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‘ANTI-CLIMAX’ AS QUEENSLAND CARNIVAL HEADS TO TOOWOOMBA STAND-ALONE 
STU WILLS, a regular contributor on the problems dogging DOWNS racing, made this contribution:
‘WHAT an anti-climax the followers of racing in Queensland will be subjected to this weekend – not to mention those in Brisbane who were prepared to endure the horror trip down the highway for Saturday’s carnival opener at the Gold Coast.
Hands up all those who want another out-of-town excursion (in the space of a week) and are prepared to venture up the Range to Toowoomba for the historic stand-alone Cup and Weetwood meeting!
I guess carnival organizers are working on the theory that it’s early days and if the Toowoomba experiment proves a major flop then it may well be forgotten by the time the bigger races are run at Doomben, even if the $2 million Stradbroke away from Eagle Farm has all the ingredients of a major disaster.
Despite all the positive mainstream media coverage where turf writers and commentators waxed lyrical about how great the Prime Minister’s Cup day was, especially the quality of the racing and the fields, the fact remains the Gold Coast track is still not up to ‘big day’ standards where not every horse gets its chance and some results reward mediocrity. Saturday was no different.
But back to the current state of play and off we go to Toowoomba where one can only imagine the finger down the throat activities that will occur when the two little buddies, RQ Chairman King Kev and his TTC counterpart Cowboy Bob get to spend some quality time together. Here’s hoping there’s no water shortage on the Downs as they will need plenty of buckets of water to separate the pair. With a little luck by this time next year racing will have seen the last of that ho-down and at least one of them will have ridden off into the sunset.
Toowoomba might be steeped in racing history in Queensland and the home of some great horses, trainers and jockeys of yesteryear but that doesn’t mean a primary Saturday carnival date will be a success.
The state of the track will be watched anxiously no doubt by those who have tried to time it’s resurrection to the minute to ensure the carnival day can proceed at Toowoomba. Whatever happens, it will get a positive slant in the racing media but the real judges will be the patrons who attend the meeting and the punters who bet on it around the country.
Two things are as certain as the odds-on favorites that will continue to go down at TAB meetings in the south-east corner and these are that the crowd will be nothing like that which once attended the Weetwood on a Thursday (even if they count arms and legs) and the punters will be reluctant to bet on the new Clifford Park surface regardless of how good or bad the quality of the fields are.
It’s a crying shame for racing in Queensland that this once great carnival has degenerated to the stage politically where a club like Toowoomba uses its political influence to gain a Saturday start. Regardless of the outcome, those who pioneered this brave decision at RQ are on a belting to nothing next weekend.
Those supporting the move will highlight the fact that major carnival meetings are being programmed interstate with Hawkesbury and Mornington now achieving stand alone Saturday status in NSW and Victoria.
But it’s nothing like the situation at carnival time in Queensland where we now have Gold Coast, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba all being granted stand alone Saturdays. What’s next – another of the teacher’s pets at RQ – Kilcoy?’
EDITOR’S NOTE: IT’S interesting that Racing Queensland elected to go early in the carnival with the Toowoomba stand alone probably because it is closer to the original Weetwood day and the fact that some of the races are lead-ups. As this story by CHRIS ROOTS in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD indicates, Racing NSW looks more to the end of its carnival to justify its reasons for granting an out-of-town primary Saturday fixture.
THERE was a flat feeling at Randwick on Saturday, which again raised questions as to whether there is an opportunity here to promote racing around the state.
After a carnival of wonderful racing for the past couple of months, the drop-off on Saturday was akin to falling over the continental shelf in terms of class and excitement.
A lot of Sydney's better jockeys had headed to the Gold Coast as Queensland took over as the focus of group racing. The horseflesh in Sydney could be described as emerging at best and the quality of the fields was affected by the opportunities on offer at the Hawkesbury standalone meeting and Wagga Cup carnival this week.
The first Saturday meeting after the end of the carnival is lost in a twilight zone. So the question has to be asked - in the 21st century, do we really need to race in Sydney every Saturday?
Queensland and Victoria have taken significant steps to promote Saturday meetings away from the metropolitan area but NSW remains heavily focused on Sydney.
Hawkesbury, in its 10th year as a Saturday standalone, has been a success but the club does not want to move the meeting to the last weekend of April because it would clash with the local show. Scone has built up its meeting in the middle of May and has become well established.
So why not offer Wagga the chance at a Saturday meeting straight after the carnival for its Cup and spread the prizemoney to another area of the state?
Because The Championships date switch, this final weekend of April will be an ongoing problem. Racing NSW should make a proactive decision. Sydney will still have an Anzac Day meeting during the week, which could run for Saturday prizemoney, therefore giving the horses we saw on Saturday their chance.
‘WHAT DISASTER WILL BEFALL THE BASKET CASE OF QLD RACING ON ITS BIG DAY’? 
BARRY ANDERSON of IPSWICH writes:
‘WE keep hearing how bad racing in my home town of Ipswich is travelling but what odds some disaster will befall Racing Queensland’s ultimate carnival gamble in Toowoomba on Saturday – despite the millions that have been poured into that joint?
The powers that be are playing with fire granting the basket case of racing in this state a stand-alone meeting. If only Ipswich received the same privileged treatment from administrators and Government (of the day back then). In racing it’s imperative to have friends in high places.
They say if ‘it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ but that doesn’t apply to the geniuses at the TTC (friends of the RQ Chairman of course) who broke with tradition and success to move the Weetwood away from its traditional Show Holiday fixture.
Those in the know at Toowoomba say the decision was influenced by the Council because the Show Society was struggling to compete with Weetwood Day where the crowds were turning out in their thousands – especially in the era when it was fantastically promoted by then Chairman Neville Stewart and his livewire CEO Allen Volz.
But along came the Bob Frappell dynasty, aided and abetted by the Chairman’s great mate at RQ, Kevin Dixon, and things changed. They were determined to take racing in Toowoomba ‘the new heights’.
The return to grass track racing was welcomed by all sections of the industry but the surface was nothing short of a disaster as was the field capacity of the track. Back to the drawing boards and corrective work has been done.
The trial meetings since racing resumed at Clifford Park would suggest that the track is back on track and that should not be used as an excuse if Saturday’s stand alone fixture turns into an absolute disaster.
As a long-time follower of Downs racing I don’t believe that the Weetwood should ever have been moved away for the Show Holiday. But I will accept that progress sometimes means change and accept that the Cup and Weetwood, along with a number of other features (two of those added to the program this carnival because of the closure of Eagle Farm) make for an attractive card.
But in view of the basket case image that Toowoomba is struggling to shed – not to mention allegations that the club has been pork-barreled by mates in the once LNP Government and a newlook RQ – perhaps they should have erred on the side of caution and trialed this big day as a Sunday feature to start with.’
BEAUDESERT HAS TO BE KIDDING – CHARGING $10 FOR KIDS TO ATTEND ON ANZAC DAY 
A PROMINENT LICENSEE, entitled to be angered by the Anzac Day situation at Beaudesert, sent this email:
‘JUST a quick one here – I know that public holidays race days cost a lot more to run than a normal day, but why would a race club like Beaudesert want to charge $10 for kids three and upwards to attend a race meeting.
On Saturday (at the Anzac Day fixture) this is what the club listed:
Gates open 11am
Adults $20 (16+)
Children $10 (3-15)
Pensioners $5
Look at the admission costs for the Anzac race day meeting ......grow a brain Beaudesert Race Club, a three-year-old is hardly going to drive to the races by themself but you want to charge the kid $10 to get in, so that would mean that an adult would be taking them, yes an adult who will be paying full cost to get into the track. And in this case it’s an adult from the age of 16, and at 16 this person pays full admission to the track yet cannot have a bet or a drink.
Yes it’s great to have a big fancy race day and have a full crowd, but by doing this it’s another way of a race club saying we want 18-plus crowds only and no kids, no families and want only those who spend lots of money on grog and marquees.
Not all the people who go to the races are there for the marquees and to get plastered on over priced drinks. There are families who like a day at the track. They like a small punt, love to chuck a blanket down on the grass and have a great day out with their kids, and a big part of the tradition of country race days was once family involvement where families could do this at a reasonable cost.
A family of two adults and three kids are slugged $70 to rock up at the races. That’s five people for only $70, yet the club can flog off a marquee package for $150 per person.
I feel that Beaudesert Race Club, like some other clubs, are now far more interested in big grog and marquee sales and having only people on course old enough to drink and bet.’
EARLY START FOR RACING AT GOLD COAST WAS AN ‘INSULT TO THE ANZAC MEMORY’ 
AND this one on the ANZAC DAY theme from a regular, ALBERT WILLIAMS, of REDCLIFFE:
‘AS an old digger and a long-time supporter of racing I was appalled to see racing on Anzac Day programmed to start late morning.
It was an insult to the meaning of the day and as far as a lot of people that I spoke to were concerned it breached the rules which forbid gambling before 1pm.
But those making the rules don’t seem to care anymore. It’s all about the almighty dollar. Before long we’ll be racing on Good Friday I guess. Nothing is protected any more.
There was as time when clubs would donate part of their Anzac Day gate to the RSL. I guess that doesn’t happen any longer or perhaps it’s one of the reasons (apart from the wages they have to pay) that the city clubs gave up racing on public holidays.
But back to last Saturday and how were TAB outlets, bookmakers, race clubs etc allowed to bet when there has always been a deadline of at least noon or 1pm on this sort of thing.
The programming of the first at the Gold Coast was an insult to the Anzac memory and what makes it even more pathetic is that there was no reason to go that early. RQ could have ensured that there was a later start (plenty of time for a later finish) like happened interstate.
It’s just another reason for me to dislike the way Kevin Dixon runs racing in Queensland – with a lack of fairness, justice and outright favoritism for those who support him. The sooner the Racing Minister consigns this poor excuse for a racing administrator to the Bentley scrap heap the better.’
GOLD COAST IN A ‘NO GO ZONE’ FOR PUNTERS ON THESE BIG CARNIVAL DAYS 
RICHARD GOLSCHEWSKY of SYDNEY isn’t a fan of punting on the Gold Coast:
‘LIKE most punters I gave up betting on big days at the Gold Coast years ago – it was a mission impossible to win there.
I was interesting to read what Ken Callander – a respected commentator – wrote about the Prime Minister’s Cup meeting last Saturday and I quote from his column item in the Sydney Telegraph:
As far as the Gold Coast goes, you shouldn’t bet there. Just throw most of the form from the PM Cup-Hollindale Stakes meeting out of the window.
Kenny was commenting on the track bias that haunted punters in three states on Saturday. He also pointed out that the inside was a ‘no-go zone’ after all the rain at Randwick and how the jockeys had to get to the outside fence as the track deteriorated at Flemington.
But it wasn’t just the track – which most will agree does not provide a level playing field for all starters at the Gold Coast – that he was referring to. He was pointing out how hard it was to back a winner there and how the form was also hard to follow with some horses simply refusing to perform at their best around the tight circuit.
Seven of the nine winners at the Gold Coast were not far off the leaders coming to the turn and the other two came from sixth. In other words those back in the field had no hope and if they elected to take off early it was simply suicidal.’
MICK KENT MIGHT BE A GOOD TRAINER BUT THIS TIME ‘HE HAD TO BE KIDDING’ 
MAL ADAMS of MELBOURNE sent this email about the win of EPINGLE at the GOLD COAST:
‘AS a keen form student and close follower of racing on the east coast – especially the big meetings – I had a bit of a chuckle when I heard an interview with trainer Mick Kent after Epingle won the Chairman’s Handicap at the Gold Coast.
“I was surprised she wasn’t second favorite in that field,” Mick said after Epingle improved a ‘conservative’ furlong to upstage Index Linked which was in the quicksand on the fence and arguably should have won.
Now we all know what a great trainer and conditioner of horses Kent is. He has a habit of producing long priced winners in staying races – having done so during The Championships in Sydney with Scratchy Bottom.
Epingle might have been racing over an unsuitable mile journey when she resumed at Flemington in the G3 Matron Stakes in mid-March. This was the same class and she stepped up to a more suitable 2200m. But to be fair she tailed the 12-horse field all the way at her previous start passing a tiring runner in the straight and got beaten more than 12 lengths.
And my final word on the subject. If Mick Kent thought she should have been second favorite why did Epingle start at $21? Enough said!
I thought the Stewards’ Report from the Gold Coast might have enlightened me a little more about the massive improvement but I tried to navigate what looks like a new Racing Queensland website and that was a mission impossible. I couldn’t find the report anywhere. So I went to RISA which has also changed its website and finally found what I was looking for. It was a waste of time. There wasn’t even a mention. Then again I guess the stewards in Queensland have trouble following the form of their own horses so why would you expect them to know anything about one from interstate.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: I tried to find the Stewards’ Report on the new RQ website as well and struck the same problems. Who knows what they are dong with their websites. There’s no point having them look ‘pretty’ if the racing public and stakeholders can’t find what they are looking for. Then again they did waste a heap of money setting up a separate one for that failed venture of the wonderful chairman up here – Lets Run as One.
THE ‘BUNDABERG BULLET’ IS A DISTASTEFUL NAME FOR A RACE IN VIEW OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED 
JAMES SMITH of BRISBANE wrote this email:
‘I ask your readers to view the ‘Featured Events’ area of the Racing Queensland website and then convince me that those running racing in this State have any idea about its management and promotion.
There is little doubt that the Queensland Greyhound Industry is in its darkest hour. We have had the live baiting and then the greyhound deaths and mass graves in Bundaberg.
Bearing this in mind, how could anyone in their right mind be promoting a greyhound race in Bundaberg, called the ‘BUNDABERG BULLET’? This is plain stupid and has the potential to create further disruption to our industry.
Racing Queensland is the brains trust running this sport. Surely in the current climate someone would have changed the name of this event.
There are some owners and trainers suggesting that RQ is eager to see the demise of greyhound racing. With this kind of promotion I tend to agree with them.’
SUNDAY MAIL EDITORIAL GOT IT RIGHT – TIME FOR RQ BOARDS TO RESIGN OR BE SACKED 
STAN ATHERTON of BRISBANE sent this email on the deteriorating situation at RQ:
‘FULL marks to The Sunday Mail for having the courage to honestly appraise the current situation in the racing industry in Queensland in an editorial on Sunday.
Unlike their stablemate at The Courier-Mail they have echoed the sentiments of not only stakeholders but the racing public in general in calling for the Boards of the three codes to resign.
Rather than me rave on, here is what The Sunday Mail had to say and one would hope that the Racing Minister and the Labor Government were listening or read this:
IT’S time for members of Queensland’s All Codes racing board and the individual thoroughbred, harness and greyhound boards to step down. The scandals engulfing all three codes in Queensland makes their positions untenable.
Confidence among industry participants is at an all-time low. Nobody is prepared to take responsibility for the dire predicament confronting all three codes. Horse doping investigations by stewards continue, with raised cobalt levels being the focus of inquiries.
Labor Racing Minister Bill Byrne has to bring the racing industry back together after a difficult and challenging period. Punters and licensees are tired of the uncertainty.
The boards should resign now so a new broom can be put through the place.
One can only hope that this good advice – and desire of many involved in racing – is listened to by the Minister who, I understand, won’t be making any decisions until after the Greyhound Inquiry is concluded.
For him to do nothing will only see the industry continue on its downward spiral. New blood – with no affiliations or favorites – is needed – not more of the same that has seen racing in Queensland reach the terrible state it is now in. ‘
EDITOR’S NOTE: IN case you missed it here is one of several emails from STAFF SPIES at RQ that letsgohorseracing received in the past week concerning the deteriorating situation in the Deagon bunker:
STAFF CONCERNED ABOUT DETERIORATING SITUATION IN THE ‘DEAGON BUNKER’ 
THE racing industry, the racing public, the Commission of Inquiry and the Government or Racing Minister need to be made aware of the circumstances concerning the return to duties of Integrity Chief Wade Birch.
The RQ Media Release paints a far different picture to what is emerging behind the scenes at Deagon. For starters many people got the impression that the Commission of Inquiry had orchestrated the return to work of Mr Birch.
That is certainly not the case. He was stood down by the All Codes Board and returned to duty by the same Board. But what has been kept secret is that Mr Birch returned to duties on his terms or what some call a deal struck with All Codes Board chairman Kevin Dixon, his greatest supporter and apparently rubber-stamped on the recommendation of the Chairman by the Board over which he has majority control.
Not everyone is delighted by Mr Birch’s return or the terms and conditions which he has apparently set down which has again raised questions internally and externally by those in the know about his closeness to the Chairman.
Our understanding and that of those close to the action at the Bunker is that Mr Birch only returned on the condition that he worked ONLY TWO DAYS a week in the office at Deagon and the other THREE DAYS at the Sunshine Coast where he lives.
The story doing the rounds within the bowels of RQ is that Mr Birch cannot entertain a working relationship (has confidentially told some the breakdown is irreparable) with the CEO Mr Darren Condon and that this has been accepted by Mr Dixon (and the Board).
This has led to some extremely serious questions being asked. It is well known within RQ that there was a disagreement between Wade Birch and Darren Condon over the closeness of the Head of Integrity to the All Codes Board Chairman. The time they were spending together within the office (locked away in private discussions) was not going unnoticed by staff. Mr Condon is said to have told Mr Birch he believed it was not a good look. Thus we have the current result although some are suggesting that Mr Birch is saying he doesn’t have full confidence in the Board.
Whatever the situation, it is obvious there is a lack of confidence between the Board and some key staff who cannot work together. There are stories doing the rounds in here (not idle gossip) that Mr Condon is being left out of the loop and that even some of the decisions which would normally be procedural for any CEO have to go to the Board which means the wheels of motion for the industry are spinning and the joint is going nowhere. In other words he is being stripped of his powers.
This, too, isn’t a good look when some believe Mr Condon is shaping as the ‘scapegoat for some’ for the lack of response to complaints from Animal Liberation Queensland concerning the ‘live baiting’ saga.
I can tell you the standing joke in the office these days is: QUESTION: Who do we blame if the sun doesn’t come up tomorrow? ANSWER: Darren Condon!
Staff morale has been at an all-time low for some time and just continues to deteriorate. I can assure you tjat the only one who has done anything to address this issue has been Darren Condon – not Kevin Dixon (in our opinion he’s too busy looking after his supporters), not individual members of the Board, certainly not Wade Birch (most think he’s too busy worrying about his own survival) – but singularly Darren Condon.
The sooner the outcome of this Inquiry is known the better. Most concede there is little hope of the merger of the three codes surviving. The dogs are so much on the outer it isn’t funny. Those that count politically have been never happy with the share that harness racing got (still too much many believe) under the new TAB deal. And the gallops – well all they want to do is run their own show and offload the other pair.
As for the staff who have to deal with an inquisitive racing public and stakeholder groups on a daily basis, well it isn’t fun working here. Our call is for some action to be taken now to resurrect some respectability and confidence in RQ.
The answer to that of course isn’t to hide behind the ‘spin doctored’ publicity (positive from the mainstream media, especially The Courier-Mail Turf Editor Nathan Exelby) that the winter carnival will attract. Instead those that count should be addressing and highlighting the more disturbing aspects of racing administration in Queensland and the lack of confidence there is in Kevin Dixon and his cronies.
They cannot be allowed to survive and should be stood down now. For the Racing Minister to wait for the outcome of the Inquiry and then take action might sound politically correct but it seems like an eternity for those of us at the coalface.
Would you please ensure that this gets to the appropriate authorities? We would also ask Phil Purser but don’t want to be put he or his website justracing under any more pressure as we understand he is being threatened with having his media accreditation withdrawn because he has dared to write something negative or more to the point objective.’
IMAGINE THIS ‘HORROR RACING SCENARIO’ IF THE LNP REGAINED GOVERNMENT 
BILL WHITEHOUSE has strong views on the failure of Kevin Dixon as RQ Chairman. Here is his contribution to the Whinge:
‘THE rumor mill is rife that Kevin Dixon is maintaining his close relationship with key members of the LNP and that his decision to reinstate Wade Birch was taken in consultation with his key LNP confidantes.
Leaks from Deagon have confirmed that the LNP are confident of regaining power and have promised Kevin Dixon that he will remain in the top job on the proviso that he provides a scapegoat for the Commission.
Rumor has it that Darren Condon is likely to be the scapegoat and that it is a likely outcome that all integrity functions will become part of Government.
Sources close to Dixon and the LNP are suggesting that Wade Birch is likely to get the CEO’s position so that he can maintain his close relationship with Dixon and to save him from having to reapply for his position within a new Government Integrity Division.
They say due to the inaction of Labor and in particular the Racing Minister that the biggest issue Kevin Dixon has at present is to keep Condon and Birch from slicing each other up before the Commission’s report is finalized and Darren Condon is thrown in front of the bus.
The first step in this process has already occurred with Wade Birch given glowing praise for his role in cleaning up the greyhound industry in his time in the role. Although this is the spin that Kevin Dixon has put on this issue, it isn’t shared by many within the industry who feel that integrity issues across all three codes have been neglected by Dixon, Birch and Condon with their focus predominantly on getting out positive stories, not highlighting and addressing the real issues across the three codes.
For mine, a broom should be put through the whole organization, starting at the TOP.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: AS we have seen ‘Laurie the Loser’ will do just about anything to win back Government for the LNP and take hold of that elusive Premier’s position. Whilst no-one condones what Billy Gordon is alleged to have done, the leaking of the identity of his kids rests squarely on the shoulders of some within the LNP and is unforgiveable. Then again, desperate times call for desperate measure. If they are prepared to do those sort of things – as has been alleged by Gordon – imagine what will happen in racing (well we already had a glimpse of that during little King Kev’s first term and the favoritism that was afforded some clubs, especially Toowoomba, where the goat-riding will be on in full swing on Saturday.
‘PUNTERS CAN’T GET IT RIGHT ON WALLER HORSES – BUT THE BOOKIES CAN’ 
DOC JENSEN of MELBOURNE writes:
‘WHEN the Sydney racing media asks their pin-up boy to separate one of his horses engaged in the same races, Chris Waller normally gets it wrong.
Waller highlights the fact that his goal is to get every starter to the races in top form to ensure the owners have every chance of winning the race. Whichever way the results fall, that’s racing.
Well Chris you mightn’t be able to sort the wheat from the chaff – and often times the second or third string runners salutes – and the punters certainly have a night mare job working out the winners from your yard, but it seems there is someone who certainly knows.
As Ken Callander wrote in the Telegraph:
THE Chris Waller stable has had a terrible week with a few horses easing badly in the betting ring and then being beaten by particularly big margins, most notably Springbok Flyer at Canterbury on Thursday and Encosta Line and Religify at Randwick on Saturday.
Stewards were on the front foot with Springbok Flyer requiring a veterinary certificate before he can race again; questions were asked of Encosta Line’s jockey Tom Berry and an inquiry into Religify has been adjourned until the result of a veterinary examination is known.
Incredibly, there was no mention by the stipes of the betting, which in the cases of Springbok Flyer and Religify were extreme.
Callander makes a good point – then again Waller isn’t even required to turn up at some inquiries. The explanation is left to a stable representative – that’s how racing in Sydney works these days!
AT LAST A SYDNEY SCRIBE PREPARED TO ADMIT THAT RACING THERE IS STUFFED 
DAN MUIR of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘IT seems the message is finally getting through to at least some of the racing media – we won’t hold our breath for Ray Thomas to catch on – that Sydney racing is heading downhill at the rate of knots.
I have written to the Whinge several times before as an unashamed and passionate supporter of racing in Victoria who has had a gutful of V’landys and co trying to upstage the sport’s pacesetter in this country.
Ken Callander is a huge supporter of Sydney racing but this week voiced concerns about the state of play since The Championships finished. Pity he didn’t take it a step further and admit that the ‘big event’ of Sydney racing didn’t justify its huge price tag – prizemoney-wise, I mean.
Callander declared in his weekly column:
‘THE Championships at Randwick were great, but we are kidding ourselves if we think racing is going great in Sydney.
As an industry, we need to address many pressing issues that are far more important than $2 million yearlings or Australia’s position in the international racing world. I don’t know all of the answers, but we need to find them.’
I hope you don’t mind me reproducing, in depth, what he had to say on a number of important areas, but here goes:
CROWD figures: Saturday attendances of fewer than 5000 are not acceptable in 2015. Fifteen-thousand should be the minimum. Trying to count the crowd at Thursday’s postponed meeting at Canterbury, I could not get to 100;
FIELD sizes: They are ridiculously small in Sydney. Don’t listen to the bunkum about a small foal crop as it hasn’t affected Melbourne and Brisbane who have no trouble in maintaining good field sizes. Neither, in the main, do provincial and country clubs;
POOR metropolitan tracks: Randwick, Kensington and Warwick Farm are not up to the standard required of city tracks. Canterbury is a jewel and I am continually amazed why the construction that took place there in the 1980s has not been copied as other tracks have been rebuilt;
DEMISE of on-course bookmakers: TAB turnover is not keeping pace with inflation and the demise of the bookie is a big factor. An all-tote meeting at Canterbury 55 years ago proved bookies and the tote feed off each other and both need to be buoyant for the good of racing;
RECENT loss of assets: With the sale of the NSW share of Trackside to the TAB and the winding up of TVN, potential future revenue has been lost and needs to be replaced; and
THE Randwick grandstand: Disaster where the public is denied access to approximately 80 per cent of the space even though public money from the sale of Trackside was used to finance the structure.
It just goes to show that despite all the efforts to upstage Melbourne racing, Sydney continues to struggle on a weekly basis which is something officialdom should be addressing rather than worrying about their giant egos.’
‘ARE MANY IN RACING SICK OF THE BLEATINGS OF THE TOP COBALT INQUIRY TRAINERS’? 
GEOFF GAMBLE of SYDNEY gives it to the Victorians:
‘MANY in racing are sick a tired of the bleating of O’Brien, Moody and Kavanagh about how bad there businesses are travelling since the cobalt scandal engulfed them.
Whilst one sympathizes with their plights they should be the first to recognize that stewards need to leave no stone unturned in the investigative process to ensure that everyone involved gets the justice they deserve.
Mark Kavanagh told Radio RSN: “We’ve lost horses over it. We’ve had our names tarnished. We’ve been named, blamed and shamed. We’ve already been punished for something that nobody has actually done.”
Well that remains to be determined at an inquiry Mr Kavanagh and the sooner that is dealt with the better – but stewards need to dot the ‘I’s’ and cross the ‘T’s’ to ensure that their job is done properly as well.
The sad aspect of all this I think that some of those involved expect this whole cobalt issue to be placed in the ‘too hard’ basket and believe a line should be drawn in the sand, everyone given a clean slate and just start all over. Sadly, for them, that is not going to happen.
They will get their day in caught and if cleared of any wrong-doing as they strongly suggest they should be, then be allowed to get on with the business of training. Until then, like a lot of others this has happened to in the past, it would be better for them to stop bleating and just do their best to prove their innocence then wait and see what happens.
EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS is an interesting story on the cobalt saga by PATRICK BARTLEY in THE AGE:
RACING Victoria has come in for some harsh criticism of its handling of the current cobalt investigations. The criticism has been that its integrity department did not have a full understanding of cobalt, that the trainers were not warned about it and now those trainers are having their reputations impugned and businesses damaged.
The same journalists are now calling for a speedy resolution, a fine or reprimand or perhaps even an apology from RV. Those peddling such misinformation didn’t need to wait long to get an indication of why these enquires should not be rushed and the trainers need to be afforded a proper investigation.
The ‘cobalt saga’ is the most serious set of drug cases ever seen in Victorian racing, and even perhaps world racing. There are four trainers, including some of the biggest names, who have had horses exceed the threshold for cobalt, who if charged and found guilty could end up with potentially career-ending disqualifications.
Elevated levels of cobalt have been linked to enhancing performance.
It has been identified as the most serious doping threat to racing integrity and everywhere limits to its use are in place or being implemented – generally at half that of the Victorian and Australian threshold.
Some believe cobalt can kill horses and veterinarians have expressed concern that it might be behind an increase in unexplained sudden deaths in racehorses. In the US it hs been linked to seven deaths in one stable, although never confirmed.
RV Chief Steward Terry Bailey went public on radio this week to address criticism of his department in its investigation.
Bailey was steadfast in his response to questions about the length of the enquiry, saying that because of the number of trainers, horses and people involved, it was a wide-ranging enquiry.
He was unapologetic about the time it was taking, and said that his team would not be pressured or rushed. He said, however, that much of the work had been done.
Bailey said that various explanations had been offered to RV integrity investigators as to how horses could have returned high levels of cobalt through normal supplements.
He said scientific trials were being conducted to test these accounts using an exact replications of the substances involved.
Bailey concluded by saying these investigations take time and pointed to the first cobalt case in NSW involving trainer Darren Smith, where that investigation took more than 12 months. Smith was subsequently disqualified from training for 15 years.
Those criticizing RV and calling for a quick resolution didn’t need not wait long for more information. Just hours after Bailey’s radio interview, the Appeal Panel of Racing NSW released its decision in Darren Smith’s appeal – the appeal was rejected and Smith’s 15-year disqualification by the stewards was upheld.
In a comprehensive and detailed judgment the Appeal Panel released a 38-page document explaining its decision. This document will send shock waves to the Victorian trainers under investigation.
The Smith case was the first Australian thoroughbred cobalt case, although in Harness Racing NSW last year there were a number of trainers banned for periods ranging from 30 months to 10 years for cobalt positives.
Some would argue that the Smith case is different to the Victorian ones but only in that he admitted injecting his horses with non-propriety, black market cobalt. Smith had 21 horses test with elevated cobalt levels ranging from 220 to 6200. Two of the Victorian trainers, O’Brien and Hope, also have multiple cases, and whilst Smith had horses with massive elevations, eight of his 20 positives were in the range from 220 to 780, which Fairfax Media believes is similar to the levels found in the Victorian horses.
These are still massively elevated readings when one understands that the average reading is 5.6 in an international survey of 10,300 horses from 13 different countries including horses on normal cobalt supplement.
In the Appeal Panels decision in Smiths case, there was a detailed reference to normal and abnormal cobalt levels in the racehorse. The panel reported that in the original Smith enquiry there was expert testimony from a number of eminent veterinarians, veterinary pharmacologists and a professor of chemistry. The appeal states “that there was no challenge that levels of cobalt at or in excess of 100 (mcg/L urine) cannot be attributed to naturally produced cobalt in a horse or commercially available veterinary supplements being administered to a horse”.
This was a critical part of the judgment because when Smith was charged there was no threshold level for cobalt. This meant Racing NSW stewards had to prove that Smith’s horses had levels that could not be achieved through normal practices and the elevated cobalt in these horses was a “prohibited substance”.
The “prohibited substance” list is a comprehensive list of drugs or substances that are only used to modify racehorse performance. This list represents the worst of the worst and includes drugs that have no place in racing and have long disqualification penalties if they are found in or out of competition. Indeed, one of Smith’s charges and disqualification relate to an out-of-competition test.
In its judgment and explanations, the Appeal Panel held that cobalt was clearly a “prohibited substance” in that it fulfilled the requirements of the rule in that it affected the “blood system” and was both a haemopoietic agent and an HIF stabiliser. Effectively, it is a blood doping drug given to enhance performance. The panel went further and again stated that “on expert evidence cobalt above 100 mcg/L of urine will have been administered to a horse beyond normal feed or commercial supplements and therefor according to the rules cobalt detected above 100 is a prohibited substance”.
The panel further stated that two vital purposes of the rules are to protect the integrity of racing and to protect the health and wellbeing of horses involved in the Thoroughbred racing industry. In this area the appeal panel relied heavily on the expert evidence of a Professor Mills from the University of Queensland. Professor Mills’s evidence, which was also unchallenged, was that “cobalt is known to be toxic and in high amounts poses a potential risk to the health and welfare of horses”.
Terry Bailey in his radio interview also stated that the animal welfare issue with cobalt was of grave concern, perhaps even more troubling than the doping aspect. Certainly in the current environment Racing Victoria have animal welfare including the welfare of jockeys and other horses as their highest priority.
In the US, where all jurisdictions are about to implement a cobalt threshold of 100 mcg/L, a leading equine veterinarian has called for cobalt to be banned, citing welfare and cruelty stating that horses injected with cobalt have been seen to sweat, tremble and show signs of colic – clearly suffering.
For those who suggest racing’s image is being damaged, reputations tarnished and who are calling for a quick resolution. The answer is simple, the cobalt saga is very serious and how RV handles this will determine racings image. Clearly Terry Bailey and his team are aware of the significance of these cases and that the world is watching. Let the investigations run their course, let the outcomes develop without fear or favour so that in the end the integrity of racing in Victoria is unquestioned.
WILLIAM HILL ODDS-ON FAVORITES FOR THE GOLDEN HYPORITES BOOKIES STAKES 
AS the hatred of the corporate bookmaker in-roads into racing in Australia continues to grow, we had a couple of requests to reproduce this interesting article by business columnist, MICHAEL WEST, in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
IF you were running a book for the Golden Hypocrites Bookies Stakes you would have to price William Hill at onerously short odds.
Punter Richard Irvine got a letter from Australia's largest online bookmaker asking him to complete a statutory declaration with 18 questions. Among other penetrating requests, these included a demand for "certified copies of your last three tax returns and mark those certified copies with the letter 'C'." And, "include certified copies of documents evidencing your income (eg your last three employee pay slips) and mark those certified copies with the letter 'E'." Irvine is one of those punters the bookies don't care for … one who tends to win too much.
"William Hill feels that no punter should actually be able to win off them," says Irvine. "When Racing NSW forced them to give punters a chance to win, they placed this impost on all punters they had marked as winners – knowing that no punter would be able to source all this info let alone be willing to provide it." These stringent "legal" requirements came replete with a threat of "imprisonment" should Irvine make any false statement. The bookie is not quite so pernickety however when it comes to its own statutory declarations.
Take its financial statements for the year to December 2014 for instance. Once again the William Hill accounts feature a loan from Gibraltar of £249 million ($A483 million) at the usurious interest rate of 5.79 per cent and repayable by March 2022.
This rate is not in the same weight class as News Corp and Telstra's 12 per cent loan to Foxtel, or Glencore's 9 per cent loan from Switzerland for that matter, but it is still far higher than parent company William Hill Plc can borrow in London.
If there is any commercial reason for this loan, apart from funnelling millions in pre-tax punters' dollars out of Australia every year to a rock in the Mediterranean, it is not evident.
William Hill has also fixed itself up with a very nice handicap; its accounts are in pounds sterling rather than Australian dollars. What is the point of an Australian company reporting in pounds, you ask?
A cynic would say this company had set itself up to lose; and lost it verily has as the $A has fallen against the pound. What is the point of losing, you ask?
As is the case with most multinationals operating in Australia, the whole game-plan is to lose. If you make a loss, you don't have to pay tax.
Even without loans to mysterious companies in exotic destinations – the cost of which is magnified as the $A falls against the British pound – William Hill would be in the red anyway.
It bolted into the Australian online gaming market, fluttering $710 million to buy Sportingbet, Centrebet and Tom Waterhouse at the very top of the market. It has overpaid and is naturally keen to win back its losses.
It was by no means alone though. Europe's big wagering houses all took the plunge: Ladbrokes snapping up bookmaker.com.au and Betstar for $40 million and Ireland's Paddy Power buying Sportsbet and IasBet for $235 million; all on the basis that we Aussies are the biggest punters in the world, each one of us losing, on average, $1600 a year.
(These are always amusing facts to consider when we hear from politicians, business and media how tough things are).
In any case, the online bookies mostly set up shop in the Northern Territory which has offered them a cosy tax regime. The 13 bookies raked in $8.5 billion in bets last financial year on which they paid a princely $2.5 million in tax.
Nick Xenophon got it right as usual when he described the NT's tax laws "an absolute gift" to bookmakers. "They must be laughing all the way to their offshore bank accounts".
As for corporate income tax, it's probably a fair bet that most of the British bookies don't fork out a lot. William Hill's latest accounts showed revenues of £126 million, up from £89 million prior, a loss of £49 million and a tax benefit of £14 million.
Sports book turnover was £1.39 billion and client payouts were £1.27 billion.
That will grow, especially with the irritating blanket advertising to suck in new victims such as this little beauty on the AFL: "A $5 bet could win you up to $100 million. Just pick the final 2015 AFL ladder in the correct order and bet now!"
"Just pick" … and you "could win up to". You've got to love that.
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