THE WEDNESDAY WHINGE is back for another year and has a new look but we won’t be dispensing with our theme and focus on the THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY side of what is happening in racing. The Whinge will continue to provide an opportunity for The Cynics to Have Their Say. Thanks again for your support for the most read column on this website and one of the most read on racing websites in the country. Our popularity continues to grow despite the bagging it cops from some high profile officials, especially in Queensland, who cannot cope with constructive criticism of any kind. We encourage supporters – and critics – to continue to contribute but plan to restrict the Whinge to less than a dozen items each week. Our message to those who continually bag us is simple: IF YOU DON’T LIKE WHAT YOU READ THEN DON’T REVISIT THE WHINGE.
IT comes as no surprise that the major topic for discussion this week was the cobalt crisis and questions continue to be raised as to whether Racing Queensland was ‘sitting on its hands’ on this issue. Here are several of the emails chosen to run on the topic which hopefully get the general message across:
‘RQ HAS TO BE KIDDING TO SUGGEST THEY HAVE BEEN ON TOP OF THE COBALT PROBLEM’ 
RALPH STEPHENS of BRISBANE writes:
‘THE Integrity Department of Racing Queensland has to be kidding to even suggest that they have been on top of the cobalt problem for a long time.
Might I suggest it is insulting to the industry and those stakeholders who do the right thing to announce that of almost 300 samples processed last year they did absolutely nothing about nine that were suspect?
It seems both amazing and coincidental that RQ has suddenly become proactive within days of the shock news that elevated levels of cobalt have been detected from horses that started for three leading stables during the Victorian spring carnival.
All of a sudden we had the RQ ‘spin doctors’ in the racing media telling us who quick the local stewards been to react and even Media Releases from RQ on what they were doing post haste to address the problem locally. They have to be kidding – too little, too late fellas.
As another website (the popular justracing) pointed out to suggest ‘they have been waiting to get a threshold’ just proves that ‘RQ is asleep at the wheel and needs to understand that there is no law whatsoever about being an innovator in the racing industry’.
What is more annoying to those of us who have followed the integrity politics of RQ since Kevin Dixon took over is that the two highly experienced and respected stewards who have led the way on the ‘cobalt issue’ – Terry Bailey (Racing Victoria) and Reid Sanders (Harness Racing NSW) were rejected by the current hierarchy when keen to come north. They preferred to elevate Wade Birch to an unbelievably high perch considering his experience and to bring Alan Reardon home on an incredibly rich retirement package. You be the judge about the inference that draws.
The statement that Mr Birch made to Pace Magazine last September that there were nine suspect cobalt cases (which apparently nothing was done about until now) has come back to haunt him. All of a sudden no-one – in the wake of the Victorian revelations – RQ is waiting with baited breath the results of the swabs from a laboratory in Perth. That is while RV had their swabs – taken well after the RQ ones – tested not only in Perth but also Hong Kong. It’s easy to see who has been sitting on their hands – and it wasn’t the Victorians.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS Media Release from RQ challenges the argument that there was no action at the station before what emerged from Melbourne last week. It reads:
RACING Queensland General Manager of Stewarding and Integrity Wade Birch says Queensland trainers have been aware of the control body’s crackdown on cobalt for more than a year.
Racing Queensland, in conjunction with Harness Racing New South Wales, sent a batch of urine samples to the National Measurement Institute in September 2013 when intelligence first emerged regarding cobalt use in harness racing.
“Our trainers were then made aware that Racing Queensland would be testing for cobalt in October 2013 and a number of samples from both thoroughbred and harness horses have been frozen since then in anticipation of the new threshold, which came into effect on January 1 this year,” Mr Birch said.
“These samples are in the process of being split to obtain a B-sample for further testing, in accordance with State Legislation, which includes the need for the process to be filmed in its entirety.
“Queensland legislation is very stringent in relation to testing methods. However, this ensures all sampling activity is conducted with the utmost integrity in the interest of Racing Queensland as the control body and the trainer.”
Mr Birch said if any of the samples, including those taken from last year’s Winter Carnival, were found to exceed the threshold, the offending trainer could be subjected to lengthy bans.
“We make no apologies for this stance and trainers have had ample warning that as soon as the testing capabilities were in place, we would pursue this course of action,” he said.
“The underlying principle of racing integrity is to ensure the sport is carried out in a fair and just manner in the interest of the punter, the participant and most importantly the horses themselves.”
IDENTITIES OF THOSE STABLES SWABBED NEEDS TO BE REVEALED 
ALBERT WILLIAMS, a regular contributor from REDCLIFFE, sent this email:
‘THE secret society that is the Kevin Dixon-run Racing Queensland will lose even more public and industry confidence if the identities of those stables swabbed last year is not revealed in the light of the cobalt drama.
There are so many rumors and innuendoes that do the rounds – no matter who is running the show – that RQ needs to put an end to any speculation that when it comes to swabbing and integrity the industry is a level playing field.
If his old boss Reid Sanders can publicly display the identities of more than 800 swabs taken by Harness Racing NSW with eight trainers disqualified, surely Wade Birch can follow the lead and do likewise at RQ – that’s provided he isn’t under instructions not to do so – and we all know there is no interference from anyone in the job of those responsible for integrity of the sport.
What also should be made public is the cobalt levels in those swabs that have been finally sent to Perth for testing. This should have occurred long ago instead of hiding behind the excuse of not knowing what threshold level would be accepted.
I am not suggesting anything untoward for one moment in the swabbing process or detection in Queensland but with officials have links to stables there is a need to show everyone that it is a level playing field and that not just selected trainers are being swabbed.
And the only way of ensuring this happens is to make the list of those swabbed and levels of anything detected in those swabs made public for all to see. It’s over to you now RQ – but I’m not holding my breath knowing what a secret society the organization has become.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: WE received several emails on this issue but some were ‘too hot to handle’. Contributors cannot make accusations about stables simply because they are considered ‘close’ to certain officials. In relation to the allegations of ‘unfair start’ being made about a certain trainer and stable on the Downs, we suggest you take that up with the Integrity Commissioner Jim O’Sullivan. In the meantime let’s wait and see what emerges from the tests sent to Perth by RQ stewards.
‘MOUTHPIECE’ FOR VICTORIAN COBALT TRAINERS ‘MADE A GOOSE OF HIMSELF’ 
PAUL McNAMARA of MELBOURNE writes:
‘DANNY O’BRIEN seems to have become the ‘unofficial mouthpiece’ for the top trainers whose frustration at the cobalt positives is understandable.
Many in the industry believe that O’Brien made a bit of a goose of himself on radio on Saturday morning with his unfounded remarks about Racing Victoria and its ability or inability to prosecute cobalt positives.
His suggestion that cobalt thresholds had been rushed into legislation and that as early as Friday of this week the five cobalt positives would be quashed was bordering on the laughable. It’s amazing how dramas like this can create strange bed-fellows. O’Brien and fellow trainer Peter Moody are hardly what you would call ‘bum buddies’.
He had to be kidding with his suggestion that they had got it right over the border in NSW.
Patrick Bartley presented the real facts in an objective article in The Age when he wrote:
‘Let’s cut to the chase.
Racing Victoria’s cobalt threshold level of 200 has been set at a high level to ensure that normal supplemented horses are not caught up in a doping violation. In other words, it’s at that level to protect the innocent.
The threshold level was set with the knowledge of studies done in other racing jurisdictions, together with exhaustive trials and co-operation between the different codes and states in Australia.
O’Brien should not be proclaiming NSW as any savior. Harness Racing NSW has disqualified eight trainers for between 30 months and 10 years for cobalt offences.
However, O’Brien believes that the Victorian stewards have been hasty.
In Hong Kong, where the threshold is half that of Racing Victoria at 100, 7500 urine samples have been tested for cobalt since 2006. They showed unsupplemented horses to have urine cobalt levels in the range of five to 10, with an average level of 3.7.
The Hong Kong laboratory then performed a detailed study on a variety of legitimate cobalt supplements.
The results showed that oral supplements had virtually no effect on cobalt levels. Whilst injectable cobalt supplements did have the potential to elevate urine cobalt levels over the Hong Kong threshold, this excess over the threshold was very short-lived, lasting only six to 11 hours.
This point is lost on many in the industry. To reach the levels above 200 micrograms would mean that the horse would have to be therapeutically treated on the day of a race, which is also banned in Australia.
The result in Hong Kong caused the laboratory to propose that injectable cobalt supplements should not be given on race days.
That should not be a consideration here, as in Australia all race day treatments are against the rules.
In the US, a study has been done “doping” horses with non-proprietary cobalt from a compounding pharmacy.
In the study, after a single injection of cobalt, urine levels rose to 4000 but within 24 hours had dropped to 240, slightly above Racing Victoria’s threshold of 200.
Therefore, to suggest high or regular usage of legitimate cobalt-containing supplements will cause a cobalt positive would seem at odds with the existing published scientific studies on cobalt.
Following O’Brien’s passionate plea of innocence on radio SEN on Saturday morning Racing Victoria, which issued the irregularities earlier this week, has remained silent.
Fairfax Media understand that RV is not willing to fight the cobalt case through the media and will wait to see if any charges are laid in the months to come.’
That just about says it all. Present the two sides – and whilst O’Brien and company are entitled to presumption of innocence and deserve a fair trial – that’s the time to mount a strong defense Danny and in the meantime please spare us the histrionics.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: HERE’S an interesting story by BRENDAN CORMICK of THE AUSTRALIAN on the above issue:
RACING Victoria chairman of stewards Terry Bailey has declined to get involved in a war of words with trainer Danny O’Brien during the cobalt investigation involving the trainer.
Bailey did, however, pour cold water on the assertion by O’Brien that the investigation would be over this week.
O’Brien — who along with Mark Kavanagh and Peter Moody had horses return elevated cobalt readings during the spring — said on the weekend there was “no cobalt administered in any way, shape or form to any of our horses and we’re expecting a quick resolution of this, hopefully in the next few days’’.
“ I won’t be satisfied until RVL get on the front foot and explain the whole situation.
“It doesn’t appear that this rule has been terribly well thought out or researched as to what normal treatments can have an effect on this threshold.’’
Racing Victoria chief executive Bernard Saundry on Friday, announced the redirection of staff in the integrity services department, making the investigation a priority.
Eight people, including stewards, vets, investigators and an internal legal counsel, are involved in everything from interviewing and collecting statements from trainers, staff and vets to examining betting records and preparing briefs.
“There are still a lot of boxes that have to be ticked,’’ Bailey said. “If we issue charges, we have to be ready to appear before a retired County Court judge at the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board and if we don’t have everything done we’ll soon be told about it.
“A relatively straightforward phenylbutazone case can take two months. We will go about our work as quickly as we can with the resources we have.’’
As for the suggestion by O’Brien that Racing Victoria had rushed in and had not thought through the local rule of racing that was adopted on April 14 last year, Bailey was not concerned.
“We’ve rushed into it to the point that a national rule mirroring ours was brought in nationally by both the gallops and harness codes eight months later,’’ Bailey said.
The threshold level is 200 micrograms per litre of urine. The standard level for a horse can be lower than 10 micrograms, but it can climb as high as 50 depending on diet and supplements.
“The threshold level is a generous one at that. In our view, 200 (micrograms) is seen as a fair level. If you exceed the 200 there has been outside influence.’’
Cobalt is a mineral present in grain, hay and supplements. There is an argument that it has the potential to accumulate in the system, but it is also noted high levels can return to normal within weeks. Bailey said the standard line from vets is that it (cobalt) delays fatigue.
Stewards have not issued charges against O’Brien, Kavanagh and Moody. O’Brien admitted his three horses and the individual horses trained by Kavanagh and Moody were “very marginally over the threshold’’ due to a build-up of “their normal raceday supplements and treatments’’.
“We’ve always given drips to horses. We’ve always given certain supplements to horses to make sure they race at their best and that they recover quickly as well,” O’Brien said.
“There is nothing sinister that has gone on with these horses and the numbers on the tests certainly show that.’’
Bailey said the readings were not massive but neither were they just over the limit.
The only other place with a threshold is Hong Kong, where the level is 100 micrograms. The HKJC has been screening for cobalt since 2006 and they have never had a positive test.
The South China Morning Post reported the HKJC’s chief analyst, Dr Terence Wan See-ming, has been co-ordinating efforts by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities to set a global threshold.
WITH RACING’S WORST KEPT SECRET OUT WHAT WILL BE DONE ABOUT IT? 
SAM ROYLE of the GOLD COAST writes:
‘NEVER truer words were written than those by Robert Craddock in The Courier-Mail when he stated:
‘RACING’S latest drama may have shocked the wider world but in the industry itself there is not a single dropped jaw.
Cobalt use has become a cancer in an industry where the pressure on desperate trainers to find a winning edge remains a wicked incentive to break the rules.
Talk to any well-informed person in the racing and they all say cobalt had been used rampantly and recklessly for years, particularly before a threshold was set on its use recently.’
“Cobalt was everywhere. They had to act,’’ one industry source said yesterday.
“There have been cowboys out there selling it for years and I’m not even sure whether some of them knew what they were doing.
“Before a threshold was introduced last year there were an enormous amount of horses on it. It certainly improved horses. There were horses on it going around the provincials who improved to near open company in town.’’
There have been stories written quoting Gold Coast gallops trainers as saying they were approached by men offering to sell them the drug. Why has this only emerged now and didn’t they report same to the authorities back then?
The rumors are rampant about a supplier on the Downs. Stewards would have had to be living under a rock not to be aware of these stories and a particular trainer who has been enjoying quite a run of success.
Now that the dirty linen has been aired what will be done about the positives? Surely if the thresholds have been breached there won’t be an acceptance of vitamin additives creating the problem.
And most importantly will they set an example – regardless of how important the trainer is – and send those deemed to be guilty of administering cobalt to the spelling paddock – similar to what has happened with several harness trainers in NSW.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: ONE industry cynic has already framed a tongue-in-cheek market on whom or what will be blamed for the cobalt positives. This is what is doing the rounds:
$2.40 contaminated food
$2.6 mix up at the laboratory
$5.5 rogue stable hand
$11 Stephen Dank
$15 Mexican drug cartel
$21 the Fugitive’s ‘one-armed’ man
$21 Shane ‘Dr Ageless’ Charter
$51 James Herd
$101 Elaine’s Poppy Seed Muffin
$151 Joe the Cameraman
$151 Warnie’s Mum
$201 Lance Armstrong
$501 Monica Lewinsky
$1001 The Trainers themselves.
CRONULLA PARK CONTAMINATION FEARS ‘WON’T DISAPPEAR WITH WAVE OF MAGIC WAND’ 
MAX ARTHUR of MARGATE writes:
‘WITH all the hype going on with the Queensland election who would have thought my last email would have raised the eyebrows of so many people re the asbestos in Musgrave Park, yet no one seems concerned about Cronulla Park which is 100 times more contaminated with asbestos than Musgrave Park.
On Sunday I was driving past Musgrave Park and looked over to see the now unlocked gates wide open and the building once boarded up, now open and people sitting around. It would appear the Premier, still showing his concern for the Aboriginal people, called on the services of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ to make the asbestos which he stated was dangerous to the health and well-being of the Aboriginal people, disappear. Strange the first action was prior to G20 and the second post G20.
What about the Premier’s concerns for the Greyhound Industry being dumped on the asbestos contaminated Cronulla Park site: Am I deaf? Because I have not heard any concerns coming from the Premier, any member of his Government, the Environment Protection Agency or Racing Queensland’s Greyhound Board.
Should the Premier call on the service of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ to wand away the asbestos in Cronulla Park, I am sure he would decline making it very clear ‘I am a member of the Union for Asbestos removal,’ and call a strike.
I understand Mr Michael Byrne, QC, is the Chairman of the Greyhound Board. He must be aware of how dangerous asbestos spores, if ingested, are to the health and well-being of all participants of the Greyhound Industry, including the general public of Logan who will unknowingly attend these race meetings.
If this site is disturbed by the building of the track, which it no doubt will be, and asbestos spores are released into the air, who will be responsible? Will it be the Government, the owner of the land? Will it be Racing Queensland, the recipient of the completed complex? Will it be the contractor who disturbed the site? Food for thought I would think.
Maybe Mr Byrne QC is too busy to read the daily papers, and listen to current affair programs in all states in Australia, that regularly present the misery of people diagnosed with Mesothelioma and Asbestosis, from ingesting asbestos spores ending in untimely death, or has he put his faith in the good fairy to wave her magic wand, and asbestos proof the site, Cronulla Park, thus avoiding the involvement of any unions and compensation payments?
I would suggest to Mr Byrne that he and Racing Queensland just may need to consider a fund to pay compensation to the Greyhound Industry participants should this track be built on this uncapped contaminated site, as many people have put their hand up stating they have tipped asbestos, which was allowable into this old tip site.’
EAGLE FARM FARCE CHALLENGES CONTINUAL LNP BOASTS ABOUT RACING 
BOB LANG of BRISBANE writes:
‘AFTER months of propaganda and boasting about how much the LNP Government has done for the racing industry in Queensland, we have a farcical situation with the Eagle Farm redevelopment.
On the eve of an election – that they could unbelievably lose – Racing Minister Steve Dickson has highlight the hypocrisy of the Government propaganda by refusing to be drawn on when desperately needed work will begin at Eagle Farm.
It was left to RQ chairman Kevin Dixon to do the impossible and try and make his mate, the Minister, look good by telling The Courier-Mail he expects work to begin on the tunnel phase of the redevelopment within a fortnight.
That’s all well and good but the bottom line is the Government needs to give the go ahead to the contractors to commence the work on this $12 million project of tunnels and flood mitigation and that hasn’t happened.
Eagle Farm desperately needs to be back in action in August as originally promised. Doomben is suffering ahead of the carnival and tracks like Gold Coast and Toowoomba, especially the latter, are not up to it.
BRC chairman Neville Belle is right when he says hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars are being lost in turnover whilst Eagle Farm lies idle. And we have the LNP continuing to pump up the benefits of their Government to racing, including the new TAB deal.
They just don’t get it.
The election will be interesting from two perspectives. Firstly, if the LNP fall across the line as expected, will Steve Dickson survive as Racing Minister? One would hope not. Secondly, if Labor returns to office, will we see the immediate fence jumping from some officials of major stakeholder groups like we did before the LNP came into office. A few of them must be getting a little itchy in the saddle reading the current polls.’
WILL ‘SHOCK JOCK’ INCLUDE RACING IN QUEENSLAND IN HIS ATTACK ON LNP? 
JASON MILLICAN of SUNSHINE COAST writes:
‘SHOCK jock Alan Jones is proving a real pain in the neck for Campbell Newman as his election campaign rolls on at least with plenty of help from the Murdoch media.
During his attack on the LNP Government over a mining project during the week Jones said: “I couldn’t back Campbell Newman in a chook raffle.”
He also went on to say that he had more to reveal about the LNP Government over the next two weeks on his radio show which runs on 4BC between 8am and 9am of a morning but refused to divulge details.
It will be interesting to see if that includes racing controversies in Queensland which he has said in the past he has some information about and he is very well informed especially about Downs racing.
Jones said the Premier and senior ministers would be banned from his program, as they had refused multiple invitations in the past.
“They've had two and a half years to explain themselves, and they haven't. They've ignored everyone, they've walked over everyone,” he said.
“They think the people of Queensland are stupid, and we'll find out on January 31 they're not.”
Wouldn’t it be an interesting interview to see Jones pit his interviewing and interrogation skills against Little King Kev and the chamber of secrets that that run racing in Queensland? Might I suggest there would be only winner – and in the words of our illustrious Racing Minister – ‘he’ would finish a furlong in front?’
WILL BIG RICHIE GET A GIG AT SKY? – IT’S INTO ODDS-ON WITH THOSE WHO KNOW? 
DAN ‘a dislike man of fat Richie’ from MELBOURNE poses this question:
‘QUESTION of the week – HOW long will it be before big Richie Callander gets a gig with SKY?
The grapevine is in overdrive in Sydney about his dad and other high profile supporters kicking up big time for life after TVN for the outspoken one.
Don’t worry about the many others with arguably more talent who will be consigned to the media broadcast scrap heap.
If the switch to Sky happens as expected it will just confirm my opinion that it’s now what you know in the racing media but who you know and how many strings they can pull.’
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.