trained horses. And don’t worry Waterford landed some good bets at double figure odds. Adding insult to injury its win came only two races after what looked to be Waller’s ‘good thing’ of the day – Invader Zim – was the subject of an inquiry after many blamed his defeat on the ride of apprentice Ben Osmond who stewards felt should have been ‘more positive early’.

THE POST MORTEM:

IN our LATE MAIL SERVICE, LGHR labelled WATERFORD one of OUR BEST ROUGHIES of the day. Had it drawn a better alley we would have tipped the horse on top largely because we have become so accustomed to Waller horses that appear to be racing poorly growing a leg when you least expect.

It’s easy to understand the frustration of punters, especially when a stable as powerful as Waller’s has so many starters and often it’s a second-string that beats home the favourite.

In the case of Waterford, we didn’t believe he ran out the 2000m of the Summer Cup. He finished 12^th behind Robusto (the horse he swept past to win The Lakes) and in the G2 Ingham before that he never got clear galloping room. In the Little Dance he was anchored by 62kg then his run peaked when fourth in The Gong when he was third-up and chasing the smart Gringotts.

That’s the plus side. But negative wise Waterford was drawn off the track, had placed only once from seven starts at the mile and not in one of his five starts this campaign did he settle further forward than eighth. If there was no notification of a change in riding tactics from that bad draw (which we don’t believe there was), then Waller should have been reminded of his obligations.

If ever there was a time when Stewards needed to convince the ‘Doubting Thomas’s’ who bet on Sydney racing that leading stables need a ‘rev up’, then this was it and LGHR is sure that winning owner ‘Big Richie’, who tends to divide racing followers, would be the first to agree with that assessment.

 

WAS IT THE ‘ONE-ARMED MAN’ WHO DID THE DAMAGE TO GC TRACK?

THE Magic Millions was a subject several emailers wanted to comment on. Here are two of the contributions received that we are able to publish:

PAUL D of LABRADOR writes:

‘I thought there were a couple of comments from police concerning the alleged sabotage of the Gold Coast track that have added to the intrigue.

• Superintendent Brett Jackson said police were keeping an ‘open mind’ when determining whether the damage was in fact ‘deliberate’.
• Jackson said there were consistencies in the correlation between the machinery used by the GCTC with dimensions of the damaged area 16m wide and a spray boom used by track staff around 8m.
• The Superintendent said there were ‘still no suspects’ in the police investigation.

It was left to GCTC Chairman Brett Cook – to follow up on the Police update – with this:

‘If it does turn out to be a deliberate act, which is looking increasingly likely, we’re very disappointed with the narrative that has come out suggesting it was some sort of mistake on our part.’

LGHR got some late mail from a suspect source that the blind man who collects donations from punters after the races was out for a walk with his Labrador one night around the time the ‘sabotage’ occurred and saw a ‘one armed man’ (bit too young to be Richard Kimble) madly rowing a ‘tinnie’ down a canal near the track with hose nosels hanging around his neck.

 

BOUQUETS FOR MOVING TWO-YEAR-OLD CLASSIC TO DAYLIGHT SLOT

‘LGHR received this email concerning the running of the Magic Millions Two-Year-Classic on Friday night:

DAPHNE J of GOLD COAST writes:

‘Full marks to stewards or whoever was responsible, for moving the rich Two-Year-Old Classic forward to Race 2 on Friday night.

We understand that before youngsters raced in The Debut at the Gold Coast in December they were required to trial under lights.

This would not have been possible for those who did not contest The Debut because of the short time-frame between Saturday and Friday night. Bringing the race forward to when it is still daylight overcomes that problem.

It removed the (probably remote) chance of a big field of lightly-raced youngsters vying for a $3 million purse with many of them not having experienced night racing conditions.

And on a final note here’s hoping they have remedied the problem by Friday night that saw only those on the pace and drawn near the fence fighting out the finish of the three races run last Saturday. It was hardly a level playing field.’

As an aside, those who witnessed Gai Waterhouse give the owners of Alligator Blood a serve for transferring the horse to Chris Waller reckon it was one of the highlights outside the Magic Millions Sales Ring.’

 

CAHILL WILL MAKE A TERRIFIC MENTOR FOR YOUNG JOCKEYS AT RQ

GREG BLANCHARD, of the Gold Coast, a great supporter of preparing young people for a career in the saddle, welcomes the news that top jockey MICHAEL CAHILL will join the RQ Training Department.

‘It was terrific to hear that Michael Cahill has accepted a position with the Racing Queensland Training Department. I applaud this decision.

I believe that training is vitally important and the appointment of someone of Michael’s ability is the best decision RQ Training has made in the last decade.

Not only is he a Group 1 winning rider (winning the Stradbroke and two Doomben 10,000, as well as many other big races) but Michael also rode with success internationally in Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau and Mauritius.

Apart from that ability on the track I am told he is a champion bloke and a perfect role model for young jockeys.

The news has also filtered through that Chris Whitely is also retiring from race riding and joining Michael with long-time Training Department supremo Shane Scriven at RQ. Chris rode for almost 35 years and I believe landed close to 2,000 winners.’

 

WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG TO UPGRADE CLUDEN PARADE RING?

PERRY H from NORTH QUEENSLAND sent this email which we have been able to follow up:

‘I have been watching racing at Cluden for a very long time both on and off the course, nowadays at home (sadly, not a lot to attract one to the course these days) and I would like to know why for months now there is no parade enclosure and return to scale area shown on SKY?

It appears the parade ring and return to scale is out of action for some reason?

No idea why. Could it be they can't afford to get it usable/repaired?

It's very unsatisfactory as a TV watcher as the only glimpse you get is of the horses going out on to the track with riders aboard. I can't imagine SKY or RQ would be impressed?

Hoping you may be able to ask around and get the CORRECT answers and not PR spin from the club.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: You are right Perry. The reason you can’t see the horses parading at Townsville is because the ring and return to scale area is being upgraded. Sadly there has been delays, the reasons for which stakeholders and SKY viewers should have been made aware of. We are reliably informed the redevelopment has been an absolute catastrophe. Some are blaming the Townsville Turf Club and others Racing Queensland. It would be nice to get some clarification on the issue from the authorities and how long it is going to take to have the parade ring back in action like it should have been months ago.

 

 

IS A HIGH PROFILE QUEENSLAND PUNTER PROVIDING THE TAB WITH ‘HIS’ PRICES & BETTING ON THEM BEFORE PUNTERS GET A CRACK? THE GREATEST RORT OF ALL TIME OR CAN THE NEW CEO EXPLAIN?

‘CALVIN from CLONTARF’ is a very well-informed identity when it comes to the gambling world. What he is claiming needs investigating at the highest level. We would love to hear an explanation from new TAB CEO GILLON McLACHLAN.

THERE used to be a saying in racing ……….THE ONLY PLACE ALL MEN ARE EQUAL IS ON THE TURF AND UNDER IT.

Whether it be bankers, lawyers, labourers, teachers or wharfies, when we all walked through the racetrack gate we were all coming off scratch.

Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years.

As we go further into the digital age the gambling world has been turned on its head with betting syndicates spending $400mn on computers, corporate bookmakers (who are a law unto themselves), betting exchanges, both legal and illegal bet fair and citibet, of which Australian authorities have no jurisdiction whatsoever and makes Betfair look like a timid bingo game at the RSL.

Not only in racing, but also in politics, sport and every day occurrences, it is nigh impossible for people in the main stream media to report the facts, without the spin or nuances.

There has been a rumour around gambling circles for quite a while but nobody wants to mention ‘the war’ – even if this has a modicum of truth in it – it will have punters aghast.

Has anybody else (bar the pros) noticed the wild fluctuations that the TAB has been posting on the three codes in recent times?

If what is said to be happening is true, it will make the ‘Sally Snow saga’ pale into insignificance. That whole debacle would have been a PR nightmare for TABCORP but it was swept under a rather large carpet!

The story goes that a large Queensland gambler who likes to have an  ‘edge’ and the odds  ‘stacked’ in his favour is supplying the TAB with his prices and proceeds to bet with them at ‘HIS’ prices for good amounts BEFORE they are displayed on the internet for general consumption for the rank and file. WTF!

I am no legal expert but I will hazard a guess and say evens each of two ‘insider trading’ or ‘systematic fraud’. They supply the prices to the TAB and then bet with them. Nice work if you can get it.

TABCORP’s current share price is 56 cents, a far cry from days gone by. They made a loss last year of $A1.6 billion. Sportsbet on the other hand made $2 billion net.

Something doesn’t seem quite right.

We all know that before the current administration the business was arguably very poorly run and had been outpointed by the corporates at every turn.  

Some say Gillon McLachlan was thrown a ‘hospital pass’ when he took on the job as CEO of Tabcorp. To ease his pain he is on $30,000 per week plus incentives and bonuses. 

It would be nice to know if the shareholders are aware of the modus operandi of the traders.

About a month ago the TAB shed 200 staff with redundancies etc. There is a climate of fear in the workplace with nobody wanting to rock the boat for fear of retribution.

Maybe it is time for the CEO to shine a light on these dark, disturbing allegations as punters have very little voice these days unlike breeders, owners and trainers who have never seen it better.

Without turnover racing is a house of cards and if punters don’t get a fair go they will cease to invest.     

LONG MAY WE PLAY!                                                        

 

DON’T BE SO SELECTIVE IN YOUR COMMENTARY ON CONTROVERSY ‘FEATHERS’ – YOUR ‘SPIN’ HAS MORE BIAS THAN THE GC TRACK

THE message bank and emails ran hot mid-morning with suggestions that ‘Feathers’ Fowler had once again used his ‘politically motivated, suck-up-to-survive’ Press Room program on Radio TAB to give LGHR & peterprofit.com another serve, although he didn't have the 'balls' to name us.

The subject of his come to expect, non-constructive criticism on this occasion was that we had dared to suggest that track bias on the Gold Coast for the three races run on Saturday favoured only those on the pace and near the rail.

Memo Dave:

‘You’re entitled to your opinion even if you refused to do a post-portem of how the three races were run. Would your attitude have been the same had this occurred at Eagle Farm?

Like many others LRHR doesn't listen to your drivel of a Monday. With respect, you would win more friends David if you were arguably less subservient to your mates at the BRC, took steps to halt the industry belief that you take directions from ‘Manuel’ and start listening to the people in the know at the coalface of racing and some of them might tell you what is ‘really’ happening.

‘And by the way ,it’s been a couple of months now but you refuse to answer our call to do a fireside chat with BRC Chairman Neville Bell about those questions from respected Member Wally Gleeson that the industry is still waiting to hear answers to after the AGM. Even some of your one-time supporters believe constructiveness has gone from the 'penthouse’ to the ‘out-house’  on this mainstream media censored issue. 

‘Stop pretending to be a hard-hitting racing commentator. Your bagging of RQ on the Press Room show for failing to transfer the washed out Eagle Farm meeting on Saturday to Monday lost credibility because everyone knows how close you are to the BRC.

It was big prizemoney lost to the industry – couldn’t agree more with your suggestion. But here’s hoping you weren’t encouraged to ‘parrot’ that Monday transfer by ‘Manuel’ and the ‘Boys at the Farm’. After all you are their No 1 ‘spin doctor’ .

Kicking up for the GCTC isn’t going to help mate if the reports are right that your days of race calling will be part of many redundancies at Radio TAB. Take the tip and fast forward plans to head to Crow-Eater Country.’

Here’s just one example of what an observer thought of the Gold Coast track on Saturday:

PAUL A writes: 'I’m happy to be proven wrong but while watching coverage of the MM on Saturday I thought I noticed two tyre tracks along the inside rail where it looked like vehicles or tractors had been going along.

That would therefore have compacted that section of the track and explain the massive bias to that area. I remember Mick Goodie doing that at Flemington one carnival and it ultimately costing him his job.'

WE had several more emails and texts – some highlighting the kickback obvious in the Stewards’ vision of Race 1; others blaming ‘aerating’ of only half the track (that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?); and plenty claiming if the heavy rain hadn’t forced the meeting to be postponed the way the track was playing it would have rewarded ‘mediocrity’.  

 

WEATHER GODS ANSWERED PRAYERS OF THOSE UNHAPPY WITH BIAS

THE ‘Weather Gods’ weren’t kind to the Magic Millions on Saturday but answered the prayers of those owners and trainers who had horses in big races that were drawn wide or backmarkers.

The ‘spin doctors’ can praise the efforts of the track staff, the Gold Coast Turf Club and Racing Queensland for enabling the big meeting to proceed in trying circumstances but in a word they are ‘dodging’ the real issue. Many believe the track was 'stuffed' before the meeting began.

There was no way it played fairly in the three races that were run on Saturday. The bias towards runners on the rail made it impossible for the backmarkers. Some of those tried so hard but came to the outside and just spun their wheels and just couldn't make ground while others nearer the rail were benefitted unfairly.

When the decision that had to be made for safety reasons was announced mid-afternoon on Saturday there was a resounding sigh of relief from many big trainers. One lady, who shall remain nameless, declared: ‘Thank God for that. Runners drawn wide that get back might as well have been left at home in their boxes.’

It’s a crazy situation in racing when a track is prepared that doesn’t play fairly to all runners. No-one takes the blame. But if a trainer takes a horse to the races and doesn’t give it the best opportunity of winning, he’s in strife.

LGHR will, of course, be accused of ‘negativity’ once again but we are reliably informed by our spies close to the coalface that the real reason for the problem was that only half the track was ‘aerated’ prior to Millions day.

Stakeholders are entitled to know why they presented a track that wasn’t fair to ALL runners. We expect officials will deny this and the 'Noddy's' in the mainstream racing media will agree with them but ask those who know and are not afraid to speak out.

Whatever the debate let’s hope they get it right in time for Friday night which could be a problem if the constant rain continues because it was the right decision to go under lights. Free admission for the remainder of the card was the right one. It was a perfect opportunity to promote night racing at the Gold Coast which is spectacular.

The ‘big wet’ that hit south-east Queensland did lead to another disaster however when they transferred what was a very good Sunday meeting on the Sunshine Coast to the despised ‘Poly’ track.

If Racing Queensland needed any further confirmation that most owners and trainers are reluctant to race on this surface, here it was. Over 100 scratchings – unbelievable – and a meeting (sure it ensured there was racing on the ‘Sunny’ Coast) – but turnover was down alarmingly and as a spectacle one might as well have been watching Jason Richardson and Bernadettte Cooper prolicking in the puddles before the cameras on Millions day.

 

PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY HAD BROPHY BOXING TROUPE BEEN AT MM

FRED Brophy, the legendary showman whose Boxing Troupe is almost as famous as the iconic Birdsville races, could well have plied his trade at the Gold Coast on Magic Millions Day.

We’re joking off course but feelings are running so high between officials of some major clubs that Brophy could well have organised a charity fund-raiser with Gold Coast chairman Brett Cook versus his Townsville counterpart Geoff Weeks and Brisbane Racing Club chairman ‘Nifty’ Neville Bell pitted against Mayor of the Gold Coast Tom Tate.

On a serious note, the Townsville Turf Club has reacted angrily to suggestions that the GCTC want to take over racing at Cluden Park because the club is facing financial problems.

Back in the big smoke Mayor Tate has angered the BRC by suggesting that Doomben racetrack should be considered as the main venue for the Brisbane Olympics.

Here’s what TTC Chairman Geoff Weeks had to say about the GCTC takeover move:

‘WE would like to respond to a recent article regarding a proposed takeover of Townsville Turf Club by Gold Coast Turf Club.

Neither the Chairman, Committee or CEO of Townsville Turf Club have been included in, or are aware of any discussions involving the GCTC taking over the administration or license of Townsville Turf Club.

We have further been advised both Racing Queensland and the Racing Minister's Office are also not aware of any preliminary discussions or discussions currently on hold.

On a recent visit by the Racing Minister to Townsville and visiting the track, the Minister spoke of his commitment and support of regional and country racing clubs.

The story has upset many of our trainers and members with one member expressing  their disappointment by saying it would be the equivalent of telling the NQ Cowboys players, members and supporters that the Cowboys will be run by the Brisbane Broncos or Sydney Roosters.

The current committee and CEO are working through its financial issues and obligations by reducing costs, terminating non-essential outsourced contracts, having the support of RQ ,and importantly it has the support of the members and the community.

On other good news as reported in an earlier article in 2024 by LGHR, TTC can confirm that retired trainer of over 40 years in the industry, Errol Sewell, was awarded Honorary Life Membership at our AGM in November 2024.

Meanwhile, GOLD COAST Mayor Tom Tate has upset the BRC with his suggestion the Brisbane Olympics could save $5 billion and use the extra cash to fund a new main stadium at Doomben Racecourse.

Tate this week delivered the city’s formal submission to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics Review, with the 32-page document outlining how the blockbuster event could save billions of dollars by using or enhancing existing venues, such as the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, creating additional budget to solve Brisbane’s stadium dilemma once and for all.

His Doomben suggestion saw one of the major race tracks in Queensland join a growing list of potential sites mooted as Olympic stadiums, as debate rages over whether a revamped Gabba, Victoria Park, the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre or a privately funded venue on Brisbane’s northside should serve as a main Olympic stadium.

It was left to the new BRC CEO Karl deKroo to respond in a message circulated to Members:

‘YOU may have read (overnight), Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate, has included Doomben Racecourse in his formal submission to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics Review as a potential site for an Olympic stadium. 

We were surprised and disappointed by Tate’s decision to name Doomben in his proposal without any consultation with the Brisbane Racing Club.

Our position has always been to recognise the significance of the 2032 Olympics and the opportunity the Games present for Brisbane and Queensland.

We remain open to engaging with the Government on the role our club can play in the broader infrastructure plan. However, any proposal that would lead to the cessation of racing at Doomben demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of its critical role in sustaining the thoroughbred racing industry in Queensland. 

We will be sure to update Members of any further discussions in the future.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: IT would have been more appropriate for Mayor Tate to have consulted the BRC before going public on his Olympic ideas.

We standby our story regarding the GCTC wanting to take over the license of the financial troubled TTC. Someone is telling ‘porkies’ here. Our information came via a high profile GCTC Turf Club official who was speaking of plans for the club with a former Chairman.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions over the source of our story don’t forget LGHR has great respect for the jobs that were done by Hoss Heinrich, Bill Millican and Andrew Eggleston when they were Chairmen. Eeny meeny miny moe!

 

‘BALLSY CALL’ TO PRESS AHEAD WITH MILLIONS AT THE GOLD COAST

WHOEVER has provided the millions it cost to repair the poisoned section of the Gold Coast track got the first return on their investment when it was decided to run the Magic Millions on their home track.

It was a ‘ballsy’ call to risk running over a newly-laid transplanted section of turf on the home turn after top jockeys trialled six runners on Thursday morning and gave it the ‘all clear’.

One can only hope that the predicted rain doesn’t damage the repaired patch and cause some safety issues after big fields have negotiated earlier in the card and the track plays fairly for the entire program – something that couldn’t have been guaranteed even before the poisoning occurred.

It seemed ironic that only minutes after it was announced the meeting would proceed at the Gold Coast and officials held a media conference the rain started to team down and plenty more has been predicted over the next 48 hours. As one commentator told RSN: ‘That’s the Gold Coast – beautiful one day, pissing down the next’.

Little wonder punters have been reluctant to bet early on the meeting – not only was there the uncertainty over where the MM would be run but who knows how the track will play with the inclement weather forcast.

But it’s all systems go – ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’ have been saved the embarrassment of entertaining a big crowd of visitors and celebrities while the real drawcard is run an hour away at Eagle Farm. And that’s not to mention what it would have cost them if the races weren’t run on the ‘glitter strip’.

What the industry now wants to know is how much the ‘Magic Millions Rescue Operation’ cost and who will be paying for it. Stakeholders are entitled to know.

Come on RQ don’t go sweeping this one under the carpet.

Bringing in track specialists was just the start, moving heaven and turf to make the surface safe for racing would have cost a fortune. It must have been in the millions. RQ says it has a financial ‘black hole’ because of the cost blowout of the new Q greyhound complex, the new Government is hardly going to kick in, so does that mean it will be paid from the Racing Infrastructure Fund or will the GCTC (or heaven forbid, even the Magic Millions run by one of Australia’s richest men) be asked to contribute. Considering the amount Gerry Harvey makes out of the MM each year, where yearlings are being sold at the Sales for unbelievable prices, it would be nothing short of a drop in the bucket for him.  

RSN RADIO spoke to the ‘man of the moment’, a relieved GCTC CEO Steve Lyons, soon after the news filtered through that the meeting would proceed at the Coast. Here are some of the ‘gems’ he provided:

“The feedback from the jockeys (who rode horses in a trial) was that the repaired section performed as good as the rest of the track. We’re here to race on Saturday.

“The Evergreen team are world class. My team, my Board, my Chairman were first class handling the crisis management. Lots of the media were very supportive and we are grateful for that.

“It has been a gut-wrenching week. My staff are going to take my lead on everything. This is the result of team work. You are only as good as the team around you. There are risks with everything. At the end of the day you have to stay solid,” Lyons concluded. LGHR and others removed their fingers from their throats.

Asked about any concerns over the predicted rain RQ CEO Jason Scott said: “If we do get rain we will deal with it.” Fair comment from the one official making sense in all of this.

 

COULD GOLD COAST TAKEOVER TROUBLED TOWNSVILLE TURF CLUB?

IF the Gold Coast can complete a ‘Mission Impossible’ and rescue Saturday’s multi-million dollar Magic Millions meeting on the ‘glitter strip that will certainly not damage its chances of Racing Queensland allowing the club to expand state-wide.

LGHR understands that the GCTC wants to take control of the financially-troubled Townsville Turf Club with preliminary talks put on hold when the Gold Coast track was poisoned on the eve of the Magic Millions.

If the GCTC is seen as a viable option to run Cluden Park – and there seems no reason it shouldn’t be after the successful takeover of Beaudesert – it will possess of racing empire to rival the Brisbane Racing Club, which operates Eagle Farm, Doomben and Deagon.

There are similarities in the master plans of both clubs. Each has a major backer – Aquis at the Gold Coast and Ladbrokes in Brisbane. Both have expanded their interests to include a licensed club outside their tracks. The BRC has its luxury high rise unit development and the GCTC has plans to follow suit.

The BRC hosts the major races of the Winter Carnival spearheaded by the Stradbroke Handicap, rated the most prestigious in Queensland. Gold Coast has its Magic Millions Carnival, the richest in the State at the height of the tourist season.

The extra advantages the GCTC boasts is a major Sales Centre nearby and the recent addition of Night Racing with a spectacular launch before Christmas. Brisbane will never boast that at Eagle Farm or Doomben because the lights would apparently present a major problem to the nearby International Airport.

Something that needs noting from a political perspective is that Chairman Brett Cook insisted that – despite the change in Government – former Racing Minister Grace Grace and some of her key staff be special guests at the night race launch. The man she calls ‘Bretty’ was quick to recognise that without ‘Gracie’s’ support there would have been no funding of the lighting project. And that is despite his close friendship with the Local Member from the LNP, JPL.

 

GOLD COAST POISED TO ARGUE FOR MORE STAND-ALONE SATURDAYS

SUCH has been the emergence of the Gold Coast as a racing giant in Queensland that it can justifiably argue for more stand-alone Saturday meetings.

Therein lies a problem. Brisbane doesn’t want to relinquish any of its dates. One of the reasons the Labor Government supported the installation of lights was that it believed Night Racing might overcome that situation.

LGHR understands that the GCTC believes it has too many night meetings allocated because on several occasions it means the club would not be racing that week on the Saturday. They are hoping the new Government will allow them to correct that.

Problem is there is a belief at Racing Queensland that the Sunshine Coast cannot continue to bare the sole burden of Friday night racing because it is having an effect of the size of their Sunday fields.

A GCTC takeover of Townsville seems a ‘good fix’ at a time when stakeholders in the north have lost confidence in the current administration with the club close to bankruptcy.

There are problems with the Cluden track that also need fixing and that is why how the GCTC handles the current ‘poisoning’ issue at Bundall is being closely monitored behind the scenes.

 

GCTC NEEDS TO STOP BLAME GAME & LIFT PUBLIC RELATIONS IMAGE

ONE understands why Brett Cook and his committee are upset at suggestions – some from high profile track experts within their own ranks – that a mistaken over-spraying of a fungus problem and not sabotage caused the poisoning.

They are adamant it was sabotage – firstly blaming the animal liberationists and then disgruntled staff who had been sacked. But why they waited days to report those feelings to police while desperate efforts were made to fix the problem remains a mystery.

We understand the GCTC needs to prove it was sabotage to claim insurance. But there are holes in the discovery of footprints and nosels near the track theories. Why were those footprints not found near the poisoned area and only a dumb vandal would leave behind the tools of his trade?

The one downside for the club has been its handling of the affair. It has been a public relations disaster, despite having the mainstream racing media on-side. ‘Captain Cook’ should be focussing on fixing the problem rather than worrying about taking pot-shots at websites like LGHR for daring to ask legitimate questions on behalf of stakeholders.

The time has come to bite the bullet and invite Steve Andrews back onto the frontline team ensuring track woes of the past don’t return to haunt the club. For too long there has been an inclination to blame someone else – such was the case when the new track had to be closed for nine months – the GCTC maintained their track staff were working under directions and pressure from RQ and that caused the problem.

 

ARE NATIVES STILL RESTLESS OR CAN COOKIE DODGE ODD SPEAR?

BRETT Cook came to a role that was always going to be hard to fill considering some of the Chairmen that preceded him but he possessed a truck-load of experience as a Director.

The same can’t be said for CEO Steve Lyons who brought decades of experience in the hospitality industry to the job but next to no background in racing.

Lyons was quick to bag those who maintain the pattern of the poisoned area of the track was not consistent with sabotage. One of those was RQ CEO Jason Scott. Not a smart move and something a highly respected former CEO like Scott Whiteman, now with Country Racing Victoria, would never have considered.

Critics of Lyons say – tongue in cheek – his greatest claim to fame has been removing a photo montage of former Club Chairmen – many of them legends – from a wall in the club precinct. No doubt he had a good reason for this.

Ian Brown is the other key player at the GCTC whose role when he joined the club as a former steward was largely Racing Manager responsible for Integrity. That seems to have changed since he built a closer association with Aquis than arguably the Chairman, CEO or any Director enjoy.

Some at the coalface say club heavies were far from happy with Brown’s new influence and tipped he wouldn’t last but he has. LGHR likes to think that ‘behind every successful man, there’s a great woman’ and having watched first-hand the sports management and public relations skills of Brown’s wife Bree (formerly Andrews, a well-known racing family), we can only assume that her abilities have rubbed off on him.

The odds are shortening that the Gold Coast will host Saturday’s meeting – despite Eagle Farm being placed on standby. One thing you can be sure of – with Kim Kelly’s stewarding experience – Chief Stipe Josh Adams will need to be 99 per cent sure that the new section of track will stand up to a big day of racing (and perhaps some rain) after horses gallop over it before a final decision is made on Thursday morning.

 

HOPE ISLAND HARRY OFFERS HUMOROUS SOLUTION TO TRACK WOES

AS the ‘Who Did It’ of racing in Queensland continues with police investigating the alleged sabotage of the Gold Coast track, there was an amusing email to peterprofit.com which LGHR is sure Archie Butterfly won’t mind us republishing.

Under the headline: Hope Island Harry Fingers the Gold Coast Saboteurs, his suggestion added some light-hearted humor to a sad but serious situation.

Harry wrote (in part):

‘ALLOW me to let your readers in on a little secret.

The Gold Coast track wasn’t sabotaged by a rogue group of animal activitists.

Those long-haired, cauliflower-eating, racing hating dole bludgers are too stoned to poison in such perfect symmetrical straight lines. Plus they couldn’t afford to buy the quantity of Round Up required for the job.

No my friends, this wasn’t the work of animal activists.

It was the ALIENS.

Those extra-terrestrial trouble-makers have long form when it comes to turning green grass brown.

Remember the crop circles?

That was them too – this is just history repeating.

What’s their motive you ask?

That’s easy.

It’s the new lights at the track.

Their beams are so powerful they travel all the way to Uranus and shine so bright in their eyes that it wakes the kids up.

Stuffing up the track so that the Southern stables can’t come up and plunder Racing Queensland’s riches is just the Alien’s form of payback to the Gold Coast Turf Club for making them get out of bed to get the little tackers back to sleep.

Any idiot could have worked out that it was them.

It was the Aliens for sure.

Take that cheque to the bank and cash it.

There’s no need to buy any manure to get the grass growing again.

The finger-pointing clowns running the Gold Coast Club speak enough shit to fertilize the Kalahari.’

 

‘SOUTH AUSTRALIAN STEWARDS ARE IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN’

IN other news we have received several emails from angry punters bagging the stewards in South Australia and declaring that panel the worst in the land.

You might remember the complaints we published when they failed to ask a question after Gotta Go Guru, a plunged odds-on favourite, beat only two home at Gawler on December 14.

The Andrew Gluyus-trained mare was beaten eight lengths on that occasion in a Benchmark 64 over 1700m. Critics suggested it wasn’t one of apprentice Taylor Johnstone’s better rides.

It seems punters have been waiting for Gotta Go Guru to start again and it was reproduced last Saturday in a tougher Benchmark 72 over 2000m at Murray Bridge with Johnstone again in the saddle.

In under three weeks Gotta Go Guru grew a leg, was backed for a bundle and bolted in carrying significantly less weight. One would have thought that after failing to query the dismal performance at its previous start, stewards might have questioned the form reversal on Saturday.

But not the good old boys in South Australia who one punter suggested were ‘again asleep at the wheel’ but went as far as bagging the form ‘experts’ on racing.com, highlighting the fact that one of them has a long-standing association with the Gluyus stable.

Surely there was an explanation and punters were entitled to know what it was. Gotta Go Guru is a smart mare and Gluyus is a talented trainer. LGHR is not suggesting anything untoward happened here – simply suggesting it’s time the SA Stewards did their job.

Favorites have a woeful record in that State – just look at the results of the first three races on Saturday. Last start winner San Lucido lost a leg beaten almost nine lengths after being heavily-backed into $2.15. Harpalee, which looked one of the good things of the day and started $2, never looked like winning before finishing a close third. Novela, plunged into $2.05 in the third, finished a battling fourth. The the two equal favourites in the fifth (Tosen Water and Wine Barron beaten only one runner home.

Come on guys, how about lifting your act before none of the rank and file punters are game to bet on racing in South Australia!

 

CONCERNS EXPRESSED & QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUTBARRIER DRAWS

A SHORT time ago we received an interesting email expressing concerns at the barrier draw and should have addressed the matter before now but were focussed on issues involving the Gold Coast track and the AGM at the Brisbane Racing Club. 

Here is what PETER B wrote:

‘I believe we are not going with the times by having the barrier draw process that is still being used today. It is so obvious it’s not a fair system. Certain trainers are continually executed week in week out. Locked on Integrity in racing is paramount and the draws basically have a major impact on the result of the race.

My question to the powers above: Why isn’t it governed more closely, even live stream a manual draw, only eight or nine races, then it’s level playing field.

If the Lotto draw was done behind closed doors no one would buy a ticket.

I think this issue is serious and needs closer attention. It never seems to get taken seriously.

We raised the matter with Kim Kelly, Deputy Commission for QRIC, who promised to check what balances were in place as far as routine barrier draws were concerned.

Kim advised that, apart from special feature races where the draws were done independently (often involving owners) at functions, draws from the majority of races are conducted by computer at Racing Australia.

In Hong Kong, where Kelly was Chief Steward for many years until recently, he said the allocation system was audited on an annual basis by the University of Queensland. Further, a representative of the HK Racehorse Owners’ Association was invited to witness the process if they wished.

Kelly confirmed that in recent times a stakeholders’ official, concerned about the barrier draw, witnessed from Queensland the process being undertaken by Racing Australia and was satisfied with the outcome. 

 

WHY NOT ENLIST SLATTER TO ENCOURAGE KIDS TO BECOME JOCKEYS?

HERE are the latest thoughts of GREG BLANCHARD from the GOLD COAST in his on-going battle to have more jockeys available to ride in the bush:

‘AS in previous years 2024 saw hundreds and hundreds of horses scratched due to no riders in the bush.

Here is my suggestion which I might add I wrote to RQ few years ago about but never heard back from them.

Rugby League legend Billy Slater is on the Coast for the Magic Millions. It’s a great opportunity to get him on board to assist by travelling to the bush and encouraging kids interested in becoming jockeys.

If Racing Queensland could persuade Billy to go to the far west and far north west, even if it was only for a few days, I believe his visit would be worthwhile.

You need star power to get kids interested and Slater is one of their heroes. If we get just one or two kids on board to start with as trainees it would be a success.’
 

 

QUESTIONS WALLY GLEESON ASKED AT BRC AGM THAT MAINSTREAM RACING JOURNALISTS ‘CENSORED’ – AS THE STAND-OFF CONTINUES

IF the Brisbane Racing Club refuses ASAP to provide draft minutes of its AGM, relating to how questions asked concerning disclosures of apartment ownership and Directors’ travel are recorded, the on-going dispute will be escalated.

THE ownership of luxury apartments in the Ascot Green Development is an issue that BRC Member Wally Gleeson and his supporters want clarified for the sake of transparency.

“When asked about this at the AGM the Chairman only identified a few Directors as having ownership but he failed to include himself as an owner of one or more apartments. The Chairman did however provide the AGM with an extensive reply on just how transparent the process is of Directors purchasing apartments in the Ascot Green Development.”

Gleeson said the matter of travel and accommodation costs for Board Directors raised at the AGM (an average of $23,450 individually during 2023-24) was of great concern to regular club Members.

“In 2024 alone the BRC was represented by multiple directors (air fares, accommodation and other expenses) at racing carnivals in most States of Australia on a regular basis. As well three directors and their partners attended the Royal Ascot Carnival in the UK and another three and their partners the week-long Asian Racing Conference in Japan. The Deputy Chairman and the Director for Finance & Governance attended the Japan Cup in November.

“It is little wonder they racked up a total expenditure of $187,636 in 2023-24. At the current rate of travel the 2024-25 figure will surpass that. The time has come for all Board Directors (Bell, Morrison, Gagel, Svenson, Schatz, Gleeson (until his departure), Frayne and Creaton) to have their individual expenses revealed to the membership.

“It is time Racing Queensland investigated the expenditure of the BRC Directors on travel and accommodation. The Auditor’s report was reviewed and approved by RQ before the AGM and surprisingly not one question was raised with the Board.”

THESE are the questions that Wally Gleeson asked at the AGM of the BRC:

HOW many Board Directors, ex Board Directors, Senior Staff or ex Senior Staff own one or more apartments in the Eagle Farm Ascot Green Development?

WHY did Club CEO Tony Partridge abruptly resign in early July 2024 and did he sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?

WHY did Board member of 10 years, Simon Gleeson, resign a month after the CEO?

WHY wasn’t the Board vacancy created by Simon Gleeson’s resignation included in the general election of Board Members? Is this vacancy to be a Captain’s Pick?

WAS the mainstream media invited to attend the AGM?

IS the current Auditor, whose fees for the 2023-24 audit was $98,050, engaged in accordance with Section (256A) of the RO Act? (By explanation Registered Organization means the same auditor can only be used five years in every seven).

Gleeson also raised issues regarding Directors’ Travel Costs:

REFER BRC 2023-24 Annual Report (pages 45, Sections 24, Directors & Executive Disclosures – Board entertainment, Travel & Accommodation costs:

Board $187,636, Executive $86,138. TOTAL: $273,774.

Average annual cost per Director was $23,450.

CAN the Auditor apportion these costs to the individual Board Members and BRC Executives?

REFERRING to PAGE 39 of the 2023-24 Annual Report, Directors and Executives disclosures and related Party Disclosures in the BRC’s ‘Register of Interests:

IS Director Shatz’s disclosure the only one from all the Board Directors?

CHAIRMAN, are you proposing any overseas trips at the expense of the BRC before your up-coming retirement in the early part of the New Year, eg your annual visit to the Hong Kong International Carnival in early December, 2024?

“His response to the Hong trip was flippantly answered by saying (at the time) he hadn’t received an invitation from the HKJC. True to form, as he has in most years, Mr Bell turned up in Hong Kong in December. Were his airfares, accommodation and costs paid for by the BRC?

“The Hong Kong trip was only one of many which the Chairman undertook (with his wife) in 2024 throughout Australia and Ireland, all presumed official on behalf of the BRC and at the club’s expense. What was the benefit of this when he is about to retire.”

Wally Gleeson maintains that very few of the contentious questions he asked at the AGM were answered satisfactorily by Chairman Bell. He wants to know if the draft minutes, which he is demanding, will reveal the ‘full facts or any forgetfulness in answers provided’.

He also raised questions about ‘Directors and Executives disclosures and related Party Disclosures’ in the BRC ‘Register of Interests’. “The Register does indicate that Director Schatz has a disclosure. Members are entitled to know if all other Directors have declared related Party Disclosures.”

In relation to expenses and costs incurred by the BRC and its Directors, Gleeson says Members are desperate for answers but most don’t want to rock the boat by asking questions.

“For instance, will the Board hold a send-off for Chairman Bell when he eventually retires?  And when he retires will he and his former Board colleague (David Dawson) and others continue to hold their regular spots (with partners) in the committee room enjoying ‘generous drinks and eats as the sanctuary for the privileged of racing in Brisbane?’

“This room should be reinstated for its historic and original purpose – that being to engage with each winning ownership group to celebrate their success. Owners being invited into the Committee Room was once a long-held tradition.

“To banish these people who enable the sport to exist (the owners) to a room out the back with a security guard for company is arguably extremely bad manners. The excuse of syndicate groups being too big just doesn’t cut it.

“The BRC seems to have lost touch with an accepted fact that race meetings are a venue where all are equal, from priests to prostitutes and judges to janitors. You shouldn’t have to be a former committee member or a racing scribe to enjoy the benefits.”

From Wally Gleeson’s perspective – and that of many others as the weeks roll by – it is important to ascertain how the minutes of the October AGM were recorded. This needs to happen before Mr Bell retires as Chairman.

The draft minutes must be made available NOW to ensure the responses given by the Chairman to questions of governance, transparency and accountability, have been properly recorded for public record.

Gleeson warns that the continued non-release of these minutes will be considered ‘illegal’. With contact from a former staff member advising of the resignations over the past six months of key administrative identities, a few more with targets on their backs and the AGM fallout, it is little wonder that staff morale at the BRC and stakeholder confidence in Queensland’s biggest club is said to be at an all-time low.

 

OPERATION ‘MINCEMEAT’ BEGINS TO SALVAGE GOLD COAST TRACK

OPERATION MINCEMEAT (substitute Magic Millions) has begun in a race against time to have the poisoned Gold Coast track safe enough to race on for Queensland’s richest race meeting on Saturday.

Behind the scenes the ‘blame game’ continues over who or what was responsible for the damage to the track with the club and its supporters claiming sabotage calling in police to investigate and their critics insisting it was a serious maintenance mistake.

On disclosed information – and a damning report that track staff knew of the problem at least three days before it was reported to police as sabotage – we’re leaning to the latter.

Whoever is to blame, LGHR wants to see the meeting run on the Gold Coast provided the track is safe and doesn’t turn into another embarrassment for Queensland in the eyes of Australian racing.

Despite the fact that animal activists will be protesting outside the track if the meeting goes ahead on the Gold Coast, we accept that they weren’t responsible for the current problem.

Our lingering doubt about who to blame follows an anonymous tip from a person who claimed to have been sacked without reasonable cause after working for the club for many years.

The message to LGHR from this person, who seemed to be legitimate, was: “Don’t be quick to reject the suggestion of sabotage. There are so many former disgruntled employees – dozens in fact – who have been sacked by the club in more recent times who would be celebrating this setback on the eve of their biggest race meeting.

“RQ needs to step in and address staff issues at the GCTC before this ends in another disaster. Don’t blame the Chairman. He’s been kept in the dark on many issues. One of his offsiders is running the show and that particular person is responsible for the increasing disharmony and is detested by a majority of the staff.”

There is a suggestion that the track was deliberately poisoned weeks ago but the damage did not become evident until earlier last week and the staff tried to correct it but ran out of time. That was late Friday when club officials contacted police. We understand if they can prove sabotage insurance and not the industry will pick up the huge bill for this latest track fiasco in Queensland.

The fate of Saturday’s $14.5mn Magic Millions blockbuster hinges on a planned drop-in cricket pitch-style turf transfer. This costly operation is being undertaken by the same team that saved the 2022 Melbourne Cup, when a protester pumped 1000 litres of an oily substance onto Flemington track just hours before the big race.

The Courier-Mail reports that Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe has been seconded by the GCTC to oversee the salvage operation, along with experts and equipment from Victorian-based Evergreen Turf which helped save the 2022 Melbourne Cup and has worked on Olympic and Commonwealth Games arenas.

A special turf-cutting machine will be used to pull up a surplus section of grass and transplant it in the 250sqm damaged area. Excavation work will begin today (Monday morning). Officials are hopeful the replacement grass will be installed tomorrow (Tuesday) before the track is test-galloped on Wednesday or Thursday - the deadline for deciding if the MM race has to be moved to either Eagle Farm or the Sunshine Coast.

HOOFNOTE:

FOR those who have contacted us requesting more information on what disgruntled Member Wally Gleeson raised at the AGM of the Brisbane Racing Club (which was censored for some reason by the mainstream racing media) we are working on a follow-up story that will provide more detail and hope to run it tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

WHY WAS TRACK STAFF WITNESSED DESPERATELY TRYING TO CORRECT PROBLEM THE CLUB REPORTED DAYS LATER AS SABOTAGE?

THE Gold Coast Turf Club is being accused by some of its long-time stakeholders of a cover-up in blaming sabotage for damage caused to the track by a maintenance mistake.

LGHR believes officials were badly advised on the problem and question why police were only called in on Friday night to address the sabotage claims when track staff was seen desperately trying to correct the problem days earlier.

We have spoken to witnesses who saw track staff working on the damaged section of the track long before the sabotage theory emerged and this is something police should follow up on.

First the finger of blame was pointed at the anti-horse racing activist who would never do anything to injure an animal. Now LGHR understands GCTC officials have pointed police in the direction of a disgruntled former employee of a training company they are associated with who was sacked recently in controversial circumstances? Critics say they are clutching at straws when the real problem is ‘in house’.

Detectives have called for any witnesses with information or homes (we are told the nearest are 1km away) with relevant CCTV footage to come forward as the new LNP Government weighed into the debate. Acting Premier Jarrod Bleijie called the ‘turf vandalism disgraceful’ and said he hoped police would ‘throw the book’’ at the alleged culprits. Someone should advise him that there’s another side to the story.

Here’s hoping that this is the final chapter in an internal issue that the GCTC has failed to address over measures to properly maintain the dogged new track for over a year. Sadly, it seems unlikely that Racing Queensland will get involved. Asked on Melbourne Radio if the damage to the track might have been caused by something other than ‘sabotage’, CEO Jason Scott said it wasn’t for him to determine and that was a matter to be addressed by the GCTC.

Hopefully the situation will be made clearer when the results of tests on the damaged section of the track are known. Warren Williams, a former track manager with the Brisbane Racing Club now working with RQ, is overseeing this. He was asked recently by another highly respected ‘track expert’ to ‘ensure that the results came to directly to him to ensure independence.’

There are those who believe GCTC officials should be asked to ‘explain’ the on-going disaster that has dogged the new track and saw it closed for nine months. During that time one of the country’s top ‘track mangers’ departed almost as quickly as he arrived. There are those who insist the club should ‘bite the bullet’ and invite their ‘Mr Fix-it’ back. Steve Andrews remains on the pay roll but his expertise has been largely ignored since he was consigned to the ‘coal mines’ at Beaudesert reportedly because a couple of high profile officials don’t like him.

Since his departure the situation has ended in tears several times for the club. There can be no repeat of Saturday’s first-ever MM twilight meeting having to be moved from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast after jockeys voiced safety concerns following the mystery poisoning of a section of the track near the home turn. But problems with the track will continue to occur if officials refuse to address the issue and gain support for their sabotage theory.

How the damaged section of the track is repaired will determine whether the major MM meeting proceeds at the Gold Coast on Saturday. Some close to the action are already questioning plans to right the sinking ship.

There is reportedly a plan to move large sections of turf from elsewhere on the track and hope that it knits well enough in time as a replacement for the damage section. One reliable ‘expert’ is questioning the dye treatment that has reportedly already been applied to the track. He says this will kill the roots in the grass which need to grow again.

MM co-owners Katie Page and Gerry Harvey have paid tribute to the racing community for pitching in to save the meeting, including SCTC boss John Miller who approved the mammoth race move within minutes and worked around the clock to make it happen. It came at a cost for his club losing today’s planned race meeting.

Officials remain ‘quietly optimistic’ next Saturday’s rich MM race day will proceed at the Gold Coast but others are saying it is ‘long odds’. Much will depend on how quickly the damaged track recovers, whether it can be repaired to meet safety requirements and more importantly that heavy rain stays away during the week.

Opinions remain divided on what or who caused the ‘poisoning’ of the  track as police launch an investigation. LGHR is more chance of riding a winner on MM than the constabulary of convicting a saboteur.

Here are questions and facts that need to be considered:

WHY was track staff trying desperately to correct the problem days before the alleged sabotage occurred and were club officials aware of this?

SHOULD police be interviewing witnesses at the coal face who claim the problem occurred because of over-spraying of a fungus treatment and a failure to turn off the boom spray resulting in a double dosing?

IS there a conflict of interest for a NSW-based racing identity who has been bagging LGHR for suggesting this maintenance mistake is the ‘real reason’ for the track problem? Although he declares himself a ‘keen racing follower’ on social media, our research indicates the gentleman is involved with a company that provides turf products, including those used to eliminate fungicide on race tracks. We wonder if he is involved in any way with track maintenance at the Gold Coast.

WHY would anti-racing activists attempt to sabotage the track leading up to the MM when as they say such action would risk injuring the horses that they are out to protect?

HAVE MM officials pointed police in the direction of a disgruntled former employee of a training company they are associated with who was sacked recently in controversial circumstances?

DOES RQ Queensland CEO Jason Scott believe sabotage was responsible for the track damage? Anyone who listened to an interview with him on Melbourne Racing Radio on Saturday would know he doesn’t. Scott pointed to the pattern of the damage highlighting how it didn’t fit with a random attack of sabotage.

WHY can SCOTT see that there is a pattern of damage to the track not consistent with a random attack of sabotage and the GCTC can’t? If vandals were responsible why weren’t there any foot-prints to be detected as would be consistent had that been the reason for the damage?

HOW well advised was Acting Premier Jarrod Bleijie when he accepted the theory that sabotage was responsible, describing the ‘vandalism as disgraceful’ and called for police to ‘throw the book’ at those responsible? Perhaps he should have sought the opinion of the RQ CEO rather than club officials.

WHAT chance is the biggest Gold Coast meeting of the year of proceeding next Saturday when a cloud hangs over plans to correct the problem and whether the track will be rated ‘safe’ in time?

LGHR hopes it is. Racing should consider itself lucky to have such a wonderful back-up as the Sunshine Coast.

 

DON’T BELIEVE THIS SABOTAGE BS, ANOTHER GC TRACK BALLS-UP

WAS the problem that threatens the prestigious Magic Millions Carnival from not being run at the Gold Coast the next two Saturdays caused by anti-racing sabotage or the track being inadvertently poisoned during the treatment of a fungus problem?

Serious damage near the home turn is so bad that this weekend’s meeting – the MM Carnival Opener featuring the $3 million Sunlight Slot Race and the $500,000 the Wave – was sensationally transferred at the 11^th hour to the Sunshine Coast when jockeys refused to give it the ‘all-clear’ safety wise after galloping horses over the problem area on Friday afternoon.

"The advice from turf experts was that next Saturday's Magic Millions meeting will be fine to proceed," RQ CEO Jason Scott said. "They believe the track will be able to be fixed up." That was reassuring after his comments to News Ltd earlier on Friday that the meeting only 24 hours away would proceed at the Gold Coast.

Racing Queensland and GCTC officials are still trying to determine what has damaged the new multi-million problem track. The Murdoch Media reported that officials were refusing to rule out foul play by anti-racing campaigners and full-time security had been employed immediately to guard the track in the lead-up to the major MM meeting on Saturday, January 11.

LGHR has been assured by those close to the coalface that there was no foul play involved but a mistake in the treatment of a fungus on the track. Samples have been sent for urgent testing to determine the substance that has damaged a 25m by 10m section of the track near the 500m mark.

“This is just another colossal balls-up by officialdom. One wonders what Gerry Harvey and the new Government think about this,” a high profile Gold Coast trainer told LGHR. “The trio of rocket scientists running the club will no doubt be looking for someone to blame. Disaster after disaster has occurred since they railroaded Steve Andrews to Beaudesert. He was the one track expert who could have avoided these problems from Day 1 but they wouldn’t listen to him.

“You have to pity the poor bloke who is coming from Melbourne to oversee all tracks for Racing Queensland. He will inherit this on-going headache. After three years of stuff-ups and many millions of dollars wasted heads must roll this time.

“Forget all this bullshit about track sabotage. The problem occurred because of over-spraying of the fungus treatment. The damaged section is where they turn the tractor around and have not turned the boom spray off resulting in a double dosing of the treatment.”

The trainer told LGHR that those who know but are not prepared to speak out in fear of upsetting RQ or the GCTC was that if any significant rain fell the big meeting in a week’s time was in jeopardy.

The Murdoch Media reports that representatives from a leading turf farm in New South Wales have been engaged to oversee urgent works next week to ensure next Saturday's bumper Magic Millions meeting can proceed as planned.

The sudden change in venue has caused multiple problems. Different bookies are applying different rules for those who have already bet. Channel 7's coverage of the much spruiked twilight meeting is in disarray, with the network going to great lengths to broadcast it on free to air TV.

The BRC reportedly offered to host Saturday’s meeting at Eagle Farm. However, the decision was ultimately made to move it to the Sunshine Coast instead, with the club already hosting a meeting on Sunday.

This is the just another chapter in the dramas that have engulfed the Gold Coast track (sadly some of these could have been avoided). The new multi-million dollar circuit was out of action for nine months after a meeting last March when horses resembled those racing in the desert at Birdsville.

In 2023, the Magic Millions was washed out after just 14mm of rainfall on race morning, when a rogue sprinkler was to blame for a wet patch on the track.

The brainstrust currently in charge have decided they have no option but to stage a phantom meeting at the Gold Coast while the Sunshine Coast comes to their rescue race-wise. The reason for this is that they have thousands attending and it is too late to stop the catering. It will be interesting to see – among the ‘big name’ invitees, especially officials and politicians, who turns up at the Gold Coast to put their snouts in the feed trough and who travels up to the Sunny Coast to see the ‘real’ racing.

What odds RQ and the GCTC put this latest diabolical disaster down to ‘more bad luck’. Wouldn’t you liked to have been a fly on the wall at the Harvey Estate when news filtered through about the change of venue?

IN a HOOFNOTE to this story we were sent this photograph by a Gold Coast racing stakeholder who commented:

'WASN'T it refreshing to see that amid all the doom and gloom over the track and the doubts confronting the Magic Millions Carnival proceeding that GCTC Racing Manager Ian Brown could still find a reason to smile.

Here's hoping the first step toward solution of the track problem - observors say they have administered a dye to the damaged surface - doesn't kill the roots of the grass as some are saying and worsen the fiasco.

Guess we should all adopt the motto of one of Mrs Brown's boys and ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE'.

 

 

RACING MINISTER NEEDS TO INTERVENE IF RQ DOESN’T ASK BRC FOR ‘PLEASE EXPLAIN’ ON REFUSAL TO PROVIDE MINUTES FROM AGM NOW

PRESSURE is mounting on the new LNP Government to instruct Racing Queensland to deliver a ‘please explain’ to the Brisbane Racing Club over its continued refusal to immediately provide a copy of the minutes of the controversial AGM that was held in October.

Several requests by concerned Club Member Wally Gleeson to David Koch, the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of the BRC, have met with this unacceptable response:

Re: minutes to Members

‘Minutes of the 2024 AGM will not become available to Members until they are confirmed as correct at the 2025 AGM.

Notices of meetings require a minimum of 21 days’ notice; and we publish the Draft AGM minutes from the previous year when providing that notice of meeting.

Hope that clarifies things around minutes and notices.

I am happy to discuss this matter with you if the process requires further clarification.’

Wally, father of former Director Simon Gleeson, has been frustrated in his attempts to obtain a copy of the minutes, since first requesting same a month after the AGM.

Gleeson Jnr, a highly respected young Director of the BRC, parted company with the Board following a disagreement over governance and integrity issues regarding transparency and perceived conflicts of interest relating to luxury units purchased by Directors and former senior staff in the Village Green complex.

Gleeson Snr asked a series of questions of BRC Chairman Neville Bell at the AGM but from all reports was fobbed off. This important and controversial meeting was incredibly not covered by the Murdoch Media – some say because of the closeness of some high profile editorial identities and racing scribes to BRC hierarchy.  

Refusing to be stonewalled and encouraged back then by a silent minority within the club membership, Wally Gleeson pressed ahead with his determination to get some answers and a month after the AGM sent this letter to the BRC:

‘IT is now one month since the Brisbane Racing Club held its Annual General Meeting on 16th October 2024 at Eagle Farm Racecourse.

As a financial Member of the Club, also an attendee at this AGM, I wish to exercise my right by requesting that I be supplied with a copy of the minutes taken at this AGM.

I request that these minutes be either emailed or posted to me at either of the below addresses within the next 14 days.’

Far from happy with the BRC response which was nothing short of embarrassing, Gleeson fired back:

‘I refer to my emails regarding the availability of a draft copy of the BRC’s minutes from the AGM held on the 16th of October 2024.

As stated (before) I would like your explanation as to why these draft minutes are not available to me or any member seeking an inspection of the minute book or requesting a copy of the said AGM draft copy minutes.  

It is now three weeks since my second request and as you indicated that you are happy to provide further clarification surrounding the reasons for not providing a draft copy of these minutes I would now like your urgent reply.’

ALMOST three months down the track Gleeson is none the wiser, his requests continue to fall on ‘deaf ears’ but his determination is even stronger buoyed by growing support from many sections of the industry. The problem the BRC thought would go away has all of a sudden come back to bite them in the backside.

The disappointing aspect of the entire affair from Gleeson’s perspective – and that of many others – has been the seeming reluctance of Racing Queensland to get too involved despite CEO Jason Scott at the AGM promising to investigate any ‘legitimate’ complaints against the BRC.

It would seem that the problems here are political. The Board was Labor-appointed and its Chairman Steve Wilson is known for his closeness to former Racing Minister Grace Grace. Scott was appointed with her support. Graham Quirk seems to be the only one keen to help and it’s time the Racing Minister catapulted the former Lord Mayor into the Chairman’s role.

But the situation lies far deeper than that. From the days when Sir Edward Williams and Peter Gallagher were chairmen of the then Queensland Turf Club, they were known for their closeness and loyalty to the LNP. For some unknown reason, insiders say Neville Bell, chairman of the BRC (the relatively newly merged club), became known for his support of Labor’s Grace Grace. Problem is the former Racing Minister failed to deliver on millions in financial help to provide a much needed replacement for a major grandstand at Eagle Farm. Either that or she ran out of time.

Advisors on racing to the new LNP Government have made them well aware of how fondly ‘Nifty Neville’ was of ‘Amazing Grace’. That association could come back to haunt the BRC when the new Racing Minister Tim Mander gets his head around the debacle surrounding the current Board and the feedback he is receiving.

Mander highlighted early days his no-nonsense approach when controversial Albion Park Harness Racing Club CEO Scott Steele claimed back his job after fighting serious charges in court. Mander warned the code, the worst performing of the three in Queensland and on the nose as far as punters are concerned, that any Steele comeback risked their ‘financial supply chain’ being cut by the Government. Steele was gone within 24 hours.

The mail is strong that Mander is on the verge of stepping in to this problem at the BRC that continues to cross his desk. Perhaps he is waiting first to see what Racing Queensland does. Forget about Chairman Wilson – he’s ‘gonski’. Here’s hoping Scott survives but someone needs to whisper in his ear that RQ and not the BRC are running racing in Queensland as many high profile identities of rival TAB clubs are now claiming. Mander needs to step in and require the BRC to meet their obligations of providing a copy of the minutes of the AGM to Wally Gleeson ASAP, not when it suits them. How the AGM (specifically questions concerning ownership of units in the Village Green) was reported in these could well determine what steps are taken next and that won’t be nice for the BRC. It needs to happen before Neville Bell ends his tenure as Chairman, which we understand won’t be long.

You might be asking why LGHR is focussing on this at a time when one of Australia’s richest men will be enjoying his annual ‘MMs benefit’, some might say at the expense of the racing industry in Queensland. We have long believed Magic Millions – as great a carnival as it is – represents a ‘restriction of trade’ for those owners of horses ineligible to race for the big money restricted to yearlings sold at a private enterprise sale but that’s another story and we’ll leave the ‘suck up and survive’ coverage to the ‘spin doctors’ with their noses in the MM trough.

The answer is simple why the Murdoch Media, some at SKY and others at Racing Radio TAB (morning ‘Feathers’) refuse to report on the most controversial AGM in the history of the major club in Queensland. Some of Rupert’s disciples are in bed with Directors at the BRC and their turf scribes are more interested in boosting their own image in the eyes of hierarchy at the BRC where they enjoy the social trimmings rather than provide constructive coverage and criticism when it is needed.

Here’s the situation as we know it:

The BRC is regulated under the Corporations Act 2001. It operates as a company limited by guarantee, which makes it subject to the provisions of the Corporations Act. This includes compliance with requirements for governance, financial reporting, and member rights.

Key points about its regulation under the Act include:

Structure: The BRC is registered as a company, and its governance is determined by its constitution alongside obligations under the Corporations Act.

Meeting and Reporting Requirements: AGMs must follow the Corporations Act’s provisions, such as preparing financial statements and allowing members to vote on key resolutions.  Members have rights under the Act to access certain documents, including the minutes of meetings.

Director and Member Governance: Elections, director responsibilities, and member rights align with the Corporations Act, ensuring transparency and accountability.

If you need specifics on how the BRC operates within this framework, reviewing their constitution or speaking with their corporate governance team would provide clarity. Their constitution and operations are designed to meet legal obligations while reflecting the club's unique nature as a racing and membership-based entity.

You might be wondering what the BRC’s obligations are under the Corporations Act to provide members with a copy of the minutes from an AGM on request?

We understand that under the Corporations Act 2001, specifically sections 251AA and 251A, a company is required to provide members with access to certain records, including minutes of meetings. However, in the case of the BRC, which is likely a not-for-profit organization or a club, the obligations may differ from those of a for-profit company.

Here’s a general outline of the obligations under the Corporations Act for providing minutes of an AGM:

Right to inspect minutes: Members of the club generally have the right to inspect minutes of meetings, including AGMs, under the Corporations Act. If the BRC is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, the members (or any person acting on their behalf) can request a copy of the minutes.

Provision of minutes: According to section 251AA, minutes of meetings (such as an AGM) must be signed by the chairperson. The company or club is obligated to keep minutes of meetings. Section 251A allows a member to request access to these minutes.

Request procedure: If a member of the BRC requests a copy of the minutes from the AGM, the club is required to provide the minutes within a reasonable time frame (usually within seven to 14 days).

Fees: Under the Corporations Act, the club may charge a reasonable fee for providing a copy of the minutes, though this must be a reasonable amount.

Exemptions: There may be certain exemptions, such as if the minutes contain confidential or privileged information that the club has a right to withhold. However, if the minutes contain only general meeting proceedings, there is usually an obligation to provide them.

And one thing we forgot to mention Wally Gleeson has done his homework and thoroughly checked the current BRC Constitution finding no adverse conditions eg By-Laws.

First thing in the ‘Constitution of BRISBANE RACING CLUB LTD’:

Interpretation

Annual General Meeting means the general meeting held each year as required by the Corporations Act 2001 and the Constitution.

This clearly means that by not providing a copy of the AGM minutes the BRC Ltd is in breach of the Corporations Act. Surely it’s not Rafferty’s Rules and they are receiving the wrong advice or simply don’t care.

Furthermore, the Chairman is required to sign a copy of the minutes. That is why it is important these minutes are provided (with the help of RQ or the new Racing Minister) before Neville Bell heads off into retirement.

MEMO from the racing industry and its legion of stakeholders to RQ, the new LNP GOVERNMENT & the new RACING MINISTER:

‘INTEGRITY LOST, EVERYTHING LOST – THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE TRANSPARENCY OFF THE TRACK IN QUEENSLAND RACING, STARTING WITH THE NUMBER ONE CLUB.’

 

BREAK OUT THE TISSUES – ‘BRC NOT A CLUB TO RELY ON HANDOUTS’

BREAK out the tissues – the poor old Brisbane Racing Club needs a major handout before one of its crumbling grandstands falls over and they want the taxpayers of Queensland (or industry funds) to help foot the multi-million dollar bill.

And guess who’s started a campaign with the new LNP Government on behalf of the State’s leading gallops club for a ‘hardship fund’? None other than The Courier-Mail which continues to refuse to ask a few simple questions that went unanswered at the AGM of the BRC concerning the sale of luxury units in the Village Green, who bought these and what was paid for same.

Karl deKroo, the new CEO of the BRC, is ‘crying poor’ in the latest edition of the super-thin Brisbane ‘fish and chips’ wrapper. If it wasn’t for the Harvey Norman ads a small gust of wind would blow your daily down the street before the dog can get his mouth around it.

After all the tens of millions that were spent getting the new track at Eagle Farm right – that took an eternity – deKroo declares: The BRC is not a club that has relied on handouts.  Apart from the cost of getting the track right (RQ might put a figure on that), how much extra had to be invested in the safety sight screen when jockeys refused to ride until problems were corrected and who’s paying for it? Perhaps RQ CEO Jason Scott would like to answer that one.

deKroo tells readers of the CM that: “Over the past decade, our Board and management team have worked tirelessly to diversify income streams through a strategic property masterplan and investment in our licensed clubs network. Every dollar we generate is reinvested into racing and our racecourses. (A legacy of the Bell era).

“We’ve self-funded a $50m training complex that brings little direct financial return to the club but drives the entire Queensland thoroughbred industry forward. That is the kind of commitment Eagle Farm deserves now. (Don’t quite understand that one).

“We certainly don’t begrudge the major investment that has been made into greyhounds, or country and provincial racing, but there does need to be recognition of the critical importance of BRC venues and the need to invest in metro racing for the good of the entire industry.” (That's nice).

No-one disagrees with him on the contribution that the BRC makes to the industry in Queensland through its two major tracks but as he’s raised the property masterplan, which we guess involves the construction of luxury unit blocks, perhaps the new CEO would like to answer those questions that his Chairman failed to when asked nicely by Member Wally Gleeson at the last AGM after Wally’s son Simon departed as a director of the club in controversial circumstances.

In this plea for help for the BRC – ‘Nifty’ Nev must have decided it was best for the CEO to do the bidding with the new Government because he is about to retire as Chairman and some felt he got a bit too close to ‘Amazing Grace’ during her long term as Racing Minister when she failed to deliver the grandstand finances that were so desperately needed. Even if it is going to ‘wrack and ruin’ as reported, many are questioning how much use a new facility would get on any but a few big race days at the Farm and whether the investment can be justified.

Karl deKroo reminded us that:

“Eagle Farm is the engine room of Queensland racing. It is headquarters for thoroughbred racing in this state and it is unthinkable that such a critical venue could be allowed to wither on the vine.

“After all its track issues it is now the best and most consistent racing surface in Queensland, if not Australia. There needs to be spectator facilities that are fitting of Queensland racing’s showcase venue.”

He said the BRC was supportive of the former State Government’s spending at other tracks around the state but felt the time had come to support Queensland’s major racing facility.

The club was cognisant of the squeeze on Government money with the 2032 Olympic Games on the horizon. Far from being “just another problem”, he said the club wanted to be part of the solution. Apparently that includes the Doomben infield playing a role during the Olympics as a quarantine centre, facility for equestrian competition or training fields for other sports. The BRC stands ready to collaborate on practical, innovative solutions that benefit racing, the Olympics, and the wider community.

It would be nice to hear the thoughts of the new Racing Minister and the RQ Board on this topic. As for the CM well perhaps Trenton Akers, who unlike many of his colleagues does not ‘suck up to survive’ as a turf journalist, would like to do their job and gets some answers to those ‘luxury unit’ questions that – take our word – Wally Gleeson has far from given up on.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE RACING MEDIA – LGHR HAS A RESOLUTION ‘NOT TO LET THE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS DESTROY OUR INNER PEACE’. AS FOR OUR WISH LIST FOR 2025 – WE CAN’T TELL YOU WHAT THAT IS. IF WE DID IT WOULDN’T COME TRUE & DESTROY THE SURPRISES THAT LIE AHEAD.

 

GREG WILL CONTINUE HIS FIGHT IN NEW YEAR FOR MORE JOCKS

WE can’t finish the year without a final say from the one man who has worked hardest to overcome the shortage of jockeys in the bush. It’s a no-win battle but GREG BLANCHARD refuses to give up. In his latest ‘exclusive’ Greg tells us that:

‘BRIONY Moore has been given the job of RTO (Registered Training Organization Manager) at Racing Queensland.

I wish her well and hope she gets the support needed to make it a success .

Briony is the sixth RTO Manager in around a decade.

I see apprentice Isaac Sit from Hong Kong rode  his first winner at Strathalbyn last week. His parents were both jockeys.

I live in hope that we can have a working relationship with an Asian country here in Queensland. The opportunities are there and needed.’

 

REGULAR contributor PETER MAIR from SYDNEY weights in on two topics that have been covered by the popular THE STRAIGHT website:

RATIONALISING RACING POLICY

‘ANOTHER excellent story (this week) published by The Straight on the denying of race club rationalisation in Victoria -- overlaid with misgivings about the ATC now beholden to RNSW.

As is, it seems racing administrators in Victoria and NSW are looking for more money everywhere bar requiring commercial viability for race meetings not presently recovering costs from the tax-take on total turnover.

You seem to know where to get the numbers that might shine a light on which classes of race meeting are profitable and those not.

As an outsider-observer, it is not possible to do much with the turnover numbers disclosed for the TABs which, these days, are swamped by fixed-odds betting and presumably exotics bets with corporates paying dividends matched to the TABs.

Administrators 'must' know those numbers and, presumably, pleading 'commercial in confidence' to deny their disclosure is hardly in the public interest.

Any chance of shining a light on this darkness?

 

And this one:

‘MONEY FROM ANYWHERE WILL DO’

AS a source of 'relevant numbers' about funding the racing industry, The Straight is consistently the most informative of the facts.

The numbers revealed put minds into overdrive in understanding the implications for funding racing across the states and, collectively, nationally.

At the same time, administrators' responses expose their grasping character. Some would take a loan against a grandmother's house and waste the proceeds on another dead-loss race meeting. Some others would sell race tracks and do the same.

Politicians are, apparently, left speechless -- they say and do nothing to stop the rot.

The grab for money for racing has no shame -- as you implicitly observe, money from anywhere will do:

......... there is .........the Point of Consumption Tax funding model, which more and more states favour.

Racing Queensland and TasRacing get 80 per cent of POCT generated by the government from both racing and sports betting, while Victoria’s regime is a 50-50 split to the broader racing industry. NSW, which sends 33 per cent of POCT back to racing, is seeking a new regime, similar to that of Victoria. Western Australian racing gets 30 per cent of its government’s POCT tax receipts and South Australia 20 per cent.

The upside for the racing industry on these deals comes when wagering increases, regardless of whether that wagering is on racing or sports.

Spare my days!

Does no one question the sense of direct 'off-budget' diversions of general tax revenue  to fund racing? Surely, the tax-revenue taken from sports-betting should not be connected in any way with funding for racing.

In this context, what happens in Canberra, the ACT, deserves attention. The ACT government makes a modest direct  allocation of funds for racing from its budget annually, there is no connection, no link, to the POCT tax-take in Canberra.

This in sharp contrast to the above mentioned: Racing Queensland and TasRacing get 80 per cent of POCT generated by the government from both racing and sports betting............

The current decline in the tax-take from racing gambling allows pause for reflection. It should be the catalyst for state politicians and racing administrators rethinking how this mess was made and to get about fixing it -- but not by diverting more money under the table to racing.

 

MIXED RESPONSE TO REINTRODUCTION OF SATURDAY NIGHT RACING

THERE has been a mixed response to the reintroduction of Saturday night racing in Victoria with the launch last Saturday night providing arguably more questions than answers.

The four-night summer trial was requested by the newly-constituted Southside Racing to assist its effort in promoting racing in south-east Victoria and engaging local communities.

Cranbourne previously held two to three Saturday night meetings annually from 2011 to 2019 prior to their cessation during the COVID pandemic. 

The trial is designed to allow Southside Racing and Racing Victoria to better understand key metrics, such as attendance, wagering and engagement, around Saturday night racing post the COVID era.

Key features of the trial are:

• NO increase in the volume of meetings conducted with the four Saturday night fixtures moved from other timeslots to facilitate the trial;
• The Saturday night trial will be conducted across four consecutive weeks from 28 December to 17 January;
• There will be no night racing in Victoria on Fridays, 27 December and 3 January, and Thursdays 9 and 16 January;
• Racing will conclude no later than 8.45pm with Southside Racing planning to entertain crowds thereafter with live music and entertainment;
• Country level prizemoney will be offered to ensure a point of difference from the Saturday afternoon metropolitan meeting; and
• The meetings will serve to provide opportunities for a range of participants who may not be competing at the metropolitan meeting on the day.

During the consultation process, key stakeholder groups and leading stables indicated to Southside Racing and RV their willingness to support the trial in the agreed format. 

Notably, feedback from Wagering Service Providers indicated that twice as many of their racing customers are active in the 5.30pm-8.30pm Saturday timeslot than the Tuesday and Thursday daytime slots and 50-60% more than the Wednesday and Sunday daytime slots.

RV’s executive general manager of racing Matt Welsh said the trial had a range of potential benefits. “These meetings will start earlier to intersect with the large volume of active customers engaging in Saturday metro meetings, while also enabling an earlier finish for participants.”

Supporters of the Saturday night experiment have been critical of some top trainers who have bagged the initiative saying: ‘If they don’t want to race at these meetings they don’t have to. It gives those who are a better opportunity.’

It’s not as though the turnover was disappointing in comparison to the night this Cranbourne meeting would normally have been run and conducting the experiment as a joint-code fixture helped boost the crowd and the interest.

Some punters recognized the positive of having a secondary meeting to invest on – Toowoomba in Queensland – but locals north of the border were quick to point out that betting on Clifford Park has been labelled a ‘wealth hazard’.

For too long the form at Toowoomba has been hard to follow – whether the meetings are run day, night or twilight. Saturday was no exception with feedback from a couple of punters suggesting stewards should be taking a harder look at how some of the races are run.

 

OWNERS ANGER AT BEING ‘BLINDSIDED’ BY NEW SET OF FEES

OUR story on the increased training fees advisement to owners from a couple of leading stables in south-east Queensland has caused much discussion and plenty of feedback.

To say some owners aren’t happy would be an understatement. There are other trainers who have distanced themselves from the increases.

We won’t name the stable whose owner sent us the directive. Needless to say this owner is looking for an ‘out’ because there is a belief among many of his colleagues that there is ‘too much penny-pinching’ involved.

LGHR also received received a notification from a couple of owners who questioned if we were aware that some trainers now charge ‘appearance fees’ for going to race meetings.

One wrote: “I thought it was part of their job – and trainers say they don’t make money from training fees.’

In recent times LGHR heard from a retired bookie now living overseas who decided to continue his interest in racing by buying a share in a well-bred filly (mare) that ended up a Black Type placegetter.

He chose to sell his interest after the high profile Victorian trainer included a $300-plus fee on his bill for ‘attending the races’ when the mare was engaged.

‘Apparently the bloke does this for every horse he has engaged and some days there are plenty. When I questioned it he said he could instead send along his foreman and that would only cost half as much. I sold the horse.’

 

WHY THE SECRECY SURROUNDING NEW GREYHOUND FACILITY?

THE time is fast approaching when Queensland will be the home to the nation’s most advanced greyhound racing complex nearing completion at Purga outside Ipswich.

We decided to take some photographs of progress on the world class, multi-million dollar facility as it nears completion but were greeted by a sign on the front gate: ‘No photos or videos’ and ‘No public access’.

Why the secrecy and who gives a shit?

Considering the multi millions of taxpayer and industry money spent on the project and the cost blow-out that has occurred, the public is entitled to have photographs taken of its progress.

We can do without legal troubles so decided not to publish the ones we took without entering the property. It won't be long and they'll be begging the media to photograph the joint.

What surprises us is that the new CEO of the Great Brisbane Greyhound Centre is a former high profile journalist and Editor with News Ltd, who I am sure in his day would have gone to any length to keep the public informed. ‘Gleeso’ would have to agree – they should be singing the praises of their showcase facility from the rooftops, not trying to hide it.

From what we could see progress on the grandstand, circle track lights and other buildings are taking shape. It is certainly an exciting era for greyhound participants and fans.

Unfortunately, like most major projects in Queensland (the Cross River Rail is a good example) costs have blown out since the project was first announced by the Palaszczuk six years ago. That figure has doubled from $40mn to $80mn which Racing Queensland has blamed for its current financial black hole.

LGHR is dumb as dog shit when it comes to understanding finances but we thought the multi-million dollar project was being paid for from the Racing Infrastructure Fund, which is financed from the exclusive wagering license fee paid to the State and allocated by the Government to approved projects. Perhaps it is the cost blow-out portion that has to be met by the industry. If that’s the case it’s hardly fair on the gallops – we won’t mention the trots because that’s a basket case in Queensland.

Animal welfare is at the core of the design and construction of the new venue, which will be the only one in Australia to feature three tracks – a straight track, a two-turn track and a one-turn track.

Once completed, hopefully early in the New Year, the Brisbane and Ipswich greyhound racing clubs will co-locate to the venue.

Greyhound racing is the fast growing code in Queensland and contributes close to $150mn to the Brisbane and Ipswich economies and supports over 1,000 full-time jobs. During construction the Purga project has created close to 100 jobs.

 

A FORWARD PLAN FOR AUSTRALIAN RACING

REGULAR contributor PETER MAIR from SYDNEY weighs in with another interesting read:

‘MUCH as it may suit the compromised mainstream racing media to simply ignore the portents for the future funding of Australian racing, it is another thing for The Straight to not offer sensibly prescient editorial assessment.

Comment of this ilk ducks the issue:

Future taxation projections are an inexact science, especially in a market as dynamic as wagering, but given racing industry funding is tied to taxation revenues, such variation makes it difficult for racing bodies to forward plan.

As we all know the forward-planning default option of  racing bodies is to couple grossly exaggerated claims of the 'benefits' racing delivers, with similarly flawed proposals seeking more ear-marked POCT revenue to flow directly, from taxes on racing gambling, to the racing industry -- all this without proper parliamentary scrutiny of this plundering of the public purse.

Who thinks the NSW administrators are not already presenting a case to either/both lift the rate of POCT to 20% and to ear-mark a higher percentage to flow direct to their coffers to cover the 'cost' of promised racing and prizemoney they cannot deliver. 

Someone needs to say 'STOP'.

Australian racing, frankly and fairly, is entitled to much less public funding than it is now given, given in ways that deny proper public policy scrutiny of pay-outs from the public purse. Other claims on taxpayer funds are actually deserving -- dead loss racing is not.

Which state racing administrator will be the first to say that it will stop funding 'some' race meetings that are clearly a dead-loss in terms of taxes taken from betting turnover not covering much at all of prizemoney unfairly paid out 'from the public purse', however that may be deceptively disguised.

Talking turkey is seasonally demanding!’

 

OUR MATE COL HASN’T BEEN SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME IN SUN

WE love hearing from our old mate COL DIXON of TOWNSVILLE and here’s his latest thoughts on a couple of issues:

‘REPORTING on the Pro Punters’ bets are erroneous. Winnings include his initial Stakes.

Most punters are aware that winnings are the amount collected in excess of the stake.

From memory the two major bets he had were in the $70-$80,000 range on which he won less than $20,000 in total. I’m surprised to see you followed Fairfax’s assertion.

On another topic:

BRICKBATS to Bernadette Cooper, Michael, Maxworthy and the producers re their Playbook show (on SKY).

Their air-time gets increases to 60 minutes and they just waste the first 30 with frivolities.

They could easily get another industry participant to do trackwork reviews or perhaps another tipster.

It was good to see top jockey Jimmy Orman join the SKY hosting team of the Friday night racing launch on the Gold Coast. Why not use him whilst he is out injured?

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE TEAM AT LGHR

IN conclusion LGHR would like to wish all our readers and contributors – whether they like us or not – a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a safe, healthy, happy and prosperous NEW YEAR. And to the subscribers to our LATE MAIL which finances the publishing of this website, a big thank you for your continued support.  

 

 

SHOULD BONUSES HAVE GONE TO OWNERS & PUNTERS INSTEAD?

THE launch of Gold Coast night racing last Friday was a spectacular success but we felt the club got their priorities wrong in one aspect of the promotion.

Without the owners and punters there would be no racing but they chose to focus on the winning trainers and jockeys providing $10,000 and $5,000 bonuses.

Great initiative but they already get bonuses for winning. Why not add the $10,000 bonus to the successful owners’ prizemoney purse and hold a draw for an on-course punter to invest the other $5,000 on his or her fancy. With the TAB heavily involved in the night opener they could have doubled that bonus.

Racing under the stars at the Gold Coast should have happened long ago. It is the best venue in the State if not the land for a Hong Kong Happy Valley style of night racing.

Turf Club officials told the local newspaper, the Bulletin, that: ‘What’s being dubbed the Big Bash cricket version of horse racing has hit the Gold Coast – and proven a winner.

Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines told the Bulletin: “It was just a massive success. There was a crowd of nearly 10,000 people. We put a couple of shows on with an electric violinist and a lights show.”

Highlight of the racing was the Magic Millions The Debut for unraced two-year-olds worth $250,000. Track-side all eyes were skyward watching a stunning drone display and laser lights show among the attractions which some media identities have described as even better than the one on Sydney Harbour before The Everest .

“It’s all about racing tourism so for us this product is something that people will want to come and see,” Lines said. “They’ll actually come to the Gold Coast stay here and come to it, watch it and go to the theme parks and stay for the weekend. It’s all built around tourism, the Big Bash of racing.”

Interestingly, the GCTC has started discussions with the Dubai Race Club for future events under the stars, hoping to attract interstate and international attendees.

“It certainly affords us some big opportunities. We’ll do about six to eight of these a year, they may not always be Friday nights – we might do a couple of Wednesdays – we’re just working through our program now,” Lines said. “It’s all about giving people an experience that they would never get anywhere else in Australia.”

Another twilight race meeting – starting in the late afternoon and heading into the night – will occur on January 4 with six Magic Millions carnival feature races worth $2.5 million.

The next big full race meet under the lights at the Gold Coast Turf Club is scheduled for Friday, January 24 – which is expected to be a thrilling night time start to the Australia Day long weekend.

 

LITTLE WONDER BATTLING OWNERS ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE

WHAT prompted LGHR to suggest owners need to be encouraged more (because without them there would be no racing) was an email we received concerning rises in training fees for some leading stables in Queensland.

Little wonder more and more syndicates are emerging (that’s another story about what an investor needs his horse to win just to get his money back) when you take a look at the cost of training a horse on a weekly basis.

Just cop the extras added to the increased fees for the above stable (advised to clients in the past week). About the only ones missing out on a bonus seem to be the tea lady and the manure man.

Here’s the Christmas present that owners got from one leading stable in Brisbane:

Daily training fee $142.

Daily track usage fee $6.60.

Race Day staffing fees for:

Official trials & jumpouts $150.

Race meetings – Metro, Gold & Sunshine Coast & Ipswich $180.

Race meetings – Country & Northern NSW $250.

Farrier Fees: Work shoes $265; Race Plates $280 & Basic Foot Care $165.

Dentist: General examination $165.

Veterinarian: General examination $121; Re-examination $121; Blood Profile $170 & Endoscopic Examination $250.

Adjistment per day: $38.50.

Pre-training per day: $115.50.

Breaking-in: One-off fee $4,400.

Rug hire (winter): 65c per day.

BRC lease operations fee: $3.30 per day.

Workcover Levy: $6.60 per day.

Administration Fees – Racing Australia registrations, lodgement owner transfers, on-line sale entry: From $220.

Charges incurred for any therapeutics, applications, tests, sampling, ointments and/or medicines applied to the horse for specific treatments will be identified on the Training Invoice issued to the Owner for reimbursement, in addition to the charge for any General Examination.

 Yearlings and 2 year-olds may have lower costs than 3+ year-olds given: (i) the level of development required to race; and (ii) the overall life cycle of the horse.

 For other than emergency treatment, prior approval will be sought from the Owner where an individual treatment will likely exceed $2,000 (incl GST) in cost.

TRANSPORTATION to RACES (COST a GUIDE ONLY, dependent on service provider (increased charges apply for night meetings, Sundays and Public Holidays):

Short journey $150.

Deagon, Ipswich & Kilcoy $275.

Caloundra, Gold Coast & Beaudesert $330.

Toowoomba, Warwick & Murwillumbah $440.

Ballina, Lismore & Dalby $495.

Grafton $660.

RACE ENTRY, NOMINATION, ACCEPTANCE, NON-ACCEPTANCE AND SCRATCHING FEES

Race entry fees are not included in this Fees Notice – they will be additional and depend on the race. All race nomination, acceptance, non-acceptance and scratching fees are set by the Principal Racing Authority (PRA) and/or Race Club and are passed on to the Owner/s at cost. They should be checked with each relevant PRA or Race Club.

TRAINERS ADDITIONAL REMUNERATION, GRATUITIES AND/OR BONUSES THAT MAY BE PAYABLE:

1. If the Horse, being an Entire, is sold or retired to stud:

An additional fee being an amount equal to 10% (plus GST) of the sale price (excluding GST); and one (1) transferable lifetime service right which will entitle the holder of such right to nominate a mare to be provided with a stud service by the Horse during each stud season that the Horse is used to provide stud services commercially, free of any service fee.

2. If the Horse, being other than an Entire to which paragraph 1 applies, is sold while being trained by the Proprietor, or within 3 months after ceasing to be trained by the Proprietor, an additional fee being an amount equal to 5% (plus GST) of the sale price (excluding GST).

Notes:

(1) The entitlements of the Proprietor to the additional remuneration and gratuities set out in paragraph 1:

(a) will be conditional upon the Horse winning a Group 1 or Group 2 race while being trained by the Proprietor, or within 3 months after ceasing to be trained by the Proprietor; but

(b) will not be conditional upon the Proprietor being the trainer of the Horse at the time of it being sold or retired to stud.

(2) The entitlements of the Proprietor to the additional remuneration set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 will also apply to the sale of an interest or share in the Horse.

HANDS UP ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO RACE A HORSE AFTER SEEING WHAT IT COSTS?

 

10-YEAR BAN FOR PUNTER AT CENTRE OF JOCKEY BETTING SCANDAL

A FORMER professional punter at the centre of a jockey betting scandal has been warned off racetracks for 10 years by the Victorian Racing Tribunal for actions that attack “the very essence of our horse racing industry”.

DANNY RUSSELL reports for THE AGE that Tribunal chairman Judge John Bowman handed down the penalty against Noah Brash, 29, on Friday morning after he pleaded guilty to five charges under the Rules of Racing of betting on behalf of a jockey.

Bowman said Brash bet more than $172,000 on two separate race days at the request or direction of a jockey and won money as a result.

“These are grave offences striking at the very heart of racing integrity,” Bowman said.

The Tibunal warned Brash off racetracks for 10 years on each of the five charges, but ruled that the time was to be served concurrently.

The Tribunal was unable to suspend or disqualify Brash because he was not a licensed person in the racing industry.

At an earlier hearing, it was revealed that Brash operated separate Betfair accounts for himself and jockey Michael Poy and won more than $350,000 between April 2022 and August 2022 when placing bets involving horses ridden by Poy or his friend, and fellow jockey, Lewis German.

The bets included laying horses to lose, backing a horse to win, head-to-head bets, and picking horses to run in the top four.

Racing industry charges against Poy and German are expected to be heard by the Victorian Racing Tribunal next year. Neither jockey has entered a plea.

The Tribunal heard that Brash placed bets for Poy and himself involving four different races – three of them at Swan Hill on August 7, 2022, and a fourth race at Bendigo on August 14, 2022.

Poy and German rode in two of the races on which the bets were placed.

Brash and Poy communicated using borrowed phones, aliases, different SIM cards and sent messages over the Signal app – a free service that supports end-to-end encryption.

The tribunal heard that Brash operated one betting account for himself, called Brashboy1, that returned a betting profit of $98,956 when backing or laying horses ridden by German and Poy.

He operated another account for Poy, Brashboy2, that showed a profit of $259,610 when backing or laying horses ridden by German and Poy.

Racing Victoria stewards revealed that Brash first met Poy, the son of Cox Plate-winning jockey Michael Clarke, at the Sandown races in 2018 and offered to do free speed maps for the then 18-year-old apprentice.

They then became close friends, speaking on the phone “at all times of the day and night” and even playing online games together, such as FIFA on PlayStation.

Four years after they met, Brash’s betting habits changed significantly.

From April 12, 2022, he began targeting horses ridden by Poy or German to not win or place in races, stewards alleged.

Racing Victoria discovered screenshots of their messages on Brash’s phone, and these led to the five charges laid against Brash.

 

NEW ERA FOR GOLD COAST WITH NIGHT RACING LAUNCH ON FRIDAY

IT’S a new era for racing in Queensland and can be witnessed free when night racing is launched at the Gold Coast on Friday.

Full credit to the GCTC for offering free admission – but be aware racegoers do have to pre-register for pre-admission tickets – over 2,000 already certain to attend.

Queensland’s Summer Carnival kicks off with the first-ever Silks Under the Stars night racing event on Friday (photograph courtesy of GCTC).

It’s been described as the dawn of a new era for the club following the major tracks, tunnel and lights redevelopment costing in excess of $70 million.

Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines has described the event as a new chapter for the club. The state-of-the-art he lighting installation is the result of over a decade of hard work, marking a new era for the club as it aims to become Queensland’s second Metropolitan venue.

Lines says Silks Under the Stars represents much more than just a one-off racing night. It’s the start of something special. Gold Coast night racing has long been a dream, and it’s finally being realized with a series of successful lighting tests, including a twilight meeting in early October. The club claims that night racing will open new doors for tourism and puts Gold Coast racing on the map, both interstate and internationally. (We thought Magic Millions had already done that or that’s what we’ve been speed feed for years).

Silks Under the Stars is only the beginning of the new Summer Carnival. As part of the Turf Club’s biggest racing festival ever, the fun continues into January with a second Night Racing event on Friday, January 24, just ahead of the Australia Day long weekend.

One can only hope that Night Racing isn’t the disaster that caused a delay of almost a year before they got the new track right. Here’s hoping for second time lucky on the Tourist Strip.  

 

WELCOME HOME BIG JEFFREY WITHDRAWAL SYMPTONS ALMOST OVER

THE TAB in QUEENSLAND and bottle shops on the Brisbane North are throwing a welcome home party for one of their biggest customers.

Jeff Kelly, everyone’s favourite former copper, has been enjoying a holiday-of-a-lifetime with his long-suffering wife Maureeen by coach and cruise in Northern Europe chasing the Northern Lights and enjoying plenty of snow while his mates have been sweltering at home.

For over a month Jeffrey hasn’t placed a bet and for some of that time hasn’t been able to acquire his favourite brew, Guinness. The good news is he’s back this week, very thirsty and having TAB withdrawal symptoms.

Maureen sent us this photograph ‘doing a bit of house work by cleaning the ice and snow off the steps of their cosy abode near the Arctic Pole. And for those wondering that is Jeffrey and not Father Christmas.

 

                      WERE RACING AUSTRALIA'S FACTS NOBBLED?

REGULAR Sydney contributor PETER MAIR provided these thought provoking emails:

AS The Straight says about the ‘Fact Book’ for 2024:

...............curiously in this year’s edition, overall wagering, arguably the most important metric, has been left out.

The Straight is doing a great job reporting ‘news about racing’ but is the option not also open to put questions on the record in related editorial comment.

I guess, implicitly, the word ‘curiously’ implies a question but there would be no harm in putting the question straight and directly.

It is unlikely that staffers preparing the fact-book would not have followed precedent and included the ‘overall wagering’ numbers in the draft report. If so, was a management decision made to exclude these important numbers?

If so, that decision – presumably withholding numbers showing declining turnover -- should be reversed. 

We are entitled to know the facts – administrators need to be candid............and we need to know more about how other decisions (e.g. on ‘black type’) are being made at Racing Australia.

 

AND this one:

AUSTRALIAN RACING: PUNCHING BEYOND ITS WEIGHT?

A STORY on The Straight (link below) highlights the 2025 Aushorse Investors’ Guide. There is, of course, some hyperbole among the facts to encourage investment.

This story prompts quotations from the guide of some points for reflection – reflection, in the context of emerging disquiet about the funding and administration of racing authorities and race clubs nationally.

A NATIONAL WHERE RACING IS EMBRACED

AS Australia crashed through $1 billion in prize money for the first time in 2023/24, one in 40 horses earned more than $500,000 and one in every 130 earned more than $1 million. …........for the fourth year running Australia hosted more of the world’s top 100 Group 1 races (24) than any other country.  

In Australia, racing is woven into the fabric of our society and embedded into communities across the country. We have more owners and more racecourses than any other country: all supported by a population of just 27 million.

With more than 140,000 registered owners, 
1 in every 200 Australians has a share in a racehorse. No other country gets close to this level of engagement across society.

Australians also wager more on racing per capita than any other nation – which is why our prizemoney leads the world.

A Winning Experience

RACING a horse in Australia is a unique experience: our major race days are a match for any on the planet, with huge crowds of passionate fans and owners; our prizemoney leads the world ….............we host more Group 1 races than any other jurisdiction.

This is best highlighted by the number of races worth $A1million or more: Australia hosted 105 such races in 2024, compared to 69 in the bigger racing jurisdiction of America and just 29 across the whole of Europe (including the UK and Ireland).

SUSTAINED GROWTH

IN the past five years, our prizemoney has surged by an extraordinary 36%, especially when contrasted with the comparatively modest 12% increase in American purses during the same period. In the past decade our prizemoney has soared by 92%; in comparison, American purses are up just 16% in that time.

….......... Australia hosts more elite races than any other jurisdiction.

https://thestraight.com.au/australian-opportunity-highlighted-as-one-in-every-132-horses-surpass-1-million/

 

GREG PENS A LETTER TO SANTA CONCEDING IT WON’T BE ANSWERED

IT will come as no surprise what regular contributor GREG BLANCHARD from the Gold Coast wants Santa to deliver to racing in Queensland:

DEAR SANTA,

‘Again this year I have asked you what I want.

It’s the same as last year etc, etc .

My wish is that we get overseas apprentice jockeys to help alleviate the problem of a lack of jockeys in the bush and that bureaucracy changes to allow overseas kids into our Apprentice School.

Hong Kong apprentices were also promised back in 2023 and yes I did read the April 2024 article involving Immigration Lawyers. Any update there Santa?

I think the only way I'll get to see a Hong Kong apprentice ride in Australia is to go to South Australia. Their latest apprentice is Isaac Sit. I sadly am starting to not believe in you Santa makes me sad.’

 

ENTAIN SUED IN FIRST CASE OF ITS KIND AGAINST AN ON LINE BOOKMAKER

THE parent company of Ladbrokes and Ned has been sued by the financial crimes regulator for allegedly not doing enough to prevent money laundering on their products. 

LIANA WALKER reports for ABC NEWS that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has commenced civil proceedings against the Australian arm of Entain Group, in the first case of its kind against an online betting business. 

AUSTRAC alleges the company had ‘serious and systemic non-compliance’ with Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.

It alleges Entain did not develop and maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program and failed to identify and assess the risks it faced, leaving the company at serious risk of criminal exploitation. 

AUSTRAC's allegations include that:

• The Board and senior management did not have appropriate oversight of its AML/CTF program
• The company operated a 24/7 business through its website and app, which created risks that persons unknown to the business could access and use the betting platform including through third party providers
• Third parties, including businesses and individuals, accepted cash and other deposits on behalf of Entain to be credited into betting accounts in ways that could obscure the proceeds of crime
• The company did not have appropriate controls to confirm the identity of customers making these deposits and the source of this money
• The company did not conduct appropriate checks on 17 higher-risk customers
• The company deliberately obscured the identity of some high-risk customers, on its own systems, through the use of pseudonyms to "protect their privacy"

Entain CEO Gavin Isaacs said the company took the allegations extremely seriously on a notice posted on the London Stock exchange.  

"We have co-operated fully with AUSTRAC throughout its investigation and we are implementing further enhancements to Entain Australia's AML and CTF compliance arrangements," Mr Isaacs said. 

"Whilst we still have some further improvements to make, we expect these to be implemented in line with the plan we communicated to AUSTRAC in 2023.

"We are committed to keeping financial crime out of gambling and continue to play our part in supporting a well-regulated and compliant sector for our customers, stakeholders and the wider community."

The matter is now before the Federal Court. 

ANTI-MONEY LANDERING ACTION

SEVERAL gambling companies have faced penalties for contraventions to the AML/CTF laws in recent years.

In 2023 Crown Resorts was ordered to pay $450 million for breaching money laundering laws.

This year Adelaide's SkyCity was fined $67 million over allegations the Casino had customers with links to organised crime, loan sharking, human trafficking and sex slavery. 

Online betting company Sportsbet also accepted an enforceable undertaking to uplift its compliance with AML/CTF laws in May this year. 

Independent Federal MP Andrew Wilkie in November re-introduced a Bill that would give courts the power to return the gambled proceeds of crimes to victims.

The Bill would put obligations on gambling companies to report to AUSTRAC if they have reason to suspect a person is paying for a gambling service with money they've obtained illegally.

It also enables the Federal Court to order a gambling company to return stolen funds, where it's found that a bettor has paid for a gambling service using funds they obtained illegally.

 

 

RARE EVENT IN SYDNEY RACING BUT MORE OF THE SAME FROM THE SA STEWARDS WHO ARGUABLY AREN'T FIT TO POLICE A MEETING

PUNTERS enjoyed one of those once in a lifetime events – like Man Landing on the Moon or the sighting of Hayley’s Comet – when every favourite saluted at Canterbury last Friday night.

It wasn’t a full moon or a dream. It actually happened. And it was a nightmare for bookies who get plenty most meetings in Sydney when favourites perform poorly or have no luck in running (a nice way of saying they are slaughtered).

As many of those who enjoyed the rare occurrence at Canterbury there are thousands of others who – if our feedback is correct – are walking away from betting on racing in South Australia.

Angry punters are accusing the Stewards there of being asleep at the wheel or not interested in conducting inquiries into some terribly questionable performances of fancied runners, not to mention the way some of these were handled.

The LGHR whinge mail was in overdrive at the weekend. Normally it’s when the Waller stable wins with a second string while the fancied stablemate performs poorly but this time the target was a heavily-backed favourite at Gawler on Saturday.

The target of the punter anger was the Andrew Gluyas-trained Gotta Go Guru, plunged into $1.7 favourite, which finished seventh (beaten over eight lengths) behind Divine Fire ($5.5) in the Kingsford Hotel Handicap.

Even allowing for the ride of apprentice Taylor Johnstone, a 3kg claimer – it wasn’t one of her best – Gotta Go Guru arguably lost a leg after her luckless fourth when trapped wide at Morphettville Parks second-up.

Not only was Gotta Go Guru declared the ‘Bet of the Day’ by John Kelton, the SA tipping guru rated one of the best in the business, but it was also the Tom Waterhouse ‘good thing’ to his legion of clients.

THE SA Racing Stewards finally got around to posting their report from Saturday’s Gawler meeting on Monday afternoon and here’s what they reported concerning the poor performance of GOTTA GO GURU:

 APPRENTICE Taylor Johnstone reported that the mare never travelled during the event, and when placed under pressure approaching the 600m did not respond to her riding and was disappointing. Trainer A. Gluyas advised that the mare had continued to work well following its last race start on Saturday, 30 November 2024, and could not offer an explanation for the performance other than in his opinion GOTTA GO GURU may be suited to races over a longer distance. A post-race veterinary examination revealed no visible abnormalities.

From a punters’ perspective that explanation and lack of action by the stewards explains why there is no confidence for those betting in South Australian racing.

Gluyas couldn’t offer an excuse for the massive form reversal other than an opinion that Gotta Go Guru may be suited to races over a long journey. With all due respects, he has to be kidding. The further they went on Saturday the worse the favourite performed. She wouldn’t have caught the winner had the race been over 3200m.

Instead of requiring Gotta Go Guru to trial satisfactorily before racing again the stewards decided to shove it under the carpet. In this day and age of required transparency that is simply not good enough. Sorry guys, but in the eyes of the punters you aren’t fit to be policing a meeting in Mingela – and they don’t race there any more.

Some of the emails we received from punters are ‘too hot’ to handle but here’s a couple we are prepared to publish:

‘YOU need some special inside information to back a favourite in SA these days. Some of the performances of heavily-backed runners on a Saturday are nothing short of disgraceful as are the rides but the Stewards’ Panel doesn’t seem to see anything wrong. Little wonder punters are steering clear of the joint in droves.’

 AND this one:

‘It’s late Sunday evening and I still can’t find a Stewards’ Report for Saturday’s racing. All the other states have managed to post theirs but not the good old boys in Adelaide. What I want to know is why a horse I backed heavily in Gotta Go Guru not only got beaten but also went like a dromedary.

‘It was interesting to note that gun tipster John Kelton who shared my confidence in the mare winning was left gob-smacked after the event. And of course his off-sider, the spin doctor for everything racing in SA, wanted to talk about anything but the flop. Then again he has links to the stable so I guess it was a bit hard for him.’

This isn’t the first time we have received complaints about what is happening on the track in SA and suggestions of how the stewards don’t seem too interested in policing it. Things need to change!

 

ANIMAL LIBERATIONISTS URGING AUSTRALIA TO FOLLOW KIWI LEAD

IT didn’t take long for the animal liberationists to use the planned closure of greyhound racing in New Zealand against the industry in Australia.

Fortunately, stringent rules put in place in the wake of the live baiting saga, will ensure there is no repeat here of what ‘Winnie The Pooh’ has done across the Ditch.

But the sport needs to ensure there is no complacency that provides the powerful animal libbers with any bullets to fire.

Alarm bells are ringing with Greyhound Racing Victoria forced to defend its welfare record despite a 45 per cent increase in dog deaths across the State this year.

Danny Russell reports for THE AGE that the frenetic sport has lost 45 greyhounds on Victorian tracks since January compared to 31 last year.

The first greyhound, Cook Model, died at Traralgon on January 31 and the last of the 45, Minnie Rocks, was euthanized at Healesville on December 8, according to the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds’ records, which are compiled from Greyhound Racing Victoria Stewards’ Reports.

The alarming jump in Victorian dog deaths comes as the New Zealand Government announced this week that it was banning greyhound racing permanently from mid-2026 on welfare grounds.

New Zealand Racing Minister Winston Peters said the “percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high” and the decision to ban the sport was “in the best interest of the animal”.

Greyhound Racing Victoria chief executive Stuart Laing said the situation in New Zealand was unique to that country’s “political environment and circumstances”.

New Zealand Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced the Government's plans to end greyhound racing.

“In the context of the greyhound racing industry here in Victoria, nothing changes,” Laing said.

On top of this year’s spike in deaths, GRV is suffering from a sharp drop in wagering turnover across the past 18 months which resulted in the industry recording a $22.7 million loss last financial year.

As a result, Laing said his organisation had embarked on cost-cutting measures since January to save $20 million across the next financial year.

He said GRV had cut prizemoney, staff numbers and operating expenses, but had not compromised integrity, welfare and rehoming programs.

“Fatality rates in Victorian greyhound racing have declined more than 42 per cent in the past five years,” Laing said.

“Last financial year’s 43 fatalities represented 0.039 per cent of the 110,422 starters in Victorian greyhound racing, down from 69 (0.068 per cent) in 2019-20.

“With over 110,000 starters in about 15,000 races in Victoria annually, fatalities and serious injuries in racing are rare.”

Warrnambool proved the deadliest track in the state this year, losing seven dogs, while Ballarat and Warragul had six deaths, followed by Shepparton and Traralgon with five.

Four deaths were recorded at Sandown Park, but Melbourne’s second city track, the Meadows in Broadmeadows, was fatality free.

“The causes are multi-faceted and unique to each situation and cannot be solely attributable to the track design, shape or surface,” Laing said.

He said GRV had proposed to identify options for at least one more straight track in the state such as Healesville, which races twice a week. Three dogs died at Healesville this year.

Sale Greyhound Racing Club has submitted plans to Wellington Shire Council to build new facilities that would include a straight track.

Laing said GRV continued to focus on “initiatives and actions” aimed at reducing serious injuries and fatalities in racing such as its greyhound adoption program, greyhound recovery initiative, digital greyhound tracking initiative and track maintenance training program.

“More than half of all GRV’s staff work in the welfare and integrity teams, and last financial year, more than $25 million was invested in integrity, welfare and racing expenses,” Laing said.

The industry is also conducting a study of seven years of data, led Dr Sarah Rosanowski, a specialist researcher in veterinary epidemiology, to identify risk factors that predispose greyhounds to injury.

Figures published by Greyhounds Australasia reveal that Victoria is the largest greyhound jurisdiction in the world, contributing $844.8 million to the national economy – 41 per cent generated in regional areas – and creating more than 4800 full-time jobs.

The recent Melbourne Cup greyhound meeting attracted more than $9 million in turnover, up about 30 per cent on the $6.9 million wagered in 2023.

The $1.6 million wagered on the cup itself made it the third-highest turnover race of all time in Victoria.

But the event as a spectacle was marred by a collision at the first bend during which the No.4 dog, Sunset Frazier, was sent cartwheeling out of the race.

Sunset Frazier did not suffer any ongoing injuries and is expected to run in the $1.65 million Phoenix at the Meadows on Saturday week.

 

NATIONAL TOTE ONLY ANSWER TO AVOID CORPORATE TAKEOVER

THE feedback LGHR has received suggests that punters – big and small – would immediately close their accounts with corporate bookies if there was a National Tote that offered similar incentives and a guarantee that those who won too often wouldn’t be barred from betting.

Punters have been quick to applaud a damning expose of how a majority of these ‘parasite’ corporates operate which was interestingly published by the Fairfax Media in contrast to the deafening silence from the Murdoch Press – perhaps that has something to do with the fact that their boss once dabbled in that side of the racing business – without success we might add.

Here are some of the comments that we have received from readers in the wake of the FAIRFAX story exposing how the gambling giants are black-listing winning punters and questions why Governments and racing authorities are doing nothing to control them.

Here is a precise of the feedback LGHR has received:

‘UNTIL there is a National Tote that offers similar incentives (Free Bets etc), punters will continue to bet with corporate bookmakers rather than the TAB.’

‘THE tentacles of the gambling giants has grown to such a degree that they are now in bed with major race clubs, through sponsorships, which in turn sees their product promoted in preference to the TAB which provides the majority of stakes money.’

‘THEIR influence with racing hierarchy and the Federal Government has reached such a height that even the Prime Minister isn’t prepared to back any sort of ban on gambling  advertising.’

‘IF you win too often they close down your account and don’t have to give you a reason – such are the conditions for opening an account with them that surely Fair Trading needs to address.’

‘WHEN you have a dispute it goes to a Gambling Body in the Northern Territory which for some strange reason sides with the corporate bookmaker 90 percent of the time.’

‘THE corporates might be here to stay – a National Tote is the answer to their virtual monopoly over the current State TAB’s. But what hope is there of agreement on a National Tote when Governments, major race clubs and high profile racing identities are all in bed with the corporates who are pouring money into their pockets?’

 

IS BAN ON DOG RACING ACROSS DITCH ANY REAL SURPRISE?

THE news that New Zealand will ban greyhound racing from 2026 due to ‘unacceptably high’ rates of injuries and deaths among the dogs has come as no surprise to many.

Greyhound racing has existed in New Zealand since the late 19th Century but the industry has faced growing public criticism over its treatment of racing dogs in recent years.

Multiple independent reports have found a high number of healthy dogs had been euthanized by their trainers or suffered serious injuries on the track, and in 2021 the then Labor Government put the industry on notice to either make improvements or face closure.

Deputy Prime Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters told the New Zealand media on Tuesday the decision to wind down the industry was not taken lightly and was driven by wanting to protect the dogs’ welfare. Clubs and tracks will be closed by the end of 2026.

 “Desite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains persistently high and the time has come to make a call in the best interest of the animals,” Peters said.

The Green Party’s Animal Welfare and Racing spokesperson, Steve Abel, said he was happy the Government had listened to the public. One wonders if there will be a similar push in Australia should the Green gain balance of power in the next Federal Election. It’s an outside chance but by the same token they are keen to close horse racing, starting with the jumpers, two-year-olds and banning the whip.

Australian greyhound racing dodged a bullet (especially NSW which at one stage was destined to have the sport banned) in the wake of the live baiting scandal of 2015.

A public hearing of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the Sport was told that as many as 17,000 greyhounds were killed in Australia each year because they were too slow. And before the practice of live baiting was exposed, up to nine in 10 trainers were using animals such as rabbits and piglets to ‘blood’ their dogs.

Greyhound racing in this country has rebounded sensationally to the stage where popularity on betting on the sport now far outweighs harness racing. In Queensland, thanks to the support of both political parties, the new Q greyhound complex is nearing completion close to Ipswich.

LGHR this week caught up with Phil Purser, a pioneer of racing websites in this country, who lives in the region. Phil is a tough judge but was singing the praises of the new world class facility and can’t wait for it to open.

 

DOES ANYONE AT RQ CARE ABOUT LACK OF RIDERS IN BUSH?

DOES anyone at Racing Queensland care that there are insufficient riders to ensure owners don’t have to scratch their horses on a weekly basis from meetings in the country?

Greg Blanchard continues his endless fight to have this problem correct but seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness which is a sad indictment on a sport that wastes so many millions on correcting mistakes made with track in the south-east corner.

Here’s Greg’s latest contribution:

‘I'M doing a Dame Nellie Melba one last time because last Saturday was a horror for when it come to no riders being available to meet the needs of country racing.

There were 14 horses scratched before the meeting stated at Mt Isa. To make matters worse Jason Hoopert got injured the first race enforcing another four that he was to ride to be withdrawn.

Atherton had nine scratched with insufficient jockeys, two more came out at Home Hill and one at Bundaberg for the same reasons.

That brings it to a total of 30 for the weekend. If we don't get overseas kids into our Apprentice School the bush is doomed.

There is an overseas lad riding trackwork in Rockhampton who 12 months ago was told in an ABC article (11 Dec 2023) that he would soon be in the Apprentice School. Guess what? He is not – because of bureaucracy he can't be.

There are another two overseas track riders who are coming to south-east Queensland in a few months who would also like to become jockeys. They can’t for the same reason.

Trainers and owners in the bush are being penalized – it’s not fair.’ 

 

                        THE RACING INDUSTRY v. TAXPAYERS

PETER MAIR of SYDNEY weighs in on an interesting topic:

                                          The State of Play

OPERATING losses and shortfalls of racing revenue have racing industry administrators scrambling for more money.

The intention is that the proceeds of asset sales will generate 'non wagering revenue' to compensate for declining betting turnover and the reduced tax taken to fund racing.

Not discussed is cutting costs by reducing prize-money paid out or the number of races run. The racing industry seems to believe it is entitled to funds on a needs-basis, to cover promised commitments. This without regard to needs of others or a commitment to the commercial viability of the races run.

The racing industry seems determined to dig the hole deeper. Paying high prize-money for maiden races run on Sundays on rural tracks is one example of a more general problem. Too many race meetings are just not commercially viable -- the 'tax-take' from betting on the meetings does not cover the prize-money paid out.

State racing administrators demanding more only embarrass Oliver Twist.

                                Taxpayers should be revolting

PUNTERS not betting enough to fund administrators' plans for racing is one thing -- it is altogether another leap into an abyss to rescue those mislayed plans.

In broad terms if some ten-percent of the adult population bet regularly on horse racing, that means ninety-percent do not. No one reminds the ninety-percent is that taxes taken from betting turnover are automatically 'ear-marked' as funding entitlements for racing.

Now, racing is entitled to public-funding but not as much as it is given at present.

Taxes on racing gambling are the same as other taxes – including other taxes on other gambling. In the first instance, all gambling tax revenue fairly belongs in the public purse. In the normal course, those claiming funds for particular activities – schools, hospitals, roads...... and racing – would make their claims in the context of state budgets.

Funding for racing is bypassing budget spending disciplines. It should not.

                                     The Rosehill Inquiry

A similarly titled story on Racent overlooks a main hope of the 'Rosehill inquiry' – that racing administrators nationally will be called to account for their use of funds from the public purse.

https://www.racenet.com.au/news/if-youre-a-tax-payer-you-should-be-absolutely-filthy

 

HONG  KONG INTERNATIONAL WEEK GETAWAY & GO RACING WINNER

WHEN it comes to ‘get away and go racing’ Hong Kong International Week is attracting more Australian visitors than ever.

It’s not only the attraction of seeing the world’s best jockeys go head to head in the Invitational Races at Happy Valley on the Wednesday night but also the chance to see the stars of world turf clash in four Group races at Sha Tin on the Sunday.

Add to that a pre-Christmas holiday in Hong Kong with mainland China on its doorstep – with the tourist attractions and shopping to die for – and there is little wonder that this big meeting is becoming the most popular outside the Melbourne Cup for Aussie racing lovers (two of whom were pictured above).

Japan is more about the best horseflesh on the planet and the Gold Coast Magic Millions is a winner coinciding with the peak tourist season but the downside for many is that this carnival is largely for graduates of a private enterprise sale.

HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges described the just completed carnival as ‘one of the best, if not the best…and an incredible week.

“When one looks purely at the results, it was a tremendous success for Hong Kong horses but our overseas horses also ran really well. When you talk to the overseas owners, even if their horses finished second or third, they say it was a wonderful experience to come to Hong Kong and support the meeting.

“This meeting was broadcast into 29 countries live and in Hong Kong. We saw tremendous attendance figures with overall attendance of 80,000. We also had 6,511 visitors from the Mainland, which is a record – 40 per cent more than we had last year.”

Sha Tin hosted 69,916 attendees, while Happy Valley drew 10,775 people for a total of 80,691 – the highest LONGINES HKIR attendance since 2018.

On a day when Hong Kong racing shimmered on the international stage as Ka Ying Rising (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint), Voyage Bubble (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile) and Great Britain celebrated its first win at the ‘Turf World Championships’ since 2012 with Giavellotto (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase), Romantic Warrior created history with victory in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

Danny Shum’s champion stayer became the first horse to win the Hong Kong Cup three times and, in doing so, took his career prizemoney earnings to HK$177 million – a world record – and overtook Golden Sixty’s mark of HK$167 million.

“When you look at the sporting performances, Romantic Warrior is the best 2000m horse in the world. It was an absolutely dominant performance, he showed that he is absolutely world-class and to win this race (LONGINES Hong Kong Cup) for the third time is an incredible effort,” Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

“He has now broken the world prizemoney record of Golden Sixty with total prizemoney of HK$177 million, which is an amazing achievement.

“It was a very good win by Giavellotto. It was the first time since 2012 for a British horse and with Ka Ying Rising, he had tremendous competition from another Hong Kong horses (Victor The Winner), which disrupted his rhythm, but he is an amazing sprinter.

“Voyage Bubble has shown how good he is and I think it was a tremendous performance from the runner-up (Soul Rush).”

The landmark meeting saw turnover reach HK$1,716.3 million, including a commingling record of HK$473.8 million – an increase of 10 percent on last year’s LONGINES HKIR.

“Our strategy to bring the best races from Hong Kong and show them overseas is really proving a great success with our races today for the first time under the World Pool banner, which shows our racing product is extremely well received,” Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

HKJC Executive Director of Racing, Mr Andrew Harding, described Sunday’s race meeting as “an amazing day of sport, capping an amazing week of sport.”

“The emphasis was on international. We were so pleased to see the entries from so many countries, including for the first time for a little while from Australia, and the quality of the entries was outstanding – I would like to acknowledge our team in achieving that,” Mr Harding said.

“We saw today of the 80,000 people who came to the races here at Sha Tin and also Happy Valley, so many of those people were from all over the world. Of the many things we work at the Club, it is putting Hong Kong on the world stage.

“We are always excited to stage events of the quality we have seen this week for our partner, LONGINES and I would like to thank the many teams at the Club who have worked so hard to make this week a success.”

 

TOWNSVILLE TURF CLUB FACES INSOLVENCY, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

CLUDEN PARK Race Club Chairman Geoff Weeks has conceded the club is facing insolvency. However, he says there’s a plan to turn their fortunes around. – TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN article by Chris Burns

FORENSIC auditor BDO is examining the cause of financial problems at Cluden Park Race Club after the committee secured an advance in its funding so that it can pay for its operations over the next three months.

The club is suffering a cash flow problem, risking insolvency, and it is trying to figure out how it got into the position that it is in.

Racing Queensland’s chief executive Jason Scott said it was working with the club to determine the “failures of governance” that contributed to these issues, and said there would be an independent review.

Mr Scott said Cluden Park was strategically important for the industry, especially through the completion of multi-million dollar projects like its stables that would increase the club’s revenue stream.

Cluden Park’s chairman Geoff Weeks believes the issue has come about from “bad decision making” from the past committee rather than dodgy practice, revolving around outsourcing its work to contractors which ended up costing more than the staff it scaled back on.

But he assured the racing community that with $20m in assets and property the club was not at risk of a “fire sale” to pay its expenses and debts.

The issue for the club is having the funds to operate until the start of next year’s racing season, as well as the income from hosting social events such as weddings which generally kick-started from February.

Townsville Turf Club president Geoff Weeks said the club was in a financially poor situation and that auditors were examining the books, but there was a plan to improve the situation.

In an annual general meeting held last month Mr Weeks, who has been in the position for a year, conceded the club was in financial trouble, and had been for some time, with the club needing to rely on the three month advancement of more than $300,000 from Queensland Racing.

“It’s not a grant, it is our money, we’ve just asked for an advance payment for it,” he said.

In the meantime it stopped outsourcing its work to two companies and was scaling back the use of a third, which Mr Weeks said would save $1.5m.

“Let me also state that all staff wages and entitlements are being met and there is absolutely no issue,” Mr Weeks said.

“Racing Queensland are also working with our CEO (Wayne Croton) understanding how the situation came about and providing any additional funding.

“We have also been transparent with our creditors advising of this short term cash position and implemented mutually agreed payment plans.”

It is understood through concerns raised by members about the club’s fiscal health surround the previous committee’s decisions to cut back on staff and outsource maintenance to three different contracting companies were a huge factor.

The club’s financial statement for the past financial year said the club’s profit after income tax was $138,000, but it also had already received $3.1m in grants and subsidies.

Staff wages were just over $1.1m and had reduced by $166,000 from the year previous, but subcontracting costs had doubled to $1.2m.

But a reliance on contractors had increased since 2022, while maintenance costs had increased with assets such as a problematic training track.

“The previous committee did take the decision, at the time, to outsource three areas that were being undertaken in house,” Mr Weeks said.

“Unfortunately the projected cost savings by those decisions did not eventuate and conditions in those contracts were an impost to the club.

“We have now either taken those works back in house or in the process of working with those contractors agreeing to a new contract with a reduced scope of works and reduced cost.”

Mr Weeks said interests between the committee and the contractors were investigated independently and that BDO had not yet found anything untoward.

The club’s finances would be bolstered with the sale of a parcel of land to developer Shaun McCarthy, understood to be sold somewhere between five to 10 million dollars, who intends on building a long-awaited water park.

But the club would not be depending on it to survive.

“We want to lock the money that we get from the sale away for the future of the club, and on the interest of that money feed it back into the club.

“The money that we get from the sale is not reliant on us getting out of this current cash flow situation.”

 

HOW GAMBLING GIANTS ARE ‘BLACK-LISTING’ WINNERS – THE ‘REAL’ STORY ABOUT PARASITE CORPORATE BOOKIES – WITHOUT THE SPIN

BARELY hours after the fairytale finish to this year’s Melbourne Cup, corporate bookmaker Ladbrokes launched a PR blitz to trumpet the fortunes of a lucky punter who had won $3.2 million for a $100 bet.

DANNY RUSSELL reports for FAIRFAX MEDIA that for the married mother of two, it was a life-changing event. She had cobbled together four numbers for a First Four and, against the odds, they landed – Knight’s Choice (No.11), Warp Speed (No.4), Okita Soushi (No.12) and Zardozi (No.14).

The first four dividend paid $728,015.70 and she had it four times. It was like winning the Lotto.

“When Ladbrokes called to confirm I’d won over three million, my husband literally fell to the floor. He was just sobbing,” the woman said, revealing the windfall would pay off their previously daunting mortgage.

Ladbrokes was equally chuffed. “We always strive to give our customers unforgettable experiences,” a spokesman for the bookmaker said.

“This is a life-changing win and we’re thrilled to be part of this incredible story and to have played a role in helping this family secure their future.”

But this is not the sort of “unforgettable” experience that everyone has with a corporate bookmaker when their luck runs hot.

Instead, there is a growing group of disgruntled professional punters who say the betting companies have closed down their accounts simply because they win too often.

Others have had big payouts capped – reduced to a smaller amount under the small print of the bookmaker’s terms and conditions – while others’ betting activities have been severely restricted.

It was a point made on a pro punting podcast two days after the Melbourne Cup.

“I think if one of us on this show had got the [$3.2 million first four] collect, I don’t think it would have made the news, and we might have got caught up in the T&Cs of a maximum payout of $500,000,” one of the pros said.

Another agreed: “They made sure they got their PR’s worth … being a once-in-a-year Melbourne Cup punter, I think they [Ladbrokes] got their mileage out of the extra payment through good will and mileage in the press. That would have been a per-customer decision.”

‘THE AMOUNT OF WINNERS WHO ARE VOIDED IS INSANE’

LUKE MacDonald is a pro punter who has become so tired of waging an online war with the corporates that he has all but given up.

“The amount of winners who are voided is insane,” he says. “And it shows how predatory in nature these big companies are, that they only have losers on their books.”

MacDonald claims the “corporates” have a number of strategies for cutting punters off.

He claims they accuse punters of working for a rival bookmaker, say your betting does not suit their operation, or use anti-money laundering or counter-terrorism funding laws.

MacDonald says he knows of examples of bookmakers shutting down an account after a client has had a win and then demanding payslips and unredacted bank accounts as proof of identity before they agree to pay out winnings.

That process that can take months, even years.

MacDonald says he has previously shared six months of bank statements with online bookmakers, only for his private information to be leaked on social media.

“A piece of information about where we shopped got leaked on Twitter,” he says.

“It was too hard for me to pinpoint which operator it was and try to hunt down the staff member. But that information was used against me to try to publicly shame me, which I didn’t care about, but I just thought, ‘geez, that’s pretty bad’.

“People can find out a lot about you by having six months of your bank statements. My kids’ daycare stuff is on there.”

Frank Pangallo, an independent member of South Australia’s Legislative Council, wants to stop corporate bookmakers from banning or restricting punters simply because they win.

He has introduced a bill to the South Australian Parliament calling for the strategy to be outlawed.

Under Pangallo’s Authorised Betting Operations (User Bans) Amendment Bill 2024, betting companies would:

• No longer be allowed to ban, refuse or restrict punters simply because they win or have a certain betting strategy;
• No longer be allowed to change the odds on specific players just to save their own bottom line;
• Need to give written reasons why they have refused or placed restrictions on a punter’s betting; and,
• Not be able to exploit minimum payout or withdrawal limits to hold on to a customer’s winnings.

“They enter the market willingly, and pocket billions of dollars from losers willingly – so they cannot cry poor when it comes time to pay out a winner,” Pangallo said.

Pangallo believes other states will follow suit if the bill is supported in South Australia when he brings it to a vote in February.

“But my concern is that governments are intoxicated by gambling taxes that they receive, and seem to be reluctant to move on issues that are trying to protect gamblers,” he said.

‘THE PLAY DUMB’

Ronny* has not been able to bet with big online bookmakers for the past three years after he and a friend tapped into a successful betting system in which they outlaid about $10,000 to win $40,000 across two months.

While living in Sydney, the pair had a link to a private equity firm that focused on racing algorithms that would suggest bets on “roughies”.

At the time, Ronny had a separate mobile phone and SIM card that was solely connected to a 3G or 4G network so that the bookmakers could not track him to a specific IP address.

“If you connect to Wi-Fi, they can immediately track it and they restrict anything that comes from that IP address,” he said.

Ronny said the algorithm would feed you a message that said, “in 40 seconds this race is about to start and this horse is likely to win, or place – it is currently at 10-1 and it should be at 4-1”.

“So you would put $50 to $100, sometimes $150, on the horse, and you end up with probably four bets where you lose – so, you lose $400 in four races – and then suddenly the fifth horse wins at 12-1 and you get back $1200,” he said.

He said they would go through two new betting companies every “week or two”.

“They are all linked, and once one betting agency realises they don’t like the way you are betting, they will ban you or restrict you betting at all,” he said.

Ronny said their gambling was not without risk – “I could have lost it all” – but he was still shut down for good. Now he can’t bet with mates.

“I have got a screenshot here from Sportsbet from this year after trying to join a $50 buy-in bet-with-mates group and the response is ‘you are unable to join a group, please call us to help resolve the issue’, and then you call them and they play dumb and they say, ‘sorry, we don’t have an answer for you’.

“So if I want to have a bet, it is either going into a TAB or I might have to use my partner’s account occasionally to put a $50 bet on.”

Laying a bet on someone else’s account, a practice called using a “bowler account”, is banned by online bookmakers under their terms and conditions.

If bookmakers discover you are betting on behalf of a third party, they will refuse to pay out winnings.

PUNTER BOWLED OVER

LAST month, a punter failed in his quest to have Ladbrokes release $30,000 in winnings from his account because the betting giant claimed he was operating a “bowler account”.

Ladbrokes’ terms and conditions state “You must not permit another person to access your account and you must not use your account on behalf of or for the benefit of another person.”

The betting giant used “variations in speech patterns” from phone calls to support its case before the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission – Ladbrokes.com.au is registered in the NT.

During the October hearing, the gambling giant said it had refused to release the cash in December 2022 because the account holder was unable to complete its “two-factor authentication” – a process triggered by a text message.

The punter claimed he could not access the text because he was overseas and did not have the right phone number.

He later tried to register a new phone number with the bookmaker, but it was found to be connected to another Ladbrokes account.

Ladbrokes told the commission that during several follow-up phone conversations “it was most likely not the complainant who engaged with Ladbrokes, but a person identifying himself as the complainant instead”. That is why it closed his account.

The commission found in Ladbrokes’ favour, agreeing that on the “balance of probabilities” a third party had been involved, but it said it could “not be confirmed with absolute certainty” that the voice on the phone did not belong to the account holder.

MacDonald said there would not be an issue with bowler accounts if winning punters were allowed to continue betting under their own names.

“There is no reason for anyone to have to come in the back door, if they are allowed to go in and bet under their own name,” he said.

“A lot of issues in the industry that have been created are on the back of restrictions.”

He said if authorities really cared about anti-money laundering or counter-terrorism financing laws, they would stop online bookmakers restricting or banning winning punters, which would eliminate the need for bowler accounts.

‘TOTALLY AMORAL’

Another pro-punter, Brandon*, says he restricts himself to betting in person with on-course bookmakers at city race meetings on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“It’s better value, I can get on quickly and it’s a more sociably enjoyable environment than sitting in a room with a computer screen in front of you all day,” he said.

“I find the corporates are just a blight on the industry. They’re leeches, and their business model is amoral.

“You are encouraged to lose, you are promoted to lose, and you are discouraged and restricted from winning.

“If you are a registered loser, and you consistently lose, they will bet you any amount. They give you free bets, they give you deposit matches, all sorts of things. To me that’s totally amoral.”

Ladbrokes told FAIRFAX it “is a company that does not ban winners”.

A spokesperson for the betting giant said it adhered to the minimum bet limits required by the racing codes.

In reference to capping payouts, Ladbrokes highlighted its $3.2 million payout last month to the lucky punter who landed the Melbourne Cup first four, saying “we are not afraid to pay someone if they win big”.

The spokesperson said Ladbrokes sets its own betting markets, and was not reactive to what other bookmakers were doing.

“If other bookies want to copy our prices that’s not something we can control,” the spokesperson said.

The company said it had an obligation under legislation to clamp down on “bowler accounts”.

Brandon said “bookmakers are not bookmakers any more”. He said they are not taking risks, but using algorithms and strategies to analyse punters instead.

“They do form on their punters,” he said. “They say this bloke is losing 11 per cent per annum, so we can bet him to a certain amount.

“This bloke’s only just losing, he is losing only 1 per cent, so we will restrict him a little bit.

“This bloke is winning 3 per cent in NSW, so we won’t bet him in NSW, or he is winning 5 per cent on dogs, but losing 12 per cent on horses so we will restrict him on dogs.

“So they analyse the client, not the outcome of the event. That’s how they work, so it needs to go back to how it was.”

MacDonald said he knew of a case in which every member of a punters’ club had their winning bets voided by an online bookmaker 16 minutes after a race.

They had all bet to win $5000.

“The bet won, the bookmaker paid out the bet, and then they voided the winnings (removed the payouts from their accounts) and returned the stake,” he said.

“Only one of them has received an email so far as to why the bets were voided. Everyone else has just got radio silence.”

Sportsbet told this masthead that it “does not ban customers just because they are winning”.

“Every customer is able to bet with us, in their own name, as defined by respective minimum bet laws set by the racing bodies,” a Sportsbet spokesperson said.

“Our terms and conditions are in place to ensure a fair go for all customers, as is the case across many other industries. We responsibly manage customer accounts for regulatory, compliance and safer gambling reasons.”

MINIMUM BETS

SERGIO* is a full-time punter who bets on harness racing. He said he was able to get by because of minimum bet laws introduced by Harness Racing Victoria in January 2018.

The laws mean online bookmakers “must stand to lose a maximum of $500 for a fixed-odds win bet” on country races from no later than 10am on a race day. The amount increases to $1000 for metropolitan races.

“A lot of big punters sign up with 10-12 different accounts if they want to have a real crack because the corporates will only bet you to win $500,” Sergio says.

“To win thousands, you need multiple accounts.”

He said it took careful planning because all the bookmakers were linked.

“All of the corporates have algorithms for their odds,” he said. “They actually don’t employ someone to set the odds, do the markets, they are just copying what the main bookies have.

“For example, if I hit the TAB first [with a bet], all of the other bookies will roll the odds down, following the TAB, without actually taking a bet.

“So, I have got to hit them in order – smallest bookies to biggest bookies. A lot of them have algorithms but TAB, for example, won’t give a stuff if I hit something at one of those smaller bookies.

“But if I go the other way around, the smaller bookie will react straight away to the TAB price.”

Racing Victoria introduced a minimum bet limit for thoroughbred racing in October 2016, which applies after the final acceptances deadline.

Wagering service providers have to allow punters to win up to $2000 on a metropolitan win bet and $1000 on a non-metropolitan win bet.

But there are no minimum bet laws in place for betting on sports such as AFL, tennis or basketball.

“Legally, they don’t have to take any money on sports bets,” Sergio said.

‘AGAINST OUR POLICY’

BRANDON said he broke with his routine recently when he tried to have a $1000 cash bet on a horse at $3.50 using an electronic betting terminal, or EBT, at a Melbourne pub TAB.

“I went up to the EBT, and there was a sign on there saying, ‘no cash in this machine, please see the bar attendant for a voucher’,” he said.

But when he approached the bar, he was told by a staff member there was a “limit of $200”.

When he asked for five $200 vouchers in exchange for his $1000, he was told it was “against our money laundering policy”.

“I couldn’t get on,” he said. “I wanted to have a cash bet and couldn’t get on. I thought, ‘no wonder the turnover is suffering’.”

A TAB spokesman said: “TAB venue staff are trained in responsible gambling practices and can refuse to issue vouchers where they believe it is in the customer’s best interest not to.”

The betting organisation said it did not cap payouts to punters - “as highlighted by a punter who collected $728,000 from a $24 mystery bet on the Melbourne Cup” - but it did cut off or restrict losing punters.

“We are introducing new technology to detect changes in customer behaviour faster so we can intervene sooner to protect customers from gambling harm,” the spokesman said.

TAXING THE PUNTER

IINCREASES in taxes have become another bugbear for punters. They say, ultimately, these extra costs are worn by the customers.

From January 2019, the state government introduced a point of consumption tax to replace the wagering and betting tax structures.

It was a way for the state to properly tax online bookmakers who are often licensed outside of Victoria.

Both Ladbrokes.com.au and Sportsbet.com.au are licensed in the Northern Territory. Ladbrokes is owned by Entain, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, while Sportsbet is part of the Flutter Entertainment Group, which is a worldwide online gambling operator with headquarters in Dublin.

“Because they [the corporate bookmakers] were eluding taxes, the governments and tax authorities said, ‘we are not getting our whack out of this’, so they introduced all these taxes,” Brandon said.

“But the corporates responded by just putting up their percentages. They used to bet to 110 per cent [for a market], now they bet to 125 per cent. To the point where the turnover is now dropping.”

The Victorian Point of Consumption Tax jumped from 10 per cent to 15 per cent in July, with half of the income guaranteed to be funnelled back to all racing codes. In other words, the Victorian racing industry is now welded to an income from the online bookmaker model.

“The government and racing bodies are taxing the industry to death,” MacDonald said. “When they are increased, it is passed on to the punters. When the online bookmakers have poorer margins, they have to cut down on the winners.

“But winners are a big part of the game. If more winners are allowed, it would make the margins sharper. So losers would lose at a slower rate.

“It is a cycle of poor management. Governments and sports administrations want greater returns from tax, but they are losing revenue.”

Racing Victoria said gambling revenue fell 10 per cent last financial year, and is already down nine per cent this year.

The other side effects, MacDonald said, was that more and more gamblers were turning to the black market.

POLITICAL MISSION

WHETHER Pangallo’s Bill can start a chain reaction remains to be seen. But he is determined to make a difference.

“The conglomerates who own these companies – like Flutter Entertainment (Sportsbet) or Entain Group (Neds and Ladbrokes) – have resources in the billions of dollars,” he said.

“Their algorithms pick up on every tiny detail – from the way you swipe on your phone application to the IP address you use when making bets.

“But advances of technology have seen a new genre of smart and well-resourced gamblers attempting to improve their chances of landing winners. Some punters are just really good at analysis, while others utilise complex computer algorithms.

“As a result, these greedy betting companies have wised up and devised their own way to ensure they still hold the upper hand – by simply banning the punter.

“In any other industry, that would be unconscionable, if not illegal conduct.”

*Names changed to protect privacy.

 

 

LATHAM ACCUSES SOME IN THE SYDNEY RACING MEDIA OF BEING 'PUPPETS' FOR PETER V'LANDYS

The Hon. MARK LATHAM  speaking in the NSW PARLIAMENT: Previously I have explained how the CEO of Racing NSW uses his power as the industry regulatory. 

With a weak, compliant racing board and dense network of political and media favours and patronage built up over decades, Mr V'landys is, quite frankly, out of control, and the slightest, most trivial criticism of or           disagreement with him invokes immediate revenge. 

In September last year, Mr V'landys wrote to the highly respected chair of Aushorse, Antony Thompson—a great, long-time contributor to the New South Wales racing industry—accusing him of, "orchestrating a campaign       against Racing NSW, its chairman and myself personally, with this behaviour having serious consequences.”

 Mr Thompson's crime was to say that the term of Russell Balding as Chairman of Racing NSW should not be extended. In the end, through the actions of this Parliament, it was not. 

On 6 October Mr V'landys again wrote to the Aushorse chair, this time with the false allegation that Aushorse had collaborated with Anne Davies atThe Guardian to out the way in which V'landys deliberately bought influence from the political class through free hospitality in the Directors Room at Royal Randwick Racecourse and other gifts, including Ben English's freebie to the Kentucky Derby with TwinSpires. 

The freeloaders at Randwick include Ben Fordham at 2GB, who calls V'landys "the Godfather", and his then producer James Willis. 

Willis started texting Antony Thompson in a campaign of harassment and intimidation on behalf of his master at Racing NSW, Mr V'landys. 

In six text messages, Willis accused Mr Thompson of running a campaign against Racing NSW. Does that sound familiar? 

He said he needed to interview him on the Fordham program, which was to do him in. 

Those text messages were sent rat-a-tat-tat to Antony Thompson.

Willis even claimed he had, "more evidence that Aushorse may have been running a hit campaign against the executive at Racing NSW via the relevant Minister.” 

In truth, he made that up. 

In response to the Willis matter, Minister Harris, in the abiding style of a V'landys lackey, has denied on the parliamentary Notice Paper ever providing such information to James Willis. 

The highly respected bloodstock expert Vin Cox received similar treatment after he wrote to the racing Minister on 20 September last year arguing against the extension of Mr Balding's term. 

A few days later, Richard Callander wrote a piece for Breednet alluding to the powerful figures meddling in the affairs of Racing NSW, with the old V'landys chestnut that anyone who disagrees with the CEO at Racing NSW is trying to help Victorian racing.

Then the Channel 9 empire joined in, with John Redman, a producer at A Current Affair, giving Mr Cox the same treatment James Willis gave Antony Thompson, with persistent messages, harassment and threats to out him on A Current Affair. 

Weirdly and falsely, Redman claimed that the Breednet article, "appears to allege political lobbying on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed.” 

The ruler of Dubai has visited his Godolphin horse interest in Australia only once. 

It is more likely that I will ride a treble at Randwick on Saturday than it is that Sheikh Mohammed even knows who Russell Balding is. 

It was an absurd proposition. 

As if A Current Affair was ever going to run a segment on Sheikh Mohammed interfering in the extension of Russell Balding's term. 

The whole proposition was from planet Mars. It was nothing more than an attempt, on behalf of Racing NSW, to intimidate yet another well-intended contributor to the industry for disagreeing with the CEO, Mr V'landys.

Unfortunately, this is a very Sydney story. 

Peter V'landys is the ultimate networker. 

I always thought Kevin Rudd was the greatest power accumulator and networker I had ever met, but V'landys puts him in the shade. 

He buys influence from the media and his surrogates to, in return, do his bidding and intimidate and silence anyone in the racing industry who disagrees with him. 

While Chris Minns runs cover for V'landys out of fear thatThe Daily Telegraph and 2GB will turn on him and his political interests. 

What is this? 

Anyone who disagrees with the CEO of Racing NSW has a journalist set upon him. 

The media are bought off by freebies at Royal Randwick and Rosehill. 

I hope they do better than some of the National Party members, who got only a buffet instead of à la carte meals. 

I am sure they are doing a lot better in the Directors Room at Royal Randwick. 

Are we living in New South Wales or in a foreign dictatorship where media harassment, the misuse of the media and the harassment of individuals occurs. 

I fear for the future of racing as long as these tactics are allowed to continue.