THE WEDNESDAY WHINGE has a new look but won’t be dispensing with the 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 10 of the best 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.
DIXON BOARD CHALLENGED ON CLAIMS THEY AREN’T TO BLAME FOR ‘RQ FINANCIAL DISASTER’ 
BRIAN NOONAN of GOLDEN BEACH on the SUNSHINE COAST has challenged a statement circulated by sacked RQ Chairman KEVIN DIXON on behalf of the former All Codes Board which denies they left the industry in Queensland facing a financial train-wreck. Mr Noonan writes:
‘FIRST of all, what a load of rubbish!
Con Searle should know better than to endorse this letter supposedly explaining the financial predicament confronting Racing Queensland. Con operates a large and successful business and he would know that the statements made in Kevin Dixon's letter are either incorrect or ‘blue sky’.
There are issues raised in the letter that need correction and clarification.
The loan attached to the construction of stables at Caloundra was paid out by the previous Board from existing cash reserves. This still left free cash in excess of $12 million for the incoming Dixon Board.
The finances of Racing Queensland under the control of the ‘Bentley Board’ have been the subject of detailed examination by the White Inquiry, the Auditor General and ASIC and none of these entities found any reason to doubt that Racing Queensland was not in a good financial position.
The audited financial position of Racing Queensland as at 31st March 2012 and prior to Kevin Dixon taking over and implementing the racing plan devised by the LNP has been published on at least three occasions.
Assets in excess of $96 million last valued in 2009
And, Cash on Hand of $13 million
Kevin Dixon attempts to lessen the serious state of finances by claiming that the cause was a delay in the launch of UBET. How a change of name makes a difference is beyond me.
The rivers of gold that were to come from ‘virtual racing,’ a Keno-type wagering product, has never eventuated and proved a ‘Dixon dud’ from day one. Has anybody stopped to calculate the turnover required to be generated after recovering the considerable start-up capital costs and paying the operating partner 50% of profit? Who will play the electronic game and what percentage will be leached from the normal wagering patron? I will not hold my breath for the feasibility figures to be made public, as my best guess there is as usual - none.
The Kevin Dixon levers referred to that are supposed to reverse the downturn on wagering on the Queensland product are not there, so revenue continues to suffer.
Eagle Farm remains closed, other tracks are over-raced and in poor condition and the majority of race clubs are on terminal financial life support.
Kevin, we need more than levers to overcome the mess that is now Racing Queensland.
Loans to race clubs are brushed over as a below the line item with the explanation that these loans will be repaid some magical time in the future. The loans made should be correctly reported as there is no way any race club is in a position or likely to be in position to repay even the interest, let alone interest and principal.
The race clubs were stretched financially before the loans were made and considering the clubs have sold their media rights for a cash injection up front on the contracts in 2011 leaves little free cash currently. I will bet Con Searle has never made a loan that he knew would be impaired before the cash changed hands.
The idea that the clubs can pay back the loans is nonsense. The loans are impaired and are not below the line. No doubt the Administrator and the Auditor General would agree and have reported the financial position correctly.
Reference to the cost of Commissions of Inquiry is a tactical blunder. The White Inquiry was forced on the industry at the specific and unrelenting urging of Kevin Dixon and his supporters. The former LNP Government, reportedly acting on Dixon's representations, gave the industry the Inquiry and Kevin the bill.
Dixon’s explanatory letter is yet another attempt to rewrite history to suit the political situation. All the spin will not alter the facts.’
HOW ‘LITTLE KING KEV’ & HIS BOARD EXPLAIN REPORTED RQ FINANCIAL TRAINWRECK 
FOR those who have not read it the Wednesday Whinge has received from several sources a copy of a statement reportedly made by sacked chairman Kevin Dixon on behalf of the former RQ Industry All Codes Board. It was circulated to bookmakers by one of Dixon’s biggest supporters and LNP racing advisor, CON SEARLE. This is what the above email refers to. It reads:
‘THE Racing Queensland Board removed by the current Government at the end of May, 2015, has become aware of a number of statements made by the Government in regard to the financial position of Racing Queensland.
We do not pretend to understand the detail of the projections going forward as they are clearly the reflection of the plans being implemented by the new regime.
In regard to the financial position of Racing Queensland at the time our term was ended, the financial position for the 2014/15 (accounts at end April 2015) showed an EBITDA loss of $5 million for the year. These accounts were verified by both internal and external audit, and there were no notes or qualifications to the accounts.
This loss was entirely driven by lower than budgeted thoroughbred wagering revenue, driven by the extended closure of Eagle Farm and the unexpected delay in the re-launch of UBET. These revenue shortfalls can be expected to reverse as the drivers are corrected.
In addition, several below the line costs were present, including the cost of the Greyhound Review, Commission of Inquiry and Police task force, the preliminary project costs in relation to capital projects at Eagle Farm, Gold Coast and Albion Park venues, and a number of loans made to clubs for necessary improvements.
These costs will be recovered in 2015/16 and beyond as the project approvals are put in place, and the Greyhound costs are recovered from a prizemoney withholding we had already established. In addition there were a number of asset write downs, the most significant being Albion Park assets soon to be replaced.
Whilst cash reserves have decreased, the predominant reason for this was the repayment of a $12 million loan taken by the previous Labor Board to build a stable complex at the Sunshine Coast, which was taken at a time when interest rates were at their highest in recent years.
Moving forward we had a small number of expected cost increases, including an increase to riding fees and to Magic Millions funding. Neither is significant.
Racing Queensland was in the first year of a multi-year growth plan that invested in the early years and took advantage of aggressive growth revenues in later years. The temporary nature of the cost pressures we incurred was not significant enough to warrant a change to that strategy.
We however, can make no comment on the strategies now being employed. As has been well documented, we have, since January this year, been prevented from sharing our strategy and have been unable to consult with the Government on any activity that would have further enhanced these strategies. Further, any suggested activities that could have been undertaken to lessen the situation described above were routinely ignored.’
A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THE ENLIGHTENING STATE OF PLAY IN QLD RACING 
JIMMY SMITH of BRISBANE sent this ‘enlightening’ email on the state of play in Queensland racing:
‘FAIR dinkum – can you believe the ‘Nellies’ that are jumping out of the woodwork with their bright ideas to fix the industry in Queensland and what about some of the cracking decisions that helped get us to where we are?
First light bulb moment – reduce prizemoney. Great idea as it is the biggest annual cost on the books.
Second light bulb moment – trim Gerry up back from his $5million per annum. Used to be about $1million I am led to believe.
Number 3 – sell Deagon. Great for one year and then what? Bentley tried to develop it for the future of the industry and to capitalize on the development of Albion Park. He was bagged for it and now it is a good idea. Strange that. What was old once is new again.
Number 4 – Obie comes out of the woodwork and says let’s make a tough decision and rationalize country racing. Who were the rock throwers when Bentley did that?
Light bulb 5 – trainers say we should give the Cushion track at Caloundra a go – must have been snoozing when it was used previously as and when required. Didn’t Bentley put that track in? Onya Bob you must have had the foresight to predict the current situation!
Bulb moment 6 – we are going to ask the industry what we should do to fix the financial crisis. This is bound to work with all groups forgetting who they represent and acting for the good of the industry. Good luck with this.
Bulb 7 – Integrity to be independent. Can you seriously imagine the racing industry being effective with an independent integrity arm? Costs will be unbearable.
Bulb 8 – Let’s shut down Eagle Farm and get cracking. Don’t worry that we don’t have the money to fund what we want to do.
Light bulb moment 9 – Let’s get the Bentley crew and we’ll get a few people to tell lies and get a Commission going, bound to turn up something. Oops, wasted a year and about $7 million.
Bulb 10 – ‘we will be a furlong in front’ – now which Racing Minister or Political Dill was it that said that?
Bulb 11 – get the taxpayers to fund the extra with the new Tatts deal, no one will pick up on it.
Bulb 12 – Sign that thing for 30 years, surely technology and wagering won’t change that much in that time.
Bulb 13 – Bentley should never have signed a deal with SKY Channel. Whoever said this just failed to mention TVN was the alternative. How’s TVN going?
Bulb 14 – we invested heavily because we thought the new Tatts deal would be good and the riches would flow. We are still waiting for the risk mitigation strategy to be unveiled by the way.
Bulb 15 – I am proud of my achievements, infrastructure works underway and the Tatts deal!
Give me strength!’
FALLOUT FROM COBALT SCANDAL DESTROYING REPUTATIONS AND FRIENDSHIPS 
ALBERT WILLIAMS of REDCLIFFE, a regular contributor, sent this thought provoking email:
‘THE fallout from the cobalt scandal not only threatens some high profile reputations but has also irreparably damaged the respect of some major stakeholder groups in the industry in Victoria.
There seems to be major division in the training ranks and from some of the criticism, starting with Peter Moody, it would appear the Australian Trainers’ Association no longer enjoys the support of some top training identities. Many rank and file trainers are quietly applauding the strong stance on cobalt.
Leading administrators are obviously at odds over the ‘show cause’ notices placed on trainers facing cobalt charges by stewards. Melbourne Racing Club chairman Mike Symons has been publicly critical of the move while Racing Victoria boss David Moodie has expressed full support and confidence in the report. Both gentlemen are prominent owners but interestingly Moodie has close ties to the Moody stable.
The Victorian racing media gives the impression it is a cesspit of ill-feeling reminiscent of a cat fight with Patrick Bartley of The Age under particular fire and being accused, even openly now, of providing a mouthpiece for stewards. It is indeed a sad situation when high profile racing scribes because of their friendship with certain key trainers are prepared to use their media influence to criticize stewards for simply doing their jobs.
Full marks to Bartley for refusing to take a backward step even after his reported phone call from Moody telling him a ‘life ban’ had been imposed.
Bartley was taken to task by some members of the RSN panel (host Bruce Clark and Herald Sun journalist Matthew Stewart) last Saturday morning over a story in the Fairfax Media about the 'show cause notices' in which he wrote:
Many in the industry are applauding this move by stewards as, earlier this week, Lee and Shannon Hope's RAD Board hearing was scheduled to conflict with Melbourne's spring racing carnival - beginning just the day before the Caulfield Cup.
This conflict prompted leading industry people to call for the cobalt hearings to be delayed to avoid taking the limelight away from the carnival.
However many believe that the industry's reputation is almost irretrievably tarnished because of cobalt and any further delay would be disastrous.
With the issuing of the show cause notices finally the industry will be trying to bring these damaging cases to a head.
This is not the first time trainers have been stood down in Australia's long running cobalt crises. In Western Australia and New South Wales trainers Sharon Taylor, Sam Kavanagh and Darren Smith were all immediately stood down after cobalt positives because their continued training was thought to be prejudicial to the image of racing.
The RSN panelists questioned how Bartley could have arrived at the assertion that ‘many in the industry were applauding the show cause move by stewards on the five trainers’ when it had only happened overnight.
There were veiled suggestions that stories were being ‘leaked’ to Bartley from the Integrity Department. That smacks of sour groups coming from a rival newspaper racing writer in Stewart who is never backward in coming forward when writing stories that to an outsider seem to be designed to protect his high profile mates in the training ranks. And, as for Clark, well none of us have forgotten his association with that failed venture Go Racing, and took some satisfaction from the hurdle his career hit when TVN folded.
Here is an example of the Stewart coverage, in comparison to the balanced stories that many believe Bartley is writing. He went in to bat with a sympathy piece on the battle being waged by Peter Moody. Then on Sunday there was the ‘Cobalt Trainers have Nothing to Hide’ story and on Monday the column lead: ‘Motivation for show cause notices given to Cobalt Five is hard to understand.’ Then, of course, he has provided a platform for Mike Symons every time he opens his mouth on the issue. Perhaps, as Bartley suggested, Mr Symons should be taking a leaf out of David Moodie’s book – or more to the point worrying about club affairs and keeping his nose out of integrity issues.
There is no chance Stewart will ever get ‘life’ from his mate Moody. Sadly though for Bartley it would seem that supposed Sydney-based Fairfax colleagues are now joining the queue to push him down the gang plank, all in the name of balanced journalism of course.
This started with a story by Chris Roots and Brad Pengilly under the heading: ‘Trainers slam cavalier timing of show cause notice’ and was followed up by a column piece by Roots in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday which read in part:
RACING Victoria's decision to issue show-cause notices against the trainers facing cobalt charges is a remarkable backflip from a position expressed by its general manager of integrity services Dayle Brown last month.
The only piece of evidence, which appears to have changed in the time since the June radio interview by Brown was that vet Tom Brennan had come forward to correct his evidence in relation to the Mark Kavanagh and Danny O'Brien cases last week.
Brown said on RSN's Racing Ahead program that there were three separate cases involving cobalt in Victoria – Lee and Shannon Hope, the Peter Moody case involving Lidari, and the Kavanagh and O'Brien cases, which "have some commonality" in them. He went on to clearly state the view of the regulatory body at the time.
"The trainers maintain that view and we've got to a case now where a prima-facie case has been established and charges have been issued," Brown said. "The trainers maintain their position and they're entitled to test those charges before a tribunal of fact, in this case being the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board.
"Given the circumstances of this case and given the way the case has been investigated, we feel, in these particular circumstances, and the stewards are of the same view, that to stand the trainers down is not appropriate and they're entitled to meet these charges."
Racing Victoria's announcement of the show-cause notices on Friday night has drawn a strong response from Damian Sheales, who is the legal counsel for Kavanagh and O'Brien. He wants the hearings to be open to the media on Wednesday, not closed, as Racing Victoria indicated they would be in its release.
"We've got absolutely nothing to hide. We want it all on the table," Sheales said in a statement.
So, why the backflip? There is some mail around it could have something to do with concerns expressed by European raiders hoping to head to Melbourne for the spring. Racing Victoria's international scout Leigh Jordon said while no overseas trainer had actually told him of any concerns, there was discussion around the cobalt issue because it was topical.
No doubt much more dirty linen will be aired before this cobalt saga plays out and apart from the stewards’ rooms it could spread to the Board rooms and press rooms of the race tracks.
It is indeed a sad situation when officials and the media cannot report the situation responsibly, rather than getting involved in the politics of the situation and siding with mates instead of allowing the stewards to get on with the job of policing racing which those in Victoria do far better than anyone else.
One thing should be remembered in all of those – as much as the trainers concerned are innocent until proven guilty, it wasn’t the stewards who presented a starter at the track with excessive levels of cobalt in its system.’
MIKE SYMONS CRITICIZED FOR STICKING HIS NOSE IN INTEGRITY AFFAIRS 
ADAM JAMES of MELBOURNE sent this email:
‘WHERE does this bloke Mike Symons get off in trying to tell stewards how to do their jobs?
Symons might be the chairman of the Melbourne Racing Club – and from all reports does a fine job at that – but as a racehorse owner of some note it is a major conflict of interest for him to criticize the Integrity Department of Racing Victoria for doing their job.
He cannot wear two hats on this issue and should take the same stance as David Moodie, the chairman of Racing Victoria, who might be a high profile owner in the Peter Moody stable but has taken a giant step back and expressed his confidence in the stewards, allowing the wheels of justice to turn.
One wonders what would happen if stewards, who are entitled to a separation of powers between the administrative and integrity side of racing, were to use their powers and issue a ‘show cause’ on Mike Symons as an owner as to why he shouldn’t be dealt with for bringing the industry into disrepute by criticizing them. Now wouldn’t that throw a cat among the pigeons?
While this cobalt case is being heard Symons should follow the lead of one of his great jumpers and size up the fence before he attempts to clear it. One wrong move and he could come to grief.’
IF THIS WASN’T A FORM REVERSAL IT WILL DO UNTIL ONE COMES ALONG 
DON GLADSTONE of MELBOURNE writes:
‘IT’S hard enough to back a winner but I get really pissed when I think I’ve found a good thing and it gets beaten by one that turns in a form reversal.
Such were the perils of the punt for me on Saturday that at Caulfield I waited patiently for the last race to have a good go at Falago.
Apart from the fact that some good judges were tipping it as their best of the day – notably Dean Lester on RSN – the horse had plenty going for it.
It was a strong winner at Flemington at its latest start, stayed down in the weights, came from the powerful Darren Weir stable and had a ‘hungry’ Craig Williams in the saddle.
Looking for dangers I felt Good Value was the main one but was happy to take it on with a 5.5kg pull in the weights. Then I started seeing this strong support coming for the former West Australian mare Miss Rose De Lago.
With Falago, declared by Weir as his best of the day (even though that gay deceiver Refulgent had saluted a race earlier), I found it hard to justify the support for Miss Rose De Lago considering she went pretty ordinary at Flemington at her latest start finishing 9th of 12 behind Jessy Belle when favorite.
Miss Rose De Lago was also stepping up to 1800m for the first time, did drop significantly in the weights but this was a tougher field and had a wide draw to overcome despite the fact she possesses plenty of early speed.
Well it’s history now that ‘Rose’ worked like the clappers early to lead but still found too much at the finish to provide apprentice Katelyn Mallyon with her first city Saturday treble.
Falago did have some trouble getting into the clear but was never going to run her down and was beaten fair and square. That isn’t my bitch. It’s the fact that it took a major form reversal to beat the one I backed. And then instead of focusing on how much she had improved the ‘feel-good’ interviewers were busy patting trainer Danny O’Brien on the back after the tough week he’d had. What about the poor old punters. It was finger down the throat stuff – yet again!’
RUMORS OF COVER UP IN RACING NSW SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE 
AS I am heavily involved in the industry in NSW I would ask that my identity be with-held:
‘SEVERAL racing websites – including the respected Racing Bitch out of Hong Kong – are reporting that rumors have been circulating around the corridors of NSW racing about a very prominent administrator who might soon face sexual harassment charges.
As Racing Bitch wrote: “This particular sleaze bag apparently has form, but has managed to have previous complaints swept under the carpet. This time, they just might be raised at a very senior ministerial level.”
Considering some of the dirty linen that is being aired about this by some ‘quite influential’ people in racing in Sydney, it is time that the matter was cleared up. The gentleman concerned doesn’t deserve this sort of ‘gutter’ publicity if it is incorrect.
And as we all know some stories lose nothing in the telling in racing. To make matters worse the latest rumor suggests the problem has been swept under the carpet. Time for a few questions and hopefully some answers even if it means from the Racing Minister on the floor of the NSW Parliament.'
HOW TO BACK A RUNNING DOUBLE WITH NO CHANCE OF LOSING 
STEFAN MEIER of PASCOE VALE SOUTH in VICTORIA, a regular contributor, sent this email:
‘I read with much interest the recent court action by Government regulator AUSTRAC against TABCORP. I must say it did not surprise me greatly.
The following information is easily verifiable on the TAB website if one cares to look.
I was concerned about a running double pool at a lowly England meeting last October and asked the TAB to check it out. The meeting was on the 09/10/2014 at Ayr.
The pool I was querying was for Race 1. Known notoriously for virtually non-existent running double pools on these race meetings the pool on this race came up at $3,318. To put this into perspective the following four races had these running double pools,
Race 2 $6.50
Race 3 $19.00
Race 4 $26.50
Race 5 $21.00
After the $61 rank outsider won the race, I was astounded that by my back of the envelope calculations and after taking out the TAB’s 20%, a staggering 10 one dollar units had taken out the pool.
What other conclusion could one draw than that a single someone had taken the field into the field multiple times to get their laundered money back, and all it cost them was the TAB's 20%.
You don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to work out that with virtually no one else betting into that pool you will be the only winner. You'd reckon the TAB would be all over such an obvious attempt like a bout of the measles, suspend the whole running double result and quarantine the money wouldn't you?’
IT’S A BIT RICH CANNING THE AWARDS BUT PUMPING MORE INTO MAGIC MILLIONS 
GREG DANN of GOLD COAST writes:
‘CORRECT me if I am wrong but my understanding is that the reason the annual racing awards for the three codes are not being held is because they each cost the industry $100,000.
Surely that cannot be correct – even a total amount of $100,000 for the three would seem exorbitant – unless someone is have one hell of a good time at the expense of RQ.
Now I can recall the days when the Bentley Board ran the show and the gallops Awards Night, with plenty of top class food and entertainment cost the industry about $20,000.
After all the stakeholders don’t get freebies – the majority has to pay – and these affairs aren’t cheap to attend especially if you have to hire ‘monkey suits’ as well.
Why not get sponsors to help offset the costs – two that quickly come to mind who are freel-loading greatly on the Queensland racing industry are Tatts and SKY. They should meet the combined cost without flinching after the wonderful deals they have. Perhaps Rupert might even throw in a shingle or too after the money he makes from Tatts for running the Form Guides in his Fish and Chips wrappers.
Jokes aside why not just hold a simple presentation to the winners at the end of the final race day in the various centres on the last day clubs race for the season. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Having said that it’s a bit hard to cop when you read how, despite the financial woes confronting RQ, it still seems to be all systems go to line Gerry Harvey’s pockets with more money when the big Magic Millions circus comes to the Gold Coast in January.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: The last paragraph obviously refers to a joint Media Release yesterday from Racing Queensland and Magic Millions which reads:
AS the start of the new racing season approaches this weekend, the stage is set for a spectacular first instalment of Australia’s richest race meeting with further details released for the revamped $10 million Magic Millions Race Day program on January 9 next year.
The annual Magic Millions Carnival, one of Queensland’s premier events, will cement its standing as the epicentre of Australian summer racing with the exciting addition of two new races, the $1 million Magic Millions QTIS Open (1300m) for Magic Millions and QTIS registered horses of all ages and the $250,000 Magic Millions Country Cup (1200m).
As well as these program additions, substantially, prizemoney will double for the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas to $2 million. Major increases in purses to the Magic Millions Cup, Sprint, Fillies and Mares Handicap and Trophy (Stayers Cup) will see seven races on the program offering $1 million or more with prizemoney distributed from first to last position in all races on the card.
As part of the multi-million dollar revamp, which results in Magic Millions Raceday being the focal point for the Queensland Summer Racing Carnival, four lead-up races will be designated as ‘wildcards’ providing the winners automatic entry into the applicable field on Magic Millions Raceday, irrespective of whether they are Magic Millions registered, subject to certain conditions..
|
Wildcard Race |
Magic Millions Race |
|
Bat Out of Hell Handicap (900m), Gold Coast Turf Club – December 26 |
$1m Magic Millions Sprint (1100m) |
|
Bernborough Handicap (1600m), Brisbane Racing Club – December 19 |
$1m Magic Millions Trophy (1800m) |
|
Driefontein Handicap (1200m), Gold Coast Turf Club – December 26 |
$1m Magic Millions Fillies & Mares Handicap (1300m) |
|
Goldmarket Handicap (1300m), Gold Coast Turf Club – December 26 |
$1m Magic Millions Cup (1400m) |
“The inaugural $10 million Magic Millions Raceday will deliver the most exciting racing experience we’ve seen in this country. It will showcase the Gold Coast and the Australian thoroughbred industry to the world at the same time as providing remarkable returns to a broad range of participants,” said Magic Millions Managing Director Vin Cox.
Racing Queensland Thoroughbreds Operations Manager Ross Gove said the creation of the Country Cup ensured the raceday’s footprint extended across the state, while the other prizemoney boosts will only heighten participation from across Australia in the day.
“The outstanding results from this year’s Gold Coast January and March sales show just how much of an impact the boost to the raceday has had on the concept and we are anticipating some great quality racing come January 2016,” he said.
“The inclusion of the new $1 million QTIS race really complements what was already a burgeoning program , while the advent of the Country Cup will offer a unique opportunity for horses and their connections to be part of the nation’s richest raceday.”
Due to the significant changes to the program, over the last six months Magic Millions and Racing Queensland have provided a one-off opportunity to owners of eligible older horses not nominated to the Series, to pay the nomination fee via a late registration. Accordingly, late registrations to enter the Magic Millions Race Series close this Friday July 31.
The full program is as follows:
• Magic Millions 2YO Classic ($2 million + $500,000 Racing Women’s Bonus & $8,000 trophies, 1200m – Set Weights)
• Magic Millions 3YO Guineas ($2 million & $5,000 trophies, 1400m – Set Weights & Penalties)
• Magic Millions Cup ($1 million & $2,500 trophies, 1400m – Quality Handicap)
• Magic Millions Sprint ($1 million & $2,500 trophies, 1100m – Quality Handicap)
• Magic Millions Fillies & Mares Hcp ($1 million & $2,500 trophies, 1300m – Quality Handicap)
• Magic Millions Trophy ($1 million & $2,500 trophies, 1800m – Quality Handicap)
• Magic Millions QTIS Open ($1 million & $2,500 trophies, 1300m – Set Weights & Penalties)
• Magic Millions Country Cup ($250,000 & $1,500 trophies, 1200m – Quality Handicap)
• Magic Millions Maiden Plate ($250,000 & $1,500 trophies, 1200m – Set Weights)
AN IMPORTANT MEDIA RELEASE CONCERNING CHANGE TO WHIP RULES 
RACING Australia will amend the rules governing the use of the whip as from 1 December 2015.
The Board, composed of Chairs of Australia’s Principal Racing Authorities, has considered the issues for a lengthy period. It has consulted with various stakeholders, including the
Australian Jockeys’ Association, which made written and verbal submissions to the Board.
In respect of Australian Rule of Racing AR.137 A, the Board has decided:
1 To remove the distinction between forehand and backhand whip strikes so that there is a limit of five forehand or backhand whip strikes prior to the 100 metres.
2 To introduce stronger penalties for whip offences including greater emphasis on suspensions for serious breaches and for breaches in Group and Listed races.
3 The Chairmen of Stewards’ Committee to develop a uniform Penalty Template in the form of the current Careless Riding Penalty Template which ensures consistency across jurisdictions
4 Amendments to AR.137A to come into force on 1 December, 2015 to enable an education initiative to be undertaken to advise jockeys of their strict liability under the new whip rule with training programs for apprentices to be a focus.
Racing Australia Chairman John Messara AM described the rule changes “as an extension of the reforms of 2009.
“The changes to the whip rules in 2009 introduced limits on the number and manner of whip strikes which in conjunction with a padded whip has ensured the welfare of the horse. However, too great a reliance on the backhand application of the whip has developed in response to the limits imposed on the forehand application.”
“After careful consideration, we have decided that backhand strikes should be treated in the same way as forehand strikes so as to leave no room for misinterpretation of the rules against excessive use.
“Importantly, harsher penalties for breaches of the rule will be imposed in a consistent and uniform manner across Australia,” Mr Messara said.
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.
