THE WEDNESDAY WHINGE has a new look but won’t be dispensing with some of our old favorites and will continue to focus on THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY side of what has happened in racing over the past week. The Whinge will continue to provide an opportunity for The Cynics to Have Their Say. Thanks again for your support for the most read column on this website. Our popularity continues to grow despite the bagging it is copping from some officials who cannot cope with constructive criticism and insist that no-one reads it. We encourage readers to continue to contribute but plan to restrict the Whinge to only eight or at the most 10 items as well as stories you may have missed in the mainstream media. That is what you seem to want. Feedback suggests that unless there is a major issue that the column at times is too long.
TOOWOOMBA BUILDS ON ITS REPUTATION AS ‘MOST CUDDLED CLUB’ IN THE COUNTRY
JOE C of NORTH QUEENSLAND poses the question:
‘IS there anything the powers-that-be at Racing Queensland won’t do to ensure the success of racing in Toowoomba?
They should be more worried about industry survival on the Downs where the Clifford Park track, on which many millions have been wasted, continues to be the basket case of racing in this state.
Anger continues to grow, especially in the north, at what is perceived to be favored treatment that the Toowoomba Turf Club continues to receive. Some attribute it to the close ties between the chairman there Bob Frappell and the All Codes boss Kevin Dixon.
Others say it is political and Government-driven.
Whatever the reason Toowoomba has received massive handouts for a track that continues to be a disaster from both industry and punting viewpoints to prizemoney increases and now it seems a stand-alone Winter Carnival date for the Weetwood meeting.
Officials have moved heaven and earth to boost turnover on Toowoomba racing but the punters are still not interested in betting there. The much boasted surge was largely the result of bookies betting back on the tote to offset liabilities from a big punter who has since wound up in a spot of bother.
While the politicians in the north protest to the Racing Minister over what they claim is unfairness in prizemoney allocations under the new TAB deal, Toowoomba continues to build on its reputation as the ‘most cuddled club in the country’.
Townsville struggles to even get a date for the start of work on its new track which was being promised long before the Eagle Farm redevelopment. And what about some boost in prizemoney for these country Cups – like Townsville – instead of burying their chances of more distribution by relegating many meetings to the despised Sky 2 coverage?
While Toowoomba Turf Club in the era of pioneering chairman Neville Stewart worked effectively with an office staff of three, including livewire CEO Allen Volz, the numbers have all but trebled since the new regime took over.
That has prompted one former chairman to openly state that the TTC cannot survive financially with this sort of pay-roll burden unless it has been assured of some massive handout from RQ that other clubs could only dream of.’
SHORTEN THE CARNIVAL EVEN FURTHER BY RUNNING THE WETWOOD ON A SUNDAY 
JIM K of BRISBANE writes:
‘FULL marks to RQ for moving towards a shortened Winter Carnival but many believe they have not gone far enough.
The proposal to shave five weeks off the current carnival is a step in the right direction but there should be more Super Saturdays.
No-one questions the right of Weetwood Day to be part of the carnival but why not include it as a Sunday feature meeting – at least to start with?
Tattersall’s Club has worked hard to build the Tiara into a major Group 1 carnival drawcard and now they look like losing it to the Brisbane Racing Club. That is not good enough.
Poor old Doomben is the big loser in the revised carnival proposal which comes as no surprise. That venue will be lucky to survive in the long-term and most believe if it does will just remain a poor relation of the new Eagle Farm once it has been built.’
PETER BOYCE A ‘BREATH OF FRESH AIR’ AS CHAIRMAN OF RACING QUEENSLAND 
THIS email was contributed by a leading industry stakeholder in Queensland who, for obvious reasons, wishes to remain anonymous:
‘ON behalf of many industry stakeholders let me say what a breath of fresh air it has been to have Peter Boyce take over as Chairman of Racing Queensland.
I don’t want to embarrass the parties concerned by listing individual circumstances but those who have had reason to deal with Mr Boyce after months of frustration with the previous RQ boss and his servants in the Deagon bunker have been pleasantly surprised.
There was one specific instance concerning which was being stalled by bureaucratic red tape and stupidity at RQ but when the new chairman intervened the problem was resolved almost overnight.
We are told that a certain high profile administrator, who was joined at the hip with the previous chairman, was told to get the matter resolved even if that meant missing a junket with the ‘in people’ at a near country race meeting that he was heading to.
In a short time Peter Boyce has shown that he will deal with every issue on its merits, there will be no perceived ‘favorites’ – especially that particular one at a near Brisbane club that has caused much anger from some and hilarity from others.
The question now being asked is why Mr Boyce should not be the RQ representative on the Australian Racing Board. The question has been raised whether the ARB should be recognizing an ‘independent’ chairman of the All Codes Board instead of the industry elected Chairman of RQ.
It will be interesting to see if Mr Messara will do the right thing by the industry in Queensland and put the properly elected person into the ARB appointment rather than continue to have his ‘breeder mate’ sit alongside him.’
THE GREAT PRIZEMONEY DIVIDE CONTINUES WITH THE NORTH FAR FROM HAPPY 
KEVIN T of TOWNSVILLE posed this question:
‘ISN’T it interesting how media mates and officials of certain clubs doing well under the current racing hierarchy in Queensland are pumping out plenty of propaganda about the new TAB deal and the prizemoney increases that have benefitted some?
When you realize the ill-feeling that exists in the north and the allegations of favoritism to certain clubs, especially Toowoomba, one could be forgiven for thinking some of the stories and blogs that are appearing were written by Government or racing spin doctors.
If you read the media in the south of the state everything in the racing garden is rosy. Get yourself north of Rockhampton and the feeling is quite the opposite with even politicians being called in to lodge protests with the Government. They are painting a very different picture of how well clubs in the north have fared compared to what the Media Releases are claiming.
Now we have the Winter Carnival revamp and who benefits – not surprisingly Toowoomba – while the proposal to strip Tattersall’s of the Tiara and give that Group 1 to Eagle Farm is nothing short of scandalous.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE’S a story written by RHYS O’NEILL in the CAIRNS POST yesterday that certainly suggests not everyone believes it is a level playing field in the prizemoney distribution stakes. It reads:
FRUSTRATED Townsville Turf Club officials will today (Tuesday) lobby Racing Queensland for a review of the north’s contentious prizemoney allocations.
On the back of growing resentment in the Far North racing community, heavy-hitters Townsville will join a push for a fair go in a region long pleading for financial assistance.
As part of RQ’s prizemoney changes announced last month, non-Strategic non-TAB country clubs like Mareeba get a 40 per cent prizemoney rise to $7000 per race from October 1.
Strategic country races will lift just $1000 per race to $7000, prompting one industry insider to label Cairns “one of the most disadvantaged regions in the state”.
In contrast, Saturday Metro prizemoney will jump $15,000 to $65,000 per race, and midweek will be lifted from $17,000 to $20,000.
Officials from Townsville are now throwing their weight behind calls from the Far North racing community for a review.
The Cairns Post has obtained an email sent by Townsville Turf Club CEO Michael Charge and chairman Kevin O’Keefe on August 20 addressed to state members of Parliament, expressing “extreme disappointment” with the treatment of racing in the north, and referring to some prizemoney allocations as “an anomaly”.
State members are believed to be backing a comprehensive RQ review as the groundswell of anger grows.
The club’s contention comes from the slashing of their number of rich Sky 1 meets (worth $13,000 per race) from 32 to 21.
While their less lucrative Sky 2 programs ($10,000 per race) jumped from five to 16.
Charge will join fellow Townsville officials in meeting with the RQ board in Brisbane today.
It’s understood Townsville officials are happy to see popular clubs like the Sunshine and Gold Coast receive their boost, but will ask that North Queensland get a bigger slice of the pie.
“We are optimistic that there will be a review,” Charge said.
RQ CEO Darren Condon said he was hopeful the meeting would clear the air with Townsville officials.
“We will sit down with them as a board and give them a full hearing,” he said.
“Hopefully there will be some fruitful discussions.”
Leading Far North trainers Trevor Rowe, George Doolan and Roy Chillemi are among those who have been stinging in their criticisms of the prizemoney allocations.
Adding to the frustrations of the racing community in the Far North is what has been an alleged lack of correspondence from RQ over their concerns.
“They obviously figure if they stay silent, eventually the complaints will go away,” one well-placed source said.
TATTERSALL’S NOW COPPING A RAW DEAL WHILE TOOWOOMBA GETS MORE HELP 
BARRY K of BRISBANE made this contribution:
‘I have just read an article in The Courier Mail about the inclusion of a Toowoomba race day in the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival and the removal of the Tattersall’s Tiara from the Tattersall’s Racing Club.
For the life of me I cannot understand this and can only wonder what is behind such a ridiculous suggestion.
There cannot be a business case by any measure that will support such proposals.
I have noted previously on this website that there are comments suggesting a close relationship between the Toowoomba Turf Club Chairman, Bob Frappell, and the new independent All Codes Board Chairman Kevin Dixon.
I also understand that some time ago there was a falling out between the Tattersall’s Racing Club and a now high profile industry decision maker. Surely things such as these mentioned above would not have any bearing on any decision to include Toowoomba and strip Tattersall’s of their biggest event.
Is there any way you can ascertain if any business modeling has been undertaken for these proposals? I am sick of trying to get a response from Racing Queensland and like most others just don’t bother anymore.
I have checked the Racing Queensland website, but as usual they haven’t included any information on this matter for their stakeholders. They have provided it to their mates at The Courier Mail to disseminate on their behalf.
What a joke! Why can’t they properly inform their stakeholders in the first instance?’
EDITOR’S NOTE: AS this email arrived too late for us to seek a response from RQ we will follow it up for next week and hopefully have an answer whether any business modeling has been undertaken.
DID DAMIAN BROWNE COP A ‘DUD DEAL’ IN THE JOCKEY OF THE YEAR AWARD? 
MAX B of the SUNSHINE COAST sent this email:
‘SURPRISE, surprise – there was no mention in the Brisbane racing media about the raw deal that Damian Browne copped when the Jockey of the Year was decided at the recent RQ Industry Awards.
Browne has reason to be upset at the snub which saw Tim Bell win the award. It was the third successive year that Damian has been runner-up and one wonders what he needs to achieve to gain deserved recognition.
Did the judges actually have a look at the results for the year?
Browne rode four Group 1 winners – three on Queensland Horse of the Year Buffering and another on Earthquake in the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Bell won the Brisbane metropolitan premiership and rode a treble on Queensland Oaks day including his first Group 1 success on Tinto.
Don’t worry Damian you’re not the only one who is dirty on the result.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE’S a story by DARRYN SMITH in the SUNSHINE COAST DAILY that sums up the feelings of Damian Browne:
LEADING Sunshine Coast hoop Damian Browne lashed out at the state's top officials yesterday (Sunday) after finishing second in the Queensland Jockey of the Year prize at the Racing Queensland Industry Awards.
The Sunshine Coast jockeys’ premiership winner said his dominant season deserved the state's top award, which was given to Metropolitan Premiership champion Tim Bell in what Racing Queensland called "hotly contested affair".
"I don't know who does the scoring but whoever does has obviously had their head in the sand for the last 12 months," Browne said.
It was Browne's third consecutive year as runner-up and by far the most difficult to take.
"I thought I won it outright quite easily, and to get beaten is very disappointing," he said.
"I've had a lot of success all over the country and winning all over the world this season and to not get recognised back at home, I was disappointed."
The judges went with Bell, who was thoroughly impressive in his first year as a senior jockey.
"Bell's year was highlighted by a treble on Queensland Oaks Day, which included his maiden Group 1 victory on Tinto, and a spectacular recovery to peg back Michael Cahill's 10-win deficit in the premiership race," Racing Queensland said.
Browne, who had three Group 1 wins with three-time Queensland Horse of the Year Buffering and another in the Blue Diamond Stakes with Earthquake, said he would not seek an explanation but he was clearly dejected at Sunshine Coast Turf Club yesterday.
"I'm happy for Tim; he's had a great year as well, won the premiership and things like that. He thoroughly deserves to be recognised for the year, but it's obviously just a bit disappointing (for me)."
Unlike the jockeys’ premiership, the award was not decided merely on the number of race wins.
THE CYNICS HAVE THEIR SAY
IS THE RACING MINISTER SET TO BE DUMPED IF LNP WINS NEXT ELECTION? 
BRETT W of BRISBANE sent this email:
‘IF the grapevine and recent murmurings are anything to go by the Racing portfolio will not reside with the current bloke even if Queenslanders blindly return one of our worst Governments after the March election.
The strong mail is that all of us who have been prepared to turn a blind eye to his list of ridiculous statements will no longer have to do so.
Remember the one about Toowoomba being his greatest achievement, the track is now more akin to a goat track because Racing Queensland failed to make it wide enough.
And of course the one he will be most remembered for suggesting Queensland racing will be a furlong in front of NSW and Victoria after the new TAB deal.
I understand that the problem for the LNP is they are not sure who will get the gig.
Will it be another 'front man' who knows nothing about the Racing industry or will the portfolio be bundled in with something else and reside with a Minister who really doesn’t have a clue?’
JOHN O’SHEA UNDER PRESSURE TO PEFORM FOR DARLEY 
KEV L of SYDNEY poses the question:
‘THE jury might still be out but if John O’Shea finishes the spring as badly as his association has started with Darley, will he survive as their trainer?
The first-up defeat of boom youngster Earthquake and the dismal performance of Memorial in the same race are just his two latest casualties.
Like a lot of others I felt the shoes of the Snowden’s were always going to be too big for O’Shea to fill and early indications are that these fears are being realized.
Such being the attitude of O’Shea to any probing from members of the racing media who are not his mates, then don’t expect too many questions to be asked about his early performance.’
BOOKIES CELEBRATE A BIG DAY TO START THE SPRING 
MIKE J of MELBOURNE writes:
‘WHAT a big day the bookies must have celebrated to start the spring.
The defeat of short priced favorites in three states must have had their satchels over-flowing.
Fortunately, for most of the smaller punters, Lankan Rupee, was too short ($1.3 to $1.22) for most to back in the McEwen Stakes at the Valley.
But Earthquake ($1.7 to $2.05) in the Furious Stakes at Randwick and Gun Case ($1.6 to $1.5) at Doomben would have been disastrous results for many.
The least said about Sydney racing at present the better. Washington Heights, Entirely Platinum, Target In Sight, Weary and Rock Sturdy can be added to the Earthquake disaster for Randwick punters.’
WALLER ‘MEDIA CIRCUS’ ROLLS ON BUT NOT MUCH JOY FOR PUNTERS 
ALBERT W of BRISBANE writes:
‘MUCH has been made about the magnificent training performance of Chris Waller to lead in the first six home in the Chelmsford Stakes (at Randwick on Saturday).
Little has been said about the change in tactics on Hawkspur which saw that horse lead and show tremendous fight.
Little has also been said that Waller had two better fancied runners in the race in Sacred Falls ($3.4 favorite, which ran fourth) and Royal Descent ($5 to $4.6, which finished second).
The only two runners in the race that were not saddled up by Waller finished at the tail of the field. Entirely Platinum rose in class, drifted in betting ($3.6 to $4.6) and raced accordingly, finishing last. His performance was blamed on failing to handle the heavy going. Criterion ($5.5) was the only one to beat him home and failed to reproduce his comeback eye-catcher.
Jim Cassidy’s racing media mates were pumping up the return of the ‘Pumper’ but saying little about inquiries into the performance of two of his other fancied rides – Target In Sight which never got sighted and Corryvreckan which couldn’t pick its legs up.
Another Waller runner, Weary, got the blows in the betting but still started favorite, went like a dromedary and dropped out to finish last. Hugh Bowman was at a loss to explain the performance. So were the punters.
But that’s Sydney racing these days – where Waller dominates – and the punters going home with their pockets empty.’
‘DOES THIS NEW TV DEAL MEAN WE CAN TUNE OUT OF SKY ONCE AND FOR ALL?’ 
DARYL C of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘MY friends and I don’t quite understand what this new Channel 7 – TVN deal means but we are hoping the good news is that we can tune out of Sky once and for all.
If the result will enable us to tune in to Seven to watch all the Sydney and Melbourne racing that will be a major bonus.
Who cares what happens in Brisbane and Adelaide except at carnival times. The rest of the year the punters are nailed to the wall in both centres.
Bring on the partnership. The less us stay at home race-goers have to do with Sky the better. Goodbye to all these self indulgent promos and ill-informed hosts. All we ask is that Seven provide someone who just provides the required information and not their own opinion on everything racing which is also a worry if they take TVN where blokes like Callander and Clark are a pain in the bum to listen to.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: IN case you missed it here’s the story by ANDREW WEBSTER for the FAIRFAX MEDIA on the above issue that has caused quite a deal of controversy in the past week:
CHANNEL Seven is poised to become a major force in horse racing – to the point where the free-to-air network could angle for a wagering license in the future.
Not many people want to talk about it, most likely because all the major players involved have been forced to sign confidentiality agreements to ensure the story doesn't leak out.
But the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD has caught wind of plans for racing television channel TVN to run all of its content on one of Seven's digital channels.
As it stands, TVN already pays Seven about $2 million to show 28 meetings a year on 7TWO.
But the association is about to get a whole lot stronger, with the racing network keen to expand into free-to-air TV, rather than have a viewing audience of 30 per cent on subscription TV.
We have been told the end game for Seven is the long-term view of acquiring a wagering licence: first in Western Australia and then in Victoria.
"Something like Seven-bet," is how one figure close to negotiations describes it.
We're told the deal maker behind the scenes is Gold Coast businessman Scott Perrin, who made his fortune alongside brother Matthew when they sold their stake in surfwear giant Billabong for $490 million.
Matt spectacularly lost his $150 million fortune because of bad business deals in China, a $1.7 million gambling debt and an ugly divorce.
The Perrins have always been avid racing enthusiasts, champion jockey Glen Boss writing of Scott Perrin in his autobiography: "Scottie Perrin became a mate of mine and I soon developed a high regard for the cool way he went about making the world of business sound every bit as exciting as racing."
TVN is owned by the Australian Turf Club, Melbourne metropolitan clubs and Country Racing Victoria.
Perrin, who did not return calls, has been dealing with Racing NSW chairman John Messara and ATC vice-chairman Laurie Macri. For his part, TVN boss Bruce Mann has repeatedly denied talking with Seven, which is also keen to enhance its profile as a major player in racing.
It announced this week that it had struck a long-term deal with Magic Millions co-owners Katie Page and Gerry Harvey to broadcast the annual racing event on the Gold Coast. It already has the rights to the Melbourne Cup carnival, The Championships and Golden Slipper.
"As you have seen with this week's announcement with Gerry Harvey and our signing of the Magic Millions, we are increasing our exposure to horse racing," a Seven spokesperson said. "We love being the broadcast television partner of horse racing. It's a great partnership for our television business."
STORIES THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED IN MAINSTREAM RACING MEDIA
INDUSTRY DEMANDING CHANGES TO LAW TO ALLOW ACCESS TO PHONE TAPS 
RICK WALLACE reports for THE AUSTRALIAN that as the Spring Racing Carnival draws closer, the racing industry is demanding changes to federal law to allow it access to information gleaned from police phone taps to weed out race-fixing and criminality.
And it wants other sports to join its push for law-enforcement information-sharing. Australian Racing Board chief executive Peter McGauran says many sporting codes still “had their heads in the sand on integrity”.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton revealed last year that officers often came across evidence of unlawful behaviour in sport through intercepts but were prohibited from passing it on to those codes because of federal laws.
The ARB is urging the commonwealth to declare racing authorities, which have well-resourced integrity departments, as enforcement agencies under the federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act and allowed to receive information gleaned from wire taps.
“We are not asking for the transcripts but derivative information,” Mr McGauran said. “If the police hear on their intercepts a crime figure admitting to fixing a race with the collaboration of a jockey, trainer, vet or stablehand, then the public suffers as a result.
“In the case of admitted race-fixing, it would be immensely valuable to stewards undertaking investigations to know how the horse was to be ridden or the drug to be administered or how the conspiracy was being constructed. It’s now time for a rethink on how sacrosanct telephone intercepts are.
“If law-enforcement agencies come across potential criminality in the racing industry, do we really believe we should not make racing authorities aware of it?”
The move has the full support of Victoria Police. Mr Ashton said last year: “It has been frustrating to sit across from the Racing Integrity Commissioner, who is charged with the responsibility of the racing industry, and to be able to say, ‘We know certain things, but we can’t tell you what they are’.”
Racing Victoria’s executive general manager of integrity, Dayle Brown, also backed the call for information to be passed on.
“If there is material, including telephone intercepts, that is of evidentiary value to Racing Victoria in investigating a potential serious breach of the Rules of Racing then we call upon the federal government to assist us with access to that material, to ensure that the integrity of our sport is not compromised.
“Material obtained from relevant telephone intercepts by law-enforcement agencies would give the stewards information to launch, continue and complete investigations where we otherwise cannot do so.
“Racing Victoria’s primary objective is to provide a level playing field for all participants and punters.
“Our request for limited access to relevant telephone intercept data is aimed at delivering the best framework.”
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in the above e-mails should not be interpreted as those of JOHN LINGARD, the owner-editor of the letsgohorseracing web-site. That is why he has added an ‘EDITOR’S NOTE’. Every endeavor is made to verify the authenticity of contributors. We welcome any reasonable and constructive responses from parties or individuals.
