(The reaction to this story has been amazing. Of the more than 50 e-mails that we received only one was critical of us for pursuing the issue the way that we did. Once we traced the source of that e-mail it was obvious why the author carried on like a jackass).

MEMO: Australian & Queensland Racing Board Chairman, BOB BENTLEY

FROM: The DISGRUNTLED PUNTERS OF AUSTRALIA

WOULD it please be possible when you get to work on Monday morning Mr Bentley to organize an optometrist appointment for the Stewards’ Panel that officiated at Eagle Farm on Saturday and declared that $41 winner, Crackajack Fortune, did not get an ‘unfair start’ in Race 5?

Jokes aside, after watching the SKY Channel slow motion replay and freeze frame of the start – and seeing Crackajack Fortune prematurely open his gate while the rest were still closed – the punters of Australia were confident that this would have been declared a ‘NO RACE’.

But alas it was not. Up in smoke went all the bets that were invested on the heavily-backed favorite, Mazuka, which was beaten a short head after giving the winner, Crackajack Fortune, a length start out of the barrier. We might also mention that many of us were put out of business in the first leg of the Quadrella by a stewards’ decision that leaves us flabbergasted.

In many club and pub TABs around the country the roar of hope that went up when SKY showed us a freeze frame of the start turned to moans of despair when firstly ‘correct weight’ was declared and then to anger and, in some cases, laughter, when the stewards’ report was finally heard.

It went something like this:

‘Immediately after the start Mr Bill Shuck, the Club starter, contacted the Chairman of Stewards as he thought there was a chance, albeit a slight one, that Crackajack Fortune may have sprung its gate prior to him officially releasing the field. In accordance with AR. 8(f), which requires the stewards to determine all questions which might arise at a race meeting, and the question had been asked in relation to the start by Mr Shuck, before the declaration of correct weight the stewards viewed all available video films in an endeavor to satisfy themselves that the start was fairly affected. They were satisfied on the evidence available that Crackajack Fortune had bounded forward just as the gates were opened by the starter. Accordingly correct weight was declared.’

In the opinion of the punting fraternity of Australia – hopefully we are worthy of being heard by you as a Board member of UNiTAB, Mr Bentley – we respectfully suggest that the stewards may have erred. The majority of punters who saw the front-on freeze frame on SKY (not vision of the start from the side) are certain that a mistake was made. So are some of the jockeys who rode in the race.

We were shocked to learn that the much respected Batman of Australian stewarding, the Sherriff John Schreck, was listed as officiating at the Eagle Farm meeting. We are aware that Queensland Racing has seconded his services to help ‘break in’ your Boy Robin Chief Steward in Wade Birch, who has been getting some rave reviews from the Queensland Racing Media concerning his initiation to the job.

Now these are fine stewards. How could they apparently get it wrong?

From a punting perspective the only ones that were dining out on this decision were the satchel swingers. They must have just about cleaned up with a skinner on the race. But then there are the TABs and had this been declared a NO RACE - as we feel it should have been - there would have been an awful loss of revenue, as this was the first leg of the quadrella.

Most punters and form analysts would have considered before the race that Crackajack Fortune had little hope – even with a start. His best effort since a spell was a Gold Coast win but that was on a bog track. Since then he had been beaten on those wonderful cushion tracks at the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba that us punters have embraced so fondly.

Anyway back to the race itself. Most of the punting fraternity thought Mazuka was nearly a good thing and as he was only beaten in a photo by Crackajack Fortune – after conceding the winner an unfair start – surely we were at least entitled to our money back.

We might also mention, Mr Bentley, that your good mate, Neville Stewart (the one the industry expects to soon join you on the Board of Queensland Racing) races the third horse home, Hyde Park. Perhaps Mr Stewart has sufficient influence to convince you to have your Director of Integrity Operations – Mr Jamie Orchard – look into the start and determine if it’s the thousands of punters around Australia who are blind and not the stewards.

We would also like to know if there was a 'hold all tickets' call, as it wasn't mentioned on SKY or TVN. It seemed to us the 'correct weight' signal went up far too soon for any substantial inquiry to have taken place - yet apparently it did.

Now we do realize that a couple of members of the racing media up there in Queensland have backed the stewards’ decision with suggestions that those who thought it was a ‘no race’ had been fooled by an optical illusion or the lateral angle. Not too sure what that means.

THE 'FREEZE FRAME' SHOWS THAT HIS GATE WAS OPEN WHILE THE REST WERE CLOSED

What we do know is that looking at the SKY Channel front on ‘still frame’ of the start THE ONLY OPEN GATE was that of Crackajack Fortune. He was ‘crouched like a greyhound’ as one media scribe suggested but unfortunately – for the punters – ALL THE OTHER GATES WERE STILL CLOSED. Hardly a fair start was afforded to every runner.

Now Mr Bentley, back to Mr Orchard, could he possibly find some time in his busy schedule to HAVE A LOOK AT THE PICTURE PRINTED ABOVE or secure a copy of that ‘freeze frame’ of the start for himself and show it to your stewards? SORRY BOYS BUT THE PHOTO DOESN'T LIE.

We know that the punters of Australia would have no idea how busy Mr Orchard has been. So if he can't find the time they will fully appreciate the situation.

The racing dogs in Queensland are barking that Mr Orchard has been involved in the recent tracking down and bringing to justice of a bush trainer who put a couple of starving feral cats out of their misery that were dumped on the door-step of a western racetrack.

The story is doing the rounds that the trainer was outed for several months. That couldn’t be right – just an optical illusion – like a lot of other things that happen in racing in Queensland!