MM HIGHLIGHTS LACK OF OPPORTUNITY FOR GRASS ROOTS OWNERS

‘BILL FROM BREAKFAST CREEK’, the moniker chosen to spare a prominent owner from on-course intimidation and verbal attacks, offers an interesting take on the Magic Millions which we absolutely agree with:

‘I read with lots of interest your stories of the Magic Millions carnival. As I've told you before, I am part of a battling (but prominent) syndicate of small time owners which is likely to disband later this year because of the totally unbalanced opportunities for people at grass roots level. Yes, we are being squeezed out!

When I heard (your words) that ‘finger down the throat’ interview by McLachlan the other day it reminded me of all that is wrong with the industry.

As for the interviewer, you are spot on. Hamish simply doesn't have ‘it’ and is likely to die in the industry of over-exposure, like his colleague Richo.

Perhaps both of those talking heads could spend a little time listening to the excellent and respectful style of Gerard Whately, whose simple attitude seems to be....this interview is about the person being interviewed and not about me being best mates or pretending to know all about them before we start.

Whately's questions last about three seconds, unlike the rambling introductions of the other two.

And aren't we glad the MM continues to line the pockets of one of the country's richest men, year after year?

Meanwhile country trainers and jockeys wrestle with the reality that their meetings are scrubbed for the weekend (unless you want to take the hike to Atherton).

Seems to me it's another example of the PVL style, grow it from the top and the rest will follow. Reality: it is crumbling from the lower level.’

 

GREG HONCHIN STILL ENJOYS LOVE FOR RACING – ON THE TRACK 

A FEELGOOD STORY for the third day in a row on LGHR – must be a new year – but rest assured we’ll address that situation before our readership drops to the level that the daily fish and chips wrapper boasts about.

This is about Greg Honchin, who devoted much of his life to racing, only to be thrown under a bus for political reasons during a time when the regime running racing in Queensland destroyed the lives of many good people.

Almost from the time he left school, Honchin worked for the old Queensland Turf Club, graduating over the years to become First Lieutenant to long-time CEO David Laing under the chairmanship of Sir Edward Williams.

When the then Labor Government and Racing Minister Bob Gibbs stripped the QTC of its principal club powers and established Queensland Racing, Greg joined the new control body and before long was the CEO.

There were those on the Board at the time who believed Honchin was still too close to the QTC and felt that Kevin Hasemann (now the boss of Queensland Swimming) would be ‘more loyal to their cause’.

This was decades ago but LGHR, then writing a weekly racing column for Fairfax, remembers all too well the job that was done on Honchin. The news came in the form of a phone call from the late Brian Allom, an RQ Board Member, who said: ‘I’ve been left to deliver the bad news to our mate Greg that his services are no longer required. Bob (then Chairman) Bentley is in Mission Beach and Neville (his Deputy) Stewart is in New Zealand. Please encourage him to go without too much drama.’

The ‘hatchet job’ left Honchin devastated. Try as he might there was no real support from either side of politics. With a ‘cloud’ hanging over him, Greg found it difficult to pursue a career in racing. He finally gave up and worked for some time running a community radio station. It was totally unfair.

The devastation of the job loss didn’t help his health which was already suffering. For years he was in the wilderness, relying largely on the support of his loyal and loving wife, Robyn, but retaining an interest in the ‘on track’ side of racing to try and shut down the ‘bitterness’ he was entitled to still feel after what had happened to him.

 

GREG HAS STRUCK PAYDIRT WITH SYNDICATION INVESTMENTS 

WELL they say ‘good things come to he who waits’ and Greg Honchin was entitled to a change of luck. It arrived in the most unexpected form.

An astute form student, he entered a competition run by broadcast station TVN some years ago and was the only one to tip the card at a Melbourne midweek meeting, earning $30,000 for his trouble.

After paying some bills and getting overdue maintenance work done on the house that he and Robyn have lived in for decades, Greg decided to buy a small interest in several racehorses that were being syndicated.

That resulted in a small windfall, not to mention a lot of fun. He now has a share-holding in (among others):

• APOCALYPTIC, a three-year-old that has already won over $1mn in prizemoney, highlighted by the G1 Flight Stakes at Randwick in October.
• NINJA, hot favorite for the $3 million Magic Millions Guineas at the Gold Coast on Saturday after her amazing last start win in the G3 Vo Rogue Plate at Doomben
• And ENGINE OF WAR, a one-time favorite that went around luckless and three wide in the Victoria Derby.

Greg had hoped to make the trip to the Gold Coast on Saturday to rub shoulders with some big name winning owners in the enclosure if Ninja managed to beat a horrible draw and justify her short quote in the MM Guineas. But, being virtually wheelchair-bound these days, doctors felt he would struggle to cope with the arduous day.

Instead he will be cheering home Ninja from the comfort of his lounge room couch, alongside Robyn and his three beloved dogs. But if Engine Of War manages to run in the Queensland Derby in June, Greg is on a mission to defy the odds and be there on Stradbroke Day to cheer him home.

 

FOR TOP JOCKEY, RAWILLER SHOULD EXPLAIN THESE ‘POOR’ TACTICS 

PUNTERS want to know why stewards did not ask top jockey Nash Rawiller to explain the tactics he adopted on Sydneysider Storm The Ramparts in Saturday’s $1mn The Syndicate on the opening day of the Magic Millions Carnival at the Gold Coast.

They believe Rawiller’s determination to hold the lead on Storm The Ramparts cost the heavily-backed favorite Golden Boom, which finished a close fourth, certain victory.

Ryan Maloney, obviously expected to lead on Golden Boom, found it near on impossible to settle the Tony Gollan-trained Golden Boom when Storm The Ramparts refused to surrender the lead.

Golden Boom still got to the front on the home turn but was overhauled late to be beaten three-quarters of a length. Storm The Ramparts dropped out to finish over 11 lengths behind the winner Spirewire which enjoyed the perfect run behind the hot speed (the last 600m was run in 33.76secs).

Here are some of the emails that we received from disgruntled punters who backed Golden Boom:

‘Thanks Nash for destroying any chance I had of collecting on Golden Boom. Adding insult to injury I backed him each-way and he was cut out of third in the last stride thanks to your suicidal tactics’.

‘Talk about being asleep at the wheel. Instead of asking Rawiller about the tactics he adopted, Stewards queried the performance of Storm The Ramparts and he could offer no explanation. It pulled up with a slow recovery but why wouldn’t the horse after the task Nash set it?’

‘My mates and I believed that Payline was the ‘lay of the day’ at the Gold Coast and consequently backed Golden Boom because we felt he was the main danger and would secure a nice run. We didn’t expect what happened. Stick to the pokies Nash or perhaps riding in Sydney where these sort of tactics seem to go unnoticed.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: STORM THE RAMPARTS had never missed a placed second-up. If Nash Rawiller had told Stewards the addition of blinkers were to blame it would have been a feasible explanation but to simply offer no excuse for the disappointing performance only infuriated some punters more. Perhaps they should have delved more into his tactics and at least required the horse to trial before racing again.

 

TAKE A BOW ROSS STANLEY FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO RACING 

HERE is the latest from regular contributor GREG BLANCHARD of the GOLD COAST:

I was at the Magic Millions race meeting at the Gold Coast last Saturday and among all the so-called celebrities and VIP’s (I detest all that palava) I bumped into Ross Stanley.

Ross has been a great servant to racing for I would say around 50 years. He started as a race-caller in 1976 and has written and photographed country meetings mainly for decades.

There was Ross, with camera in hand on Saturday. Speaking to him I could not help but notice that he still retains his passion for the industry.

I think racing officials should acknowledge Ross for what he has contributed to racing especially in the bush.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I couldn’t agree more Greg. And I think Phil Purser should be added to the Racing Hall of Fame for the pioneering work he did with racing websites, not to mention the charity contribution he made to needy causes through Justracing and personally.

 

AUSTRALIAN RACING – A MATTER OF TRUST 

PETER MAIR from SYDNEY has built a great following with the regular contributions he makes on Australian racing. Here is the latest:

RACING has always been a bit ambivalent to 'trust' – connections contriving one in to run a blinder, are lauded without regard to others disappointment.

That's racing – so to speak.

A more worrying concern is about clearly unexpected successes of  ‘smokeys' in better quality-metropolitan races with otherwise well-disclosed form. 

An easily-understood, reliable form guide is the bed rock of punting predictability.

Trust in The Sportsman was biblical – 'just the facts ma'am' perhaps, but the truth. As Joe Friday might have said: 'Concise, objective information, cutting through unnecessary details to focus purely on relevant evidence'.

Gradually that familiar trust carried to digital formats, especially Racenet. A complementary print version, The Form in the SMH, is also now digital for most subscribers.

Sadly, the 'facts' now being presented are not always clean cut. A 'benchmark' for most races is no longer clearly disclosed – often the only context is the sponsored race name and prizemoney paid. Not good enough.

Punters could better compare form if the detail was prefaced with a benchmark equivalent rating for the race contested. Adding a benchmark to be shown for races in later form-guides could be done easily enough. Don Scott, a legendary guide to disciplined punting success, would likely agree it should be.

That heartfelt preamble is itself a preface to recognising concern for the 'integrity' of the business of racing – that too-many metropolitan races are not running true to form.

Structural 'reforms', degrading product-quality, contributed to unexpected 'rough' race results. Local administrators adopted 'the Hong Kong model'. Accepting long-priced, no-hoper runners to inflate race-fields adds obstacles to races being fairly run. A cursory glance at 'feast or famine' Hong Kong race results tells a story. Paying good prizemoney down to 10^th ensures crowded fields and rough race results.

Those seeking refuge in black-type racing have not been spared. Blatant breaches of trust are never run to ground. Stewards saying betting activity, around rough results, will be reviewed never seem to find anything untoward. It is about time some professional detective resources were engaged to help out. Who got the money is where to look – no one looks.

One obvious focal point going forward will surely be dramatic form-reversals -- not least consecutive successes of the same horses in the same races – outcomes, or near outcomes, often plainly contradictory to disclosed recent form. There would be no harm done by an open, retrospective stewards ' review of a few of these inconsistencies.

An apparent trend gaining in popularity is the 'readiness', if not to say resurrection, of first-uppers starting at odds which belie prospects soon revealed to have been demonstrably very good.

Administrators not aggressively pursuing apparent breaches of trust are failing their responsibilities. Similarly, we see politicians sponsoring industry reviews intended to endorse business-as-usual – albeit needing more money from the public purse.

Also worrying, of course, is the consequences of the mainstream media being politically and financially beholden to racing industry administrators. Relationships that preclude independent investigation, analysis and reporting of racing industry matters betray a community relying on the media to meet that obligation. Statistical inference is seemingly proscribed in analysing racing's integrity.

The glorious uncertainty of racing precludes observers risking pack-drill by naming names. Even so, not all the uncertainty so surprisingly dispelled is in any way glorious.’

A SEVEN OUT OF 10 SATURDAY, WHAT CAN WE HOPE FOR THIS WEEK?

LET’S make the most of it while we can – seven of the 10 races on Day One of the Magic Millions Carnival won by Queensland horses with the star of the show trainer Kelly Schweida (feature double with Grafterburners and Miss Joeline).

It will be no surprise to see the interstate invaders bounce back when the big Millions are distributed next Saturday, headed by Bjorn Baker and the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott barns. Heaven forbid the ‘great one’ Chris Waller finishing the carnival with a ‘duck’ – the flags at SKY will be flying at half-mast for a week.

The locals have become almost blasé about champion trainer Tony Gollan winning big races in his home state and he didn’t let them down on Saturday with Itchintogo (Gold Nugget), Spanish Treasure (MM Maiden) and Now Is The Hour (Rising Stars) all saluting.

It’s always a mixed reaction from the punters when Chris Munce wins a big race but isn’t his son, Corey, a breath of fresh air. They delivered again with MM specialist Poster Girl (Rising Stars).

And whenever the Sears stable celebrates big race success it’s another opportunity to get a glimpse of the delightful Maddie with no offence meant there to her dad Tony and that happened when Yellow Brick won first-up in the QTIS Open.

It was left last Saturday for Ciaron Maher (Spywire in the $1mn Syndicate) and Gai & Adrian (Miss Freelove, Sunlight Consolation & Shiki, Gold Pearl) to claim the remaining three races.

 

BIG QUESTIONS BEING ASKED ABOUT MAJOR MAGIC MILLIONS DAY 

THAT leaves three big questions being asked about Queensland’s richest race day (still doesn’t compare to the class of the Stradbroke for us traditionalists) to be run next Saturday:

• WOULD it be more popular in the twilight timeslot (with the big races under lights) like last weekend’s opener when it is not so hot for the horses, still attracts free-to-air live TV coverage and the turnover doesn’t suffer because it isn’t run in the afternoon?
• HOW much of the rain from the tropical cyclone that has just battered the north will continue to filter down to the south-east corner? There’s a 50 per cent chance of up to 5mm of rain forecast for Friday and an 80 per cent chance of 10 to 20mm on Saturday.
• AND how many of the big races on MM DAY can the locals hope to win? The Munce-trained Zip Lock is no pushover for start colt and hot favorite Warwoven in the Two-Year-Old Classic; Yellow Brick is favoured to back-up and win the MM Cup for Team Sears; Miss Joelene is early favorite for the Subzero if Schweida decides to back her up; Hidden Wealth has a great hope of adding to the Gollan MM tally in the Snippets & the Munce-trained Lohnro’s Queen is one of three early fancies for the MM Fillies & Mares.

SOME HIGHS & LOWS OF THE MAGIC MILLIONS TWILIGHT MEETING 

HIGHS:

THE popularity of the decision to race in a twilight timeslot proving the many millions spent on lighting the Gold Coast venue was money well spent.

NO sign of the problems that have plagued the track – apart from the supposed sabotage of last year which forced the big meeting to be transferred to the Sunshine Coast. The circuit looked spectacular and in the main seemed to play fairly.

IT’S already been well-documented but the success of the locals winning seven of the 10 races, spearheaded by the Kelly Schweida double in two of the main races and Tony Gollan saddling up a winning treble.

LOWS:

NETWORK Seven presenter, Hamish McLachlan, doing his annual suck-up interview with MM husband and wife supremos, Gerry Harvey and Katie Page. Everyone knows how hard Katie works to make the event a huge success but it also immensely benefits her husband, one of the richest men in the land and their private enterprise company, Magic Millions Bloodstock.  The finger-down-the-throat performance of McLachlan with ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’ no doubt ensures the welcome mat is rolled out for him at the MM again next year but his performance made some of Jason Richardson’s better performances look Cinderella stuff.

OVER at SKY it was a much more professional performance by the team of regulars and what a delight it was to see a hit-and-run visit to Queensland by the super popular Kiaarn Holland who did the mounting yard reports. Punters have missed her ‘expert tips’ and combined humour with Paul Joice at local TAB meetings since she returned to NSW. Here’s hoping Kiaarn is part of the SKY coverage again on Saturday rather than some ‘hot shot’ Sydney boofhead.

 

RACING UNANIMOUSLY CELEBRATES BIG DOUBLE OF ‘MR POPULARITY’

RARELY does a leading trainer win a big race when his or her fellow stakeholders, the punting fraternity and racing public are unanimously delighted.

But such was the case when Kelly Schweida, one of the best and most popular in the business, saddled up not one but two feature race winners at the opening meeting of the rich Magic Millions Carnival.

LGHR has known Kelly since he was a pint-sized apprentice in Townsville and our opinion of him has never changed. There are no skeletons in the closet, he’s a great family man, a fair-dinkum bloke and a champion trainer with an unblemished record. He remains as down-to-earth and humble today as he was a half century ago.

Rather than LGHR wax lyrical about how happy we were to see him win with Miss Joelene in the $500,000 The Wave and Grafterburners in the $3 million MM Sunlight Plate (not to mention a legion of followers who won plenty backing the double), here’s an email received from a good mate and another fan who sums up the feelings of most.

SCHWEIDA ONE OF HARD-MARKER GORRIE'S ALL-TIME FAVORITES

FORMER North Queensland-based bookie, Gary Gorrie, still keeping a keen eye on OZ racing from his retirement mansion overlooking the beach in Phuket, Thailand, wrote:

‘I was very thrilled on Saturday watching Kelly Schweida win the two feature races at the Gold Coast.

Kelly was interviewed (on SKY) after the first winner, Miss Jolene, and the lady host (Bernadette Cooper) suggested he would give the Trainer’s percentage to his beautiful wife, Vera. Without hesitation Kelly replied: ‘Yes, Vera can have it.’

After the second winner, Grafterburners, he was asked how he would celebrate and his answer was not with Magic Millions champagne, not with a beer, but the good old North Queensland reply: ‘a Stubby or two!’

It’s wonderful to see Kelly has not changed one bit from the young trainer who first came down from the bush and now one of the best in the land.

What the southerners probably don’t know is that Kelly was one of the best Jockeys in North Queensland back in the 70s. In fact 50 years ago (1975) he rode the feature double in Mackay (the Newmarket on Creolita for Tom Symons and the Cup on despised outsider Oncidium Court).)

I was a good friend of the trainer’s son, Mick Symonds and put the commision on Creoleta and then we had a lazy $100 each-ay Oncidium Court at 33/1. I offered to chip in for a sling for the jockey but was told ‘Old Tom’ had given Kelly ‘two boxes of gold as a sling’. Mick thought Dad had lost his marbles as he was not known as a big slinger.

Mick and younger brother Tom searched everywhere on the family property (Mt Flora) for the ‘gold mine’ where the two boxes must have come from. ‘Old Tom’ died and took the location to his grave. The mine was never found.

Years later I was at Kelly’s stables in Brisbane. They were immaculate. I had heard that Kelly had paid cash for them so over a stubby I asked if it was true ‘Old Tom’ had given him two boxes of gold as a sling. Kelly, with that sly grin, said "Yeah Gary it’s true" but it was ‘‘F….n Forex Gold!’

Congratulations Kelly and Vera you have had many good horses over the years you deserve every success.’

GONE FISHIN- THE KELLY SCHWEIDA STORY, BY JOHNNY TAPP (2018)

LGHR remembers the association that Kelly Schweida had with a great sprinter of the north when he was an apprentice in Gay James, winner of his first 16 starts in Townsville when mostly ridden by Paul Gordy.

The Les McLellan-trained galloper held the record for most consecutive wins in Queensland until it was broken by Picnic In the Park in the mid-70’s. His major wins included a Listed Cleveland Bay at Cluden. He suffered his first defeat when 4^th in a QTC Lightning at Eagle Farm.

Here’s a story that the great Johnny Tapp, wrote back in 2018 under the heading: GONE FISHIN’ – the KELLY SCHWEIDA STORY

(*PHOTO courtesy of Johnny Tapp story shows Kelly Schweida as an apprentice along side his master, top Townsville trainer of the time, Les McLellan, after a win at AYR).

KELLY’S forefathers emigrated from Germany several generations ago, and his surname has aroused a great deal of curiosity throughout his life.

Despite the absence of racing in his background, Schweida was sufficiently smitten to become indentured to respected Townsville trainer Les McLellan in 1972.

“He was a great horseman and a wise mentor, and I think his influence has remained with me throughout life. Stable life was tough back then. I got half a day off once a month, and my first pay packet contained eight dollars. Meals were thrown in, and Mrs. McLennan looked after me like a son.”

A mare called Rocky Girl holds a special place in Kelly’s heart. She was his first fast gallop, and his very first winner. At that stage of his career, young Schweida tipped the scales at 5 stone 11 pounds or 37kg (in today’s terms).

A promising young trainer called Brian Mayfield-Smith was based at Cairns in the early 1970’s, and often took horses to Townsville. “He used to stay in an old caravan at the track, and stable his horses on course. I’m proud to say I rode a winner or two for the man destined to reach the big time in Sydney.”

Schweida left his mark as an apprentice jockey, winning 150 races and three Townsville Apprentices’ premierships. He was just 18 when a near fatal car accident, terminated his riding career, and almost ended his life. ‘I was in Innisfail to ride a horse called Nipalong in the Innisfail Cup. A trainer friend asked me to drive to Cairns just one hour away, to gallop a horse for him one morning, and I was a victim of the dreaded micro sleep’.

As his new Mazda 808 coupe rolled, it crushed his right arm which had been extended out of the open driver’s window. His arm was badly damaged, and doctors were initially doubtful that they could save it, but the prognosis improved day by day. Kelly had to wear a plaster cast for one full year, but was grateful his fate hadn’t been worse. “To rub salt into the wounds, Nipalong won the Innisfail Cup with a replacement jockey”, Kel lamented.

Schweida’s training career began in Townsville, where for several years he worked a small team of horses before reporting for duty as a storeman at the Department Of Defence. He and wife Vera had two young daughters at the time, Jodie and Tina, who are still valued members of the team.

He trained at Townsville for around 13 years, winning the premiership in his final season. He’d been “testing the water” in Brisbane for a few years, taking a small team down during the peak of the Northern Queensland summer. Some of his all-time favourite horses were around at this time.

One of them was Harvey’s Gold which won nine races including three in town, but gave his trainer a huge thrill in winning the 1996 Townsville Cup.

Another Schweida favourite was Easy Dancer, a grey entire who had the impressive record of 13 wins and eight placings from 36 starts. Easy Dancer was by Celestial Dancer, as was Inside Edge, still rated by Schweida (back then) as the best he’d trained. Inside Edge won eight from 13 before a tendon injury halted his career. “He won six straight at one stage, and ran a close third to Cohort and Chief De Beers in the BATC Sprint”, reflected Kelly. “He was second emergency in the Stradbroke with only 48kg, and I gave him a super chance if he got a run. He missed out, and Rouslan who finished behind him in the BATC Sprint went on to win the Stradbroke”.

Vera Schweida stunned Kelly and the two girls in the early 90’s, when she announced that she wanted to ride in races. “Vera had been a terrific work rider for me, but I never imagined she would want to race ride”, said Kelly looking back on the shock news. “It took a bit of getting used to, but finally we relented and gave her our blessing”.

Vera went on to prove her point, becoming a very competitive jockey. “She won around 80 races, and still dines out on the fact that she beat Mick Dittman a couple of times in town”, Kelly said.

In the year 2000 the trainer was suddenly aware that he was facing an emotional upheaval, and needed to take a complete break before it got the better of him. “I’d been working seven days a week for close to 30 years, and it suddenly caught up with me. With the support and understanding of our owners, we closed the training operation, and decided on a complete change of direction.”

Vera knew she had to get Kelly away from racing, and enlisted the help of her brother who was an established barramundi fisherman in the Gulf Country. “And so began the most enlightening few months of my life”, Schweida recalled.

“Vera and I joined my brother-in-law and his wife, and two deckhands under the most primitive conditions I had ever seen. We lived in an open-sided tin hut, which had weld mesh panels in place to keep out the wild pigs and crocodiles. Daily rations of barramundi heads and entrails kept the pigs and crocs happy enough, and we rarely saw them near the shack. What we did have to battle every night, were enormous swarms of mosquitoes. If you happened to get your ‘mozzy’ net off during the night, these mongrels would eat you alive. With every passing day horse training wasn’t looking as tough as I thought it was”.

Kelly has great admiration for the work ethic of the people who fish the rivers of the remote Gulf Country. “When the barramundi are running they use dinghies to tow the nets, and they stay out until the job’s done. Sometimes they don’t even think of lunch until two or three o’clock in the afternoon.

“When they achieve their quota of 4,000kg of barramundi fillets, they load them onto a 12-metre long boat with freezer compartments below, and head off on a three-hour trip to the Aurukun Mission, 100km from Weipa. Here the barramundi consignment is sold to agents, who quickly get it on flights to all parts of Australia. While at Aurukun, the fishermen stock up on food and supplies, which has to last until the next consignment of barramundi is delivered.”

After many weeks of total isolation, Kelly was pleased to get back to the horses. He and Vera surprised family, friends and themselves by announcing that they were going to be parents again, and some months later another girl arrived. Samantha is coming up 14 (when this story was written), and like her sisters is horse crazy.

Several more nice horses passed through the Schweida barn, in subsequent years. One of them was Better Than Ready, winner of eight races from just 16 starts for $485,000. He won four Listed races including the Brian Crowley Stakes at Randwick, bettering Northern Meteor’s track record. Better Than Ready went on to be stationed at Lyndhurst Stud.

Miss Cover Girl was an outstanding race mare for Schweida Racing, posting eight wins and nine placings for $848,000. She won the G3 P.J. Bell Stakes at Randwick and the G1 Tatts Tiara at Eagle Farm in 2016. Kelly watched the Tiara on a television monitor at Callaghan Park Rockhampton, where he later completed a unique double by winning the ‘Rocky’ Cup with Ruling Force (13 career wins).

Kelly thought the world of a mare called Nova Star, a daughter of Iglesia, who won seven races for $886,300. She came from an impossible position to win the G2 Queensland Guineas for Michael Rodd, who was also on board a year later when she won the G2 QTC Cup. Stathi Katsidis partnered Nova Star to win the Listed Silk Stocking, and G1 Winter Stakes (now the Tiara). With Jim Byrne up, she ran a slashing fifth in the 2007 Stradbroke, only 3.2 lengths from the winner Sniper’s Bullet.

Kelly marvels at the support he’s had from loyal owners down through the years. Owners like Talbot Heatley who gave him horses to train in Townsville years ago and continued to support the stable into his 90’s.

By his own admission, the family have to put up with a few of his quirks. Kelly can’t stand a picture hanging off centre on the wall, and he goes berserk if he sees a mat even slightly ‘skew-whiff’ on the floor. He claims to be completely useless at any job, other than training racehorses.

And he absolutely loathes mosquitoes.

EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s been a long journey from success at Mingela to Melbourne and the Magic Millions but Kelly Schweida remains with his feet on the ground. Our photo (courtesy of the Johnny Tapp story) shows SCHWEIDA as a young apprentice next to leading Townsville trainer of the time LES McLELLAN after a win at Ayr, a track no longer used.

 

GOFUNDME PAGE FOR QUEENSLAND HORSEMAN WHO NEEDS HELP

WHEN it comes to hard times, the racing community is renowned for rescuing one of their own. That time has arrived again in the case of Brian Counihan, whose decline has been relayed by his good mate, former North Queensland jockey Andrew Cox.

Friends of Brian have established a GOFUNDME campaign. Here is Andrew’s story about his good mate for those who may not be aware of what has happened:

Many in the racing community know Brian Counihan as a dedicated horseman and a loyal friend. His life took a tragic turn on August 17 when he was kicked in the head by a horse, resulting in a catastrophic brain injury.

Since then, Brian has been in the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit at the PA Hospital, facing a long and uncertain road to recovery. The severity of his injuries has left him totally incapacitated, unable to work, and in need of ongoing medical care.

Brian has always been the quiet achiever, the one who shows up early and stays late, helping wherever he can. Now, he needs our support. This GoFundMe campaign aims to assist with his living expenses, rehabilitation costs, and medical needs that are not fully covered by the public system. Your contribution, no matter the size, will make a significant difference in his quality of life and help his family focus on his recovery.

Please consider donating and sharing this campaign with others in the racing community. Together, we can show Brian that the industry he has given so much to is here for him in his time of need. Thank you for your kindness and support.

You can donate by logging into https://www.gofundme.com/f/brian-counihan

Help Support Brian Counihan (61) After a Life-Changing Injury

 

D-DAY FOR DEAGON - FIRST BIG TEST FOR RACING MINISTER MANDER

RACING Minister Tim Mander faces his first big test in the eyes of many stakeholders when State Parliament resumes today (Thursday) and the future of Deagon Racecourse becomes much clearer.

One of the major assets of Queensland racing needs to be sold to ensure taxpayers aren’t forced to pay for some of the costly implementations of the Racing Review. With the decision to redevelop Albion Park, the obvious choice is Deagon.

But therein lies a major problem for the Minister and the LNP Government. Will they bow to political pressure from influential racing identities with major property interests at Deagon?

On December 9 last year, Ms Bisma Asif, the Labor Member for Sandgate and the State’s first Muslim, Pakistani and Punjabi Parliamentarian, put a Question on Notice to the Racing Minister which is due to be answered today.

Ms Asif asked:

Will the Minister

• Detail the process which will be followed to make this decision
• Advise what community consultation will take place regarding the future of the Deagon Racecourse and Queensland racing site in Deagon
• Advise the time-frame for any decision to be made on such a sale
• Guarantee all employees, local community and relevant unions will be consulted before any decision is reached
• If the decision is reached to sell Deagon Racecourse, provide a no job loss commitment
• If the decision is reached to sell Deagon Racecourse, guarantee no privatisation of this important community asset
• And guarantee that the local community will be consulted regarding the future of this site?

From the feedback that LGHR has received the stakeholders – especially trainers – are divided on this issue. There are those who feel that Deagon is an asset that the industry should not consider selling and others who believe that for too long trainers based there have enjoyed a ‘boutique facility’ courtesy of the closeness of certain individuals to those running Racing Queensland over a long period of time.

Whether real estate interests should be considered or not, many believe that one ‘hobby’ trainer with reportedly major investments at Deagon, Jim Murdoch, already has the Racing Minister and RQ on the ropes because of his expertise as a King’s Counsel (especially in racing issues) and the last thing the industry needs is a costly legal battle.

Stakeholders in general are calling on the Government to do what’s best for the future of the industry. They cannot afford to dip into the public purse to pay for racing projects when more important things like health, police, teachers etc are more worthy of financial assistance.

LGHR is tipping that once again DEAGON will survive. We don't think the Racing Minister has the 'balls' to tackle the strong political forces opposed to the sale for whatever reason.  

 

EVEN MM ADMISSION PRICE FOR PENSIONERS SEEMS A ‘BIT RICH’ – SURELY ‘GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS’ COULD HAVE SHOUTED THEM 

IT might be heavily-discounted but pensioners who like a big day out at the races still think it’s a bit rich for the Gold Coast Turf Club to charge them $25 just to get through the gate for Saturday week’s major Magic Millions Day.

If ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’ spent just a fraction of what they do on entertaining freeloaders (from politicians to the mainstream racing media) during the Carnival they could have provided free entry for our seniors and thrown in a betting and food voucher as well.

We have been told that attendance to what is really the biggest race day of the year in Queensland - Stradbroke Day - was free to pensioners and veterans last year. The GCTC should take a leaf from the BRC book.  

Here are the General Admission Gate Entry charges for what is being described as ‘one of the richest and most renowned race days in Australia now worth $13.24 in prizemoney across 10 races, highlighted by the MM Two-Year-Old Classic and Three-Year-Old Guineas (worth $3mn each):

• Early-Bird General Admission: $50 (limited allocation)
• At The Gate General Admission: $70
• Concession, Seniors & Pensioners: $25 (available on the day only)
• Children (6-17 Years): $25 (available on the day only)
• Children (0-5 Years): FREE (available on the day only)

And that’s before you get ‘ripped off’ for food and drink. Pensioners will hardly be pushing their motorised wheelchairs to the limit or hop, skipping and jumping with the aid of their walking sticks to enjoy the action packed afternoon where the GCTC invites racegoers to:

Sip & explore their way through pop-up bars: XXXX Pavilion, El Jimador Bar, Hard Fizz Arcade, The Orchard Lemsecco Bar, Tempus One Chill-Out Bar and the Bundy Rum Barn which will include live entertainment from 2pm–6pm.⁠
Fuel up with food trucks and delicious eats throughout the precinct (Where one suspects a hot pie will cost in the vicinity of $8 and who knows what for a carton of chips).⁠
Pacific Fair Fashions on the Field showcase.⁠
Punters’ paradise, head to the TAB Clubhouse or TAB Stayer’s Lounge for all the action and atmosphere (after the poor old pensions have paid $25 for the privilege of losing their money..⁠
After the last, keep the party going with audacious, fun-loving icon DJ David Subritzky performing live at GG’s from 5pm–9:30pm.⁠

 

A SHOOT OUT AT EAGLE FARM – IT HAD TO BE OMEN BET OF THE YEAR 

THOSE who like to follow omen bets should have collected big time on one of the feature races at Eagle Farm last weekend.

It was rather ironic that Sun Worshipper, a horse part-owned by Wally Gleeson, would win the appropriately named the Shoot Out, run at Eagle Farm where he has had off-the-track dramas with the Brisbane Racing Club Board.

There was no sign of hostilities though when Gleeson and his fellow owners were entertained in the Winner’s Room after the race where Wally had nothing but nice things to say about the lady director who hosted his party.

Sun Worshiper was a great example of the old adage ‘never take a horse out of his comfort zone’ no matter how desperate you are to win a race. The decision to ride the four-year-old mare closer to the pace at her previous Eagle Farm start backfired when she dropped out to beat only one home.

Back to her normal tactics of being ridden quietly and with star apprentice Emily Lang in the saddle at the weekend, Sun Worshipper stormed over the top and qualified for a rich race during the Magic Millions carnival.

 

MEMO MATT: ‘YOU CAN’T PUT A POSITIVE SLANT ON EVERYTHING’ 

MATT STEWART is a local hero in the WARRNAMBOOL, whose on-air coverage focuses on promoting racing in the region and the local horses, trainers and jockeys.

But not everyone is a ‘fan’ of Matt’s ‘approach’ to broadcasting as evidenced by this email received after ‘comments’ he made covering Sunday’s Stawell meeting.

‘Matt Stewart is no doubt a good bloke but putting a positive on everything can make a mockery of his job of hosting race meeting in a region where they love him.

After a wall of horses fought out the finish of the third race at Stawell on Sunday when even the camera found it difficult to sort out the placings, Matt commented: ‘What a great call by Ric McIntosh.’

These were the wrong words at the wrong time. Ric called Dance Lady running fifth when it actually won the race by a wart causing one of the owners to highlight the mistake.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you look at how little separated the top five or six full marks to Ric for having a go. If you think he’s a ‘bad caller’ mate, give yourself an upper-cut. The punters love his colourful calls. Better still, tune in to legendary NSW country caller Col Hodges OAM. He’s been calling for over half a century, his contribution to country racing cannot be questioned and he’s a highly-respected gentleman of the turf. But Sorry Col, it’s time you hung up the binoculars!

 

DYLAN WAS DREAMING HOPING TO WIN WITH THIS TYPE OF RIDE 

WE had a couple of emails highlighting the ride of former Kiwi jockey Dylan Turner on Dream Lantern, favorite for the seventh at Ipswich last Saturday.

Neither was suggesting that Dylan should have been the subject of a running and handling inquiry but pointed out that this wasn’t one of his better rides and that the horse arguably should have won.

Here’s what the Ipswich Stewards reported:

DREAM LANTERN – Began awkwardly, steadied from heels near the 800m, checked and shifted out passing the 600m and for a short distance after was awkwardly placed close to heels. Held-up for a run from the 400m until passing the 50m where it was shifted to the inside of BOLD JULIUS in the home straight.  

DYLAN TURNER, rider of DREAM LANTERN pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under AR131(a), in that passing the 50m, whilst being ridden along, he permitted his mount to shift in when not clear of RUSSIAN SUB, resulting in the gelding being tightened, checked and lose its rightful running. Turner’s license to ride in races was suspended for a period of thirteen (13) days, commencing midnight 11/01/2026 and concluding midnight 24/01/2026.

EDITOR’S NOTE: DYLAN’S ride was luckless and Dream Lantern should have won BUT it was no worse than punters have to cope with every Saturday of the year from senior jockeys in South Australia where on most occasions the Stewards have little or nothing to say about it.   

 

THERE’S NO GUESSING WHAT GREG’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IS 

IT'S a NEW YEAR but that hasn’t stopped the determination of Gold Coast-based Greg Blanchard to overcome the problems involving the use of Asian apprentices in Queensland in a bid to overcome insufficient riders for runners in the bush.

Here’s the latest contribution from GREG:

“LATE last year Racing NSW, to their credit, advertised for a person to liaise with Filipino and Turkish workers (I gather mostly track riders).

There is a shortage of track riders around Australia, as highlighted recently by South Australian trainer John Macmillan.

So it's time here in Queensland to finally do something about it. People will leave the industry or move elsewhere if they can't get their horses worked.

Once again I encourage RQ to implement CRICOS to enable young overseas riders to join our Apprentice School.

I saw an old text from 1/5/2020 that I kept from a person from the Training Department saying: ‘Good news is we are getting CRICOS.’

I've been told a lot of wrong information over the years and I’m sure it was to shut me up.”

 

‘LARRY THE LOSER’ WASTED NO TIME CONTACTING THE WA STIPES 

OUR story during the week about inaction of Stewards in some States, prompted ‘LARRY THE LOSER’ to relay another of his interesting punting tales of woe to publish for our readers.

It happened a few months back when Larry walker into the TAB at his Bowls Club with the aim of doubling the $100 he had in his pocket.

‘I was just having a much around when the young fellow claiming 4kg aboard the one I had backed stood up in the irons and stopped riding two or three strides before the line cause me (in my opinion) to miss out on third place. Not surprisingly, I let go with a few expletives along with the obligatory theatrics.

Other punters there just looked at me as if I was a madman. I brooded about it for a few minutes before I decided enough is enough and quickly found the email address of those who needed to know, and I fired off the necessary email (see below). Later when I got home, I found a reply email (see below). The rest is history as they say. 

So yes, stewarding is piss poor, but on this occasion kudos to the WA Stewards. The young fellow and his advocate must have wondered ‘how the hell did they pick that one up?. 

I have my own suggestions on what needs to happen to clean up racing in Australia for the betterment of all participants. But here are the emails that were exchanged:

Dear Mr REDACTED

Thank you for your email regarding your concerns about Apprentice Tsang (on One Punch in R7 at Pinjara). Please refer to today’s Stewards’ Report for details relating to Apprentice Tsang’s penalty for failing to ride his mount out to the end of the race.

Race 7: STATE WIDE TURF SERVICES HANDICAP – 1400m 

On inquiry, Apprentice J. Tsang (ONE PUNCH), the fourth placegetter, in the presence of a Riding Coach, pleaded guilty to a charge under AR131(b) for failing to ride his mount out to the end of the race, specifically over the final two strides. Apprentice Tsang was subsequently fined $300. In assessing penalty, Stewards considered his guilty plea, relative inexperience, and his explanation that the gelding had begun to lay inwards. Stewards were not fully satisfied that his actions materially affected his finishing position. Apprentice Tsang was reminded of his obligation to fully test his mounts to the finish to avoid similar inquiries in future. 

MY REPLY

From: REDACTED
Attention: Chief Steward Thoroughbred Racing.

Dear Sir / Madam.

I refer to the email subject matter.

Please take the time to review the stated race, specifically the last 20 metres.

For the record, I had $35 the place on the stated horse – hardly the national debt but still important to me. I know the young fellow is a 4kg claimer and the risks that go with backing the horses he is riding. However, he still has to ride his horse out to the finish to give it the best possible chance of gaining the best finishing position, even though that is only third place. He just can't stop riding and sit up on it 10 to 15 metres before the line. The margin between third and fourth was slim.

Regards 

REDACTED

 

HOW MUCH OF CLOSE TO $20MN IN STAKES DOES MM CONTRIBUTE? 

IT’S that time of the year when the Queensland Government (of any persuasion), the industry and the mainstream racing media bow and scrape to one of Australia’s richest men whose company benefits most from the Magic Millions.

Once again those stakeholders – owners and trainers who cannot afford to rub shoulders with the rich and famous buying million dollar yearlings – want know how much of the close to $20 million in prizemoney paid over two big carnival days is contributed by Gerry Harvey and his MM Sales company.

Those at the coalface, who have done the sums, say the majority of the $7.3mn and $12.5mn over the next two days comes from industry funds and supplementary payments made by owners of yearlings desperate to qualify for the big money races.

The lure of three $3mn races, one of $2mn, one of $1.5mn and four of $1mn sees cashed-up owners from all over the world do battle over several days of feverish MM Sales for some of the best bred yearling stock from many of Australia’s leading studs.

At the end of the day the biggest beneficiary is Magic Millions Bloodstock – a private enterprise company largely owned by Gerry Harvey whose wife Katie Page has done a marvellous job promoting a carnival that each year proves a bigger winner and attracts some big name celebrities, including Royals.

 

EVEN THE QUEENSLAND TAXPAYERS HELP MAKE GERRY EVEN RICHER

EVEN the taxpayers kick in to make Gerry and the Pacemakers richer with the Government alibiing its massive contribution on the tourist dollar that the MM attracts. Sure there are thousands who converge on the Gold Coast for the big races and the Sales.

But when it comes to heads on beds when Tom, Mary and the Kids arrive from Melbourne, they are there more for the family attractions (like Seaworld, Dreamworld etc) than the races and so are tens of thousands of others during the holiday period.

When the MM started to gain momentum some years back, Racing Queensland faced growing criticism because it was a ‘stand-alone’ meeting.

Those owners and trainers who could not afford to buy yearlings at the MM Sales accused RQ of a ‘restriction of trade’. They believed – and rightly so – that prizemoney allocated to the primary meeting in Queensland of a Saturday should have been up for grabs by all comers not just those sold at a ‘restricted’ sale.

Like it or not at the end of the day the big winner is Gerry Harvey and his Magic Millions Company which benefits not only from the stack of publicity that the two big race days attract but also from the massive profits of their annual Yearling Sales.

 

IT’S TIME SUPPORT MEETINGS RAN FOR METROPOLITAN PRIZEMONEY 

TO appease the critics back then RQ decided to program a support meeting at Ipswich or Doomben which many still believe should be for metropolitan and not midweek restricted prizemoney. Why should horses inelibigle for MM stay at home in their stalls for two Saturdays or race for second-rated stakes?

While the majority of races at the Gold Coast over the next two Saturdays are still exclusively for MM qualifiers, especially the Two & Three-Year-Old Classics, one of the features next weekend is a ‘slot race’ to be known as the MM Sunlight.

Eagle Farm trainer Kelly Schweida has a great chance of taking home the big money from two feature races this Saturday with Grafterburners and Miss Joelene (favorites for the Sunlight Slot Race and MM The Wave).

Grafterburners is an early $2.8 favorite ahead of Sydney filly Akaysha (trained by Peter Snowden), the David Pfeiffer-trained Ice Kool and another Sydneysider Swordplay (Bjorn Baker).

Miss Joelene is $2.6 favorite for The Wave ahead of the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott-trained Shangri La Miss and You Wahng from the stable of Newcastle-based Kris Lees.

The following Saturday, when $12.5mn will be distributed on Queensland’s richest race day, the Bjorn Baker-trained Warwoven is $2 favorite for the MM 2YO Classic ahead of Tornado Valley (Ciaron Maher) & Ziplock for local training duo Chris and Corey Munce.

 

WALLER & SA RACING TOP BOOKIES NEW YEAR’S HONOURS LIST 

WHEN it comes to New Year’s Honours there were two big winners in the eyes of the Corporate Bookmakers and TAB’s across the country – champion trainer Chris Waller and South Australian racing.

For the second successive year some of our biggest Corporates have admitted that beaten fancies and upset winners from the Waller stable poured millions of punters’ money into their coffers.

Beaten favorites in South Australian racing proved an absolute goldmine for the TAB and the Bookies – little wonder the Corporates have been keen to reinvest some of those winnings in sponsorship of major races in Adelaide.

Waller is one of the best trainers Australia has seen when it comes to winning big races and producing stable stars. But in the bread and butter races – where he has more than half the fields on occasions in Sydney – these are a nightmare for punters.

No-one in the mainstream racing media wants to talk about the number of second-string runners that are backed to beat stable fancies. Nor do they care to mention how some favorites are slaughtered, how main dangers from rival stables wind up off the track or blocked for runs or how a runner contributes to the speed up front while a stablemate storms home from the back. Not suggesting anything toward just describing what isn’t a good look from a punting perspective.

Nor is the fact that on too many occasions Racing NSW stewards either see no problem with what we have just mentioned or when they do accept one of the 30 or 40 excuses that are well documented when the Waller stable is questioned – which doesn’t happen too often.

Perhaps the reason for the second-string runners upstaging stable favorites and the all-to-often form reversals is because Waller has too many horses in work. How does one keep a close eye with stables in three States?

As great as Waller is at producing Group 1 winners, the punters who bet across the board on a regular basis prefer horses from the Ciaron Maher stable. They regard him as a better trainer because his runners are easier to follow the form of and his First Lieutenant is regarded as an excellent ‘tipster’ pre-race compared to Waller’s who most say ‘talks in riddles’.

 

WHY DO SO MANY HEAVILY-BACKED FAVORITES GET BEATEN IN SA?

ANYONE who does the statistics on South Australian racing will tell you that backing a favorite there is a ‘wealth hazard’ – the number of shorties that get beaten is unbelievable.

So are some of the Adelaide results. Just look at the Christmas-New Year period when one of six favorites won on Boxing Day, three of 10 on December 27; two of eight at Gawler on New Year’s Day and one of nine at Gawler on Saturday.

It’s no better at the provincials – Strathalbyn on Sunday saw the $1.30 favorite Australia Power finish third (never looked like winning) and the favorite in the sixth, Greatestofease settle a distinct last and beat only two home.

We would like to tell you that Stewards queried the performance but as usual they were too tired after a big day out that their Report on the meeting had still not been posted this morning.

Trouble is the Stewards in South Australia seem too tired to even open an inquiry on some occasions when a favorite performs badly. Unlike NSW where the punters describe some stables as ‘protected species’ (LGHR refuses to believe the top stewards there would allow themselves to be victims of political interference), in SA it looks to be just a case of ‘laziness’ or dare we say ‘poor stewarding’. They make ‘the Adams Family’ in Queensland look like geniuses.

While many favorites continue to perform like mules in SA, some of the plunges being landed on outsiders without a question being asked continues to amaze punters. On form you wouldn’t back these horses to win at Oodnadatta.

 

STEWARDS NOT ‘WYLDE ABOUT SYMON’ OVER LACK OF INFORMATION

EVEN when they win, the Victorian Stewards aren’t backward in firing a shot across the bows of a top trainer.

Darkbonee was long odds-on and declared by all the top tipsters to win at Geelong but gave those who took the ‘shorts’ a big fright before falling in.

Stewards interviewed trainer Symon Wilde relative to comments he had made in relation to the gelding following its win at Sandown on 10 December 2025 and in particular the references  Wilde made to Darkbonee having been treated for skin issues.

Wilde explained that Darkbonee, following its most recent start, had suffered skin rashes and a boil which necessitated him altering the style of work he was able to do with the gelding leading into Saturday’s race.

Wilde added, however, he was satisfied that Darkbonee was fit and in good enough condition to run up to the stable's expectations. He was reminded of his obligations under AR 105 in that he must report any condition or occurrence that may affect a horse's performance in a race to Stewards.

 

NATION’S DE FACTO GAMBLING REGULAR DECLARES ‘BAD BOOKIES IN 2025’ – WHY PUNTERS SHOULD STEER CLEAR OF THESE PARASITES 

 FROM a 17-hour punting session raising no red flags to unsolicited marketing texts to problem gamblers, find out who’s been pinged by the nation’s de facto gambling regulator and been a bad bookie in 2025.

It oversees an industry which had a betting turnover of $42.4 billion, according to the NTRWC’s latest annual report, with more than 10 million customers placing 1.8 billion punts in the latest reporting period.

GERA KAKAOV & ZIZI AVERILL report for NORTH TERRITORY NEWS that among all those punts, sometimes the NT-registered bookies don’t always play by the rules, the NTRWC determined on more than one occasion last year.

From a 17-hour punting session being raising no red flags to unsolicited marketing texts to problem gamblers, read on to find out how the big bookies got pinged by the commission in 2025.

BETTING GIANT FINED TWICE IN 2024

THE NT Racing and Wagering Commission pinged betting giant Sportsbet twice in 2025, resulting in the bookie copping fines totalling $405,640.

Sportsbet was first pinged by the NTRWC in June 2025, after sending marketing texts to 30 punters who’d self excluded from the bookie’s services.

The bookie also sent a further 124 texts to punters who were “either on a short-term or long-term break” from Sportsbet’s services.

The texts were deemed a breach of the 2019 Responsible Service of Online Gambling code of practice, and the Commission fined Sportsbet $92,500.

In November last year, Sportsbet was slugged a further $313,140 fine for failing to issue activity statements on “18 separate and distinct occasions,” the NTRWC determined.

The statements were supposed to be sent to a “large number of its customers” between November 2022 through to April 2024.

Sportsbet first notified the NTRWC in September 2024 that statements could not be sent because of “several technical issues,” the NTRWC noted.

“The licensee advised that it became aware of the issue in late April 2024 after three of its customers contacted the licensee and advised that they each had not yet received an activity statement for April 2024,” the NTRWC wrote in its decision to fine Sportsbet a second time in 2025.

The NTRWC determined there was “a lack of internal audit controls” by Sportsbet, resulting in the breach.

“This failure to meet their obligations with respect to ensuring that each of its eligible customers received a monthly activity statement had a significant consequence in that at least 3,021 individual customers did not receive a monthly activity statement for 13 or more months,” the NTRWC wrote.

MARATHON PUNTING SESSION ENDS IN MAMMOTH REIMBURSEMENT

A 17-hour punting session, one of many over a four-month period, resulted in BlueBet having to pay back a punter $522,020.01 – the second time the bookie was pinged by the NTRWC in 2025.

Mr P first brought his complaint against the bookie in January 2022, with NTRWC deciding his marathon session – among other factors – was worthy of the fine and reimbursement in July.

In its decision, the NTRWC outlined four months of problem gambling by Mr P, with BlueBet further incentivising him by providing him more bonus bets.

In one 48 hour period, Mr P deposited and lost $45,900 – making more than 450 punts and not collecting his winnings, some of which were as high as $21,105.

On his first punting session alone, Mr P put down $40,000, placed over 250 bets, and spent 11 hours on the punt.

But his longest punting session was 17 hours, the NTRWC wrote.

BlueBet submitted that a phone call was held with punter to address his problematic gambling, but the NTRWC rejected this, instead determining the call was about “in part” about payment processing issues.

The NTRWC determined it “took less than 48 hours from the first deposit” before Mr P displayed signs of problem gambling.

“BlueBet did take some form of responsible gambling action by sending a generic responsible gambling email to the complainant reminding him of the responsible gambling tools available,” the NTRWC wrote.

The bookie gave Mr P “VIP status,” according to the Commission, leading to the bookie’s second breach in 2025.

BlueBet’s first fine in 2025 was laid by the Commission in May, from a complaint brought by Mr Y in June 2024.

Mr Y alleged he was allowed to reopen an account despite previously self excluding, and further was able to deposit $988 into the account.

BlueBet submitted the punter had fudged his details to open a new account, and after losing the deposit, he lodged the complaint, according to the Bookie.

But the NTRWC said “several core identifying data information fields did match,” and wrote that online bookies need to “maintain and continuously enhance their systems to prevent such occurrences”.

BlueBet was fined $17,952 by the NTRWC for the breach, and ordered to reimburse Mr Y the $988.

BOOKIE PINGED FOR ‘INADEQUATE’ APPROACH

IN February 2025, BoomBet was slapped with a $17,952 fine and ordered to return $1,666.70 to Mr C after the commission determined the bookie did not have sufficient responsible gambling procedures in place.

The bets in question were placed between July and September 2023, with the commission determining they were lawful despite also determining Mr C suffered harm from his betting.

The punter lost more than $40,000 during the betting period, and emailed BoomBet “stating he had placed bets beyond his control,” the Commission wrote in its decision.

BoomBet responded by closing the punter’s account – but not before he placed more bets – and “as a gesture of goodwill” deposited $886.30 to Mr C.

Reviewing BoomBet’s processes, the Commission determined “there were multiple instances” where the online bookie should have flagged Mr C as being at risk of experiencing harm from gambling – despite him being in profit for much of his betting.

“BoomBet’s approach to monitoring the (Mr C’s) account was inadequate, and beyond sending two generic RSG (Responsible Service of Gaming) emails, no further action was taken to assess the (Mr C’s) situation in greater detail,” the Commission wrote.

The Commission wrote BoomBet has made “considerable improvements” to its responsible gambling practices, “including increased resources and the implementation of system-driven alerts”.

BAD RECORD KEEPING RESULTS IN FINE FOR BOOKIE

INTERNATIONAL bookie PlayUp – which operates in Australia, New Zealand, India and the US – was pinged by the NTRWC in March 2025 over a failure to record two phone calls made four years ago.

Playup was fined $13,345 for not recording the calls between Mr Q and his account manager on September 9, 2021.

During the calls, Mr Q alleged he was “enticed” to punt again with the bookie and reopen his closed account, and further alleged he lost $234,000 as result of PlayUp.

Playup submitted to the Commission that Mr Q’s account was not closed but “suspended”, and that the punter also did not tell the bookie he had problems with gambling.

The Commission reviewed Mr Q’s accounts with the bookie, a determined PlayUp did not try to entice the man to open an account with the bookie.

The man’s bets were lawful, the Commission determined, but a failure to record the calls was a breach of the bookie’s license conditions, resulting in the fine.

UK BETTING GIANT PINGED 

ENGLISH betting giant Bet365 was slapped with a $13,430 fine in April by the NTRWC over a complaint filed by Mr G back in 2021, where he alleged he was allowed to reopen his account while displaying signs of problem gambling, and before a self nominated closure period expired.

Investigating the complaint, the NTRWC analysed the three account closure options Bet365 provides: “self-exclusion”, “time-out”, or “account closure”.

Mr G closed his account four times with the bookie, but would reopen his account almost immediately after – such as two minutes after his fourth closure, the NTRWC noted in its decision.

Recognising his activity as emblematic of problem gambling, the NTRWC wrote that Bet365 sent a “web message” guiding Mr G to “responsible gambling tools” on offer to him, such as: taking a short break from having a punt; self excluding from gambling to prevent further harm; or setting deposit limits.

The bookie submitted that while Mr G “elected not to use” any of the “tools available to him”, the “web message” did lead to Mr G self excluding for three days after he considered his gambling behaviours, the NTRWC wrote.

But the bookie’s “tailored web message” did not go far enough in preventing problematic gambling behaviours, the NTRWC determined, leading to the fine.

“A primary responsibility of an online wagering operator is to protect the wellbeing of its customers,” the NTRWC wrote.

“When they notice repeated account closures and re-openings within short periods, they should treat it as a potential sign of problem gambling and take appropriate steps to assess the activity on the account further.”

Bet365 was also ordered to pay back $999 to Mr G.

‘SOPHISTICATED, EXPERIENCED’ PUNTER TARGETED BY BOOKIE

AN “unsolicited approach” to a “sophisticated, experienced, and wealthy punter” resulted in a bookie being slapped with a close to $30,000 fine in 2025.

Bet Deck was fined by the NTRWC in June, following a complaint made by Mr R alleging a representative from the bookie “contacted him directly to entice him to open an account,” the commission’s decision said.

The representative allegedly offered the punter bonus bets, but the bookie submitted there were no “red flags” from the man, who’d presented himself as a “sophisticated, experienced, and wealthy punter” who owned race horses in the UK.

Bet Deck further submitted “an individual not employed” by them was “authorised” “on a trial basis, and without remuneration” to act as an “affiliate” for the bookie.

In its decision, the NTRWC said the bookie did not challenge evidence presented by Mr R that a Bet Deck representative made “a number of unsolicited phone calls” to him.

While the NTRWC said there was “no evidence” before them showing inducement, given the bookie did not oppose or challenge the evidence presented by Mr R, it opted to fine Bet Deck.

The bookie was hit with a $27,540 fine by the NTRWC, who also found all the bets placed by Mr R with Bet Deck were lawful.

QUEENSLAND-BASED BOOKIE FINED

BRISBANE-based but NT registered bookmaker Crossbet was ordered to return $60 – and pay a $14,960 fine – by the NTRWC, after punter who was self-excluded was able to open a new account.

The complaint was lodged with the commission by Mr F in 2024, with the bookie slapped with the fine by the NTRWC in July 2025.

“Self-exclusion is a responsible gambling tool that assists customers to self-exclude themselves from their betting account either for a set period of time or permanently,” the NTRWC wrote in its decision.

“Once a time frame has been selected it should not be possible for the account to be reactivated for any reason until the set period has expired.”

But Mr F was able to “circumvent the automatic, initial checks undertaken by (Crossbet’s) third-party provider” to open his second account, a little over a fortnight after closing his first account, the NTRWC wrote.

“CrossBet has submitted that as the second betting account was opened outside of its responsible gambling team’s operating hours of 8:00am to 8:00pm, it did not ‘knowingly permit’ the Complainant to open the account.”

Despite this, “several core identifying information data fields” for the punter “did match”, the NTRWC determined, leading to the fine, and the bookie having to pay back the punter.

NO FOLLOW-THROUGFH BY BOOKIE LEADS TO FINE

A BOOKIE who didn’t do right by a punter was slapped with a more than $10,000 fine by the NTRWC – but all bets placed with the bookie were lawful, the commission determined.

Bet Right was fined $13,430 by the commission in September 2025, after Mr N lodged a complaint against them in June 2022.

Mr N alleged Bet Right did not follow up a phone call with him, after he raised concerns about his betting with the bookie back in 2021.

Because the call was not followed up, Mr N further alleged he “wagered beyond his means,” the NTRWC wrote in its decision.

An automated email was sent to the punter by the bookie, checking “to make sure you’re ok,” the email included in the decision read.

“Your deposit and withdrawal patterns made us think that you might be over extending yourself,” the email said, before notifying the punter his account was suspended.

Bet Right submitted no follow up call was made as Mr N was assessed as “low risk due to the absence of red flag behaviours,” and that the original email also “outlined available responsible gambling tools”.

But the NTRWC determined that Bet Right did identify “red flags and committed to a welfare call but did not follow through,” constituting a breach and warranting the fine.

 

TIME FOR S.D., ‘RICHO’ & LIZZIE TO ‘HEAD FOR THE HILLS’ – NOT TO MENTION PET HATE OF PUNTERS THE CORPORATES ‘TALKING HEADS’ 

PUNTERS can be a cruel bunch – especially those who prefer to watch the races from an armchair in the comfort of their lounge rooms – rather than pay for the privilege of losing their money at the track or rubbing shoulders with drunken ferals at the local pub.

LGHR surveyed a cross-section of those who follow racing from young to old – some betting regularly during the week, others only on a Saturday or Public Holidays – and it seems they have some pet hates.

Many who watch the regular Preview Shows on SKY and RACING.COM or listen in to the big tipsters on the radio have listed three top personalities as the most annoying – S D Marshall, Jason ‘Richo’ Richardson and Lizzie ‘I’ll Go Anywhere They Pay Me More’ Jelfs.

The overwhelming dislike of those who watch racing on TV is the increasing presence of the ‘boofheads’, headlined by Marshall, who promote the major corporate bookies and their ‘specials offers’ to suck in the mug punters.

Why does every show on racing.com have to include the presence of a ‘talking head’ from the corporates? In this area SKY leads the way by promoting only the TAB which pours the most money into the industry.

When it comes to the one the punters love to hate on SKY, it’s Richard Callander. Some of the criticism of the ‘not so big fella’ these days is so bad that we refuse to publish it. In a nutshell those who watch him on SKY don’t like his outspokenness, ‘love affair’ with Chris Waller and the fact he has bounced back from that ugly incident involving the sale of a horse to Hong Kong which cost his credibility plenty not only with the racing public but also some of his closest friends.

 

PUNTERS CAN BE CRUEL IN CRITICISMS OF HIGH PROFILE HOSTS 

IT seems that some of the bigger names on the racing channels, SKY, SEVEN and RACING.COM have fallen out of favour with those who spend race days in the comfort of their lounge rooms.

The three most high profile personalities that the punters we spoke to wish would ‘go to their rooms’ or ‘disappear from their screens ‘(not likely) in 2026 are Richardson, Marshall and Jelffs.

Here are some of the criticisms of them by contributors to LGHR and there were plenty in recent months:

‘Good old Richo seems to bob up at the races most whenever it’s a big day and wherever he can make the most political mileage. His attempt at comedy on Get On (Thursday night Preview Show on Racing.com) is finger-down-the-throat stuff. Pity there weren’t more Winter Olympics for him to cover so that he could head overseas and stay there.’

‘Simon Marshall loves to play the class clown – if you throw him in the same bin as Richo on Get On it’s an unsuccessful attempt to emulate The Footy Show. He can hang his hat on being a former top jockey but that doesn’t seem to help him tip winners, Worst of all he is just another ‘spin doctor’ for these terrible corporate bookies’.

‘Lizzie Jelffs is too pretentious for your run-of-the-mill battling punter. At Magic Millions we hear about the horse she’s got in the big race then low and behold another share in an import at Melbourne Cup time. There must be good money in hosting and tipping for TV racing shows.’

 

‘GET ON NOW’ LEAVES ‘GET ON’ IN ITS WAKE IN POPULARITY STAKES 

THOSE who like to listen to Saturday morning Preview Shows on radio (some simulcast on TV) have voted RSN in Melbourne panels ahead of SKY out of Sydney. They prefer tipsters Mark Hunter and David Gately, not that Ron Dufficy doesn’t have a big punter following.

But the show that wins hands down is GET ON NOW, not to be mistaken for GET ON or the ‘copycat’ radio show that Richardson and Jelfs compared during the Spring Carnival.

The favorite of the legion of fans who tune in each Saturday morning to GET ON NOW on RSN is David Strehlau, AKA ‘The Sultan’, not everyone’s cup of tea but his tipping skills are building a big following. The team that join him most Saturdays don’t mind calling a ‘spade a spade’ in racing (a refreshing change) and have a popular segment called ‘Go To Your Room’.

Our survey of punters, old and young, big and small, but restricted to those who ‘prefer to stay at home' than go to the races or the local pub, revealed:  

MOST POPULAR: From SEVEN & SKY: Bruce McAvanay, Greg Radley, Michael Maxworthy, Paul Joice, Billy Slater (for the role he played on horseback during the Melbourne Cup coverage), Ally Mosley, Chantelle Buckley, Kiaarn Holland (wish she was still doing a duo with PJ in Queensland) and Steve Hewlett (before being made redundant, the biggest loss of the year for Racing Radio).

MOST UNPOPULAR: FROM SEVEN & SKY: Richard Callander, Lizzy Jelfs, Dave Stanley (the jury is out on him but 2026 will decide), Ray Thomas (they feel it’s time he retired permanently not just from the Sydney Telegraph or take up a job doing what he does best, promoting Racing NSW and PVL) and Kirsten Duke (depending on who you talk to).

MOST POPULAR with Racing.com & RSN: Nigel Carmody, Kate Watts (wins hands down), Clint Hutchison (tipping-wise he should stick to Hong Kong), Gareth Hall (makes Felgate look second rate), Tim Yeatman (a rising star) & Charlotte Littlefield (a real charmer and a good trainer).

MOST UNPOPULAR with Racing.com: Jason Richardson, Simon Marshall, Lizzie Jelfs, Michael Felgate (doesn’t he know how to turn the punters off?) & the latest ‘Pom’, some say ‘Richo’ import, Olivia Kold, punters feel instead of a coldie they would be better off with cucumber sandwiches listening to her.

When it comes to tipsters: Mark Hunter, David Gately & Ron Dufficy are the most high profile but those building a big following are David Strehlau, Ben Azgari & John Kelton (but would his sidekick Terry McAuliffe please stop ‘cracking a fat’ every time this great judge tips a winner).

THE up and coming race-caller that punters have taken a liking to in Australia is Jarod Wessel from Queensland. Darren Flindell is quickly becoming the punters’ choice of the leading callers in each state, edging ahead of Melbourne’s ‘Benny’ Hill. It was a year when racing farewelled Terry Bailey who might not have been the best broadcaster but punters loved the way he shot from the hip.

 

'FLEMINGTON NYE RACING, PRETENTIONS, PROMOTIONAL NONSENSE'

REGULAR contributor PETER MAIR from SYDNEY rounds off the year with another interesting observation:

THE Flemington program, on New-Year's eve, has six of the eight races offering prizemoney of $65,000. Two 'Listed' races, 3&4, offer $175,000.  The other six are low-grade and overcrowded. Too many of the horses listed to run should not have been accepted as credible contestants.

It can be amusing to read what the Murdoch Media says in apparent contradiction of their obligation and, commitment, to be objective. The following 'blockbuster' prediction, published on Monday on both Punters.com and Racenet, is planted, pretentious, promotional nonsense.

FLEMINGTON crowd to surge for New Year's Eve blockbuster: Victoria Racing Club Chief Executive Kylie Rogers has revealed an ambitious goal to grow NYE into a blockbuster date on the Flemington calendar. Early ticket sales and dining packages point to a 12,000-strong crowd for Wednesday's twilight racing and even fixture, more than double  traditional  New Year's Day Flemington attendances in the past. "We get on average about 4,000 on New Year's Day...if we could turn 4,000 to 12,000 in our first NYE, I have ambitions to get to 30,000-plus in the coming years."

This is an illustration of 'hope is not a strategy' -- there is no point saying it on New Year's Day.

PS: ....... there is always a risk that RVL is learning, from RNSW, about how 'free tickets' allocated to guests of members can help in contriving popularity about a race day. As you also know there is not much to do in Melbourne, tributes in The Age routinely ask that only those who knew the deceased attend the wake.

 

LARRY DECLARES THE Q ‘SHIT SHOW’ EVEN IF IT HAS DRINK STATION 

OUR old mate LARRY the LOSER – believe it or not – has been winning on the punt, mixing his investments over the three codes.

Larry has been out and about, visiting various tracks and we might even get him to do a regular spot on LGHR in the New Year telling the punters what to expect when attending a certain venue.

Here’s his latest:

‘I am at The Q.

Flashiest Greyhound track, in fact flashiest racetrack I have ever been on.

I’m getting some stories ready for you, including no race form screens at all.

I spoke to somebody who looked like they were ‘the boss’. He told me a few stories.

No bookmakers and – believe it or not – only ONE TAB betting terminal.

For all the glitz The Q is soulless.

What a shit show.

But – unlike the big city gallops tracks – at least they have a water station, so one doesn’t go thirsty when losing his or her money.’

 

WISHING OUR VALUED READERS AND CONTRIBUTORS A VERY HAPPY, SAFE, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR WHERE YOU CAN FIND MANY WINNERS AND IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE DOING THAT WHY NOT JOIN THE INCREASING NUMBER WHO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LGHR LATE MAIL? Just text 0407175570. IT’S A LEISURE SERVICE, DOESN’T PROMISE ANY ‘GET RICH’ RESULTS BUT PRODUCES WINNERS TO RIVAL THOSE THAT PUNTERS PAY BIG MONEY FOR.

AS FOR OUR WEBSITE WELL IT CONTINUES TO ATTRACT MORE ‘HITS’, NOT SURPRISINGLY WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT QUEENSLAND’S NO 1 NEWSPAPER STRUGGLES FOR CIRCULATION, HAS A POPULARITY RATING OF ZERO AND SEEMS MORE INTERESTED IN PROMOTING THOSE POLITICALLY, BUSINESS AND SPORTING WISE WHO ARE ‘MATES’ OF THE EDITORIAL TEAM RUNNING THIS ‘ONCE GREAT NEWSPAPER’ THAT IS NO LONGER FIT TO BE PART OF THE MURDOCH STABLE. HOPE SOMEONE SENDS THIS TO THE GREAT MAN at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

NEW YEAR WISH-LIST FOR THREE CODES OF RACING IN QUEENSLAND 

HERE’S the NEW YEAR wish-list from a majority of industry stakeholders and the racing public that LGHR has surveyed. One hopes that Mary Collier and her team, appointed by Minister Tim Mander to implement recommendations of the Racing Review are listening.

MOST important from an industry perspective is to obtain the cash needed to make things happen without digging into the public purse already stretched by more important needs associated with health, hospitals and aged care, police, teachers and addressing youth crime.

With Albion Park set for a massive upgrade and no longer on the market, the industry needs to sell one of its most valuable assets (property wise) and that is Deagon. With the racing and training facilities available at Eagle Farm, Doomben, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Ipswich there is no longer the need – nor can the industry afford to finance – a boutique venue at Deagon for a handful of trainers.

Most believe it’s time the ‘privileged few’ were moved on – the Apprentices’ Training Centre relocated to the Gold Coast – and Deagon sold. It should attract hundreds of millions, unlike the $4 million the old Brisbane Turf Club received when they were forced to sell it to finance a new grandstand at Doomben without any financial support from Queensland Racing or the Government at the time.

The general industry feeling is that for too long political influence has swayed the future in favour of a handful of trainers with major property and stabling investments there. When the Bob Bentley Board wanted to transform Deagon into a world class harness and greyhound venue they stopped it. Enough is enough.

Surely these ‘real estate speculators’ have made enough millions out of their property purchases at Deagon. If the facility is sold for unit or shopping centre development it should not affect the value of their properties which have already increased significantly since purchase, even if stabling in the area was to be discontinued.

 

COULD THE SALE OF DEAGON BE CHALLENGED IN THE COURTS? 

DEAGON could be the test case for how effective Mary Collyer and her team will be in implementing recommendations of the Racing Review. The rumour mill suggests those trainers now based there won’t go without a fight.

The question doing the rounds is will the sale of Deagon be challenged legally. One of the trainers and property owners largely affected by its sale would be Jim Murdoch, a highly respected and successful King’s Counsel who doesn’t lose too many legal battles.

Do the Government and Racing Queensland have the sole rights to sell Deagon as owners of the property? It was Heritage Listed by the Brisbane City Council in early 2012.

The Racecourse, established in the early 1880’s is now the home of RQ Headquarters, which would be more suitably placed in the Hendra racing precinct. Latest reports suggest it is used by 12 on-course and 30-off course trainers preparing around 120 horses. It is also the base of the Queensland Apprentices School.

No doubt Ms Collyer and her team have or will be involved in discussions and negotiations with trainers before Deagon is sold. But this has to be independent of any political attempts to influence their decision making – which has occurred in the past.

The bottom line is: Heritage Listing aside, Deagon trainers could be accommodated elsewhere, as can the Apprentices School. Looking forward, which the industry needs to do, Deagon needs to be sold ASAP freeing up big cash needed to ensure other projects recommended in the Racing Review are implemented.

 

'HOT POTATO’ IS QRIC – WHAT PRICE INTEGRITY IN HORSE RACING?

AMONG the first of those has to be the Government’s promised contribution to a much-needed new Eagle Farm Grandstand which hopefully will not be for sole use of Members but as a public facility.

Just as important is the installation of new lights at Toowoomba which have been promised for so long with this pioneering night venue continuing to race under a band-aid solution since repairs were undertaken since a ‘blackout’ occurred last year.

QRIC remains the political ‘hot potato’ for the Government. Cutting costs of running it remains a problem but what price integrity in racing and let’s never return to the dark days of Queensland racing when policing, especially in harness racing, was virtually non-existent.

Who can forget when stewards were afraid to take action against the private trainer for then Racing Minister Russ Hinze or the Fine Cotton ring-in at Eagle Farm? And here’s hoping Stewards never again turn a blind eye to any prominent racing scribe receiving messages from the Sydney underworld on the Press Box phones and running ‘bets’ from the jockeys’ room to the bookies’ ring.

It is imperative that Kim Kelly takes up the role of Commissioner of Stewarding – move heaven and earth to keep him Mr Minister. Many are still worried about a separation of powers. Who can forget the days when RQ Chairmen – two in particular – had too much influence over the jobs being done by Chief Stewards? And the last thing the industry needs is a return to the days of ‘Dr Dolittle’ and his ‘First Lieutenants’ who adopted a ‘my way or the highway’ approach and dispensed with anyone – from Chief Stewards to CEO’s – who dared to disagree with them.

 

INDUSTRY HAS ALREADY WAITED FAR TOO LONG FOR NEW RQ BOARD

THE appointment of a newlook RQ Board needs to happen ASAP. Can you believe the one that Labor appointed well over a year ago still runs the industry albeit the former Chairman has now left after some might say hanging around for far too long?

What the industry needs is a Board with a Parliamentary overseer like Ray Stevens, an MP with more racing knowledge than anyone in the Government, who should have been Racing Minister long ago but for political roadblocks within his own Party.

Steps need to be taken to convince former Brisbane Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, the current Thoroughbred representative on the Board, to stay. The last thing racing needs is a Sydneysider telling us how to run racing in Queensland. The jury is out on the job Matt McGrath did on the Racing Review but he is certainly not needed on the Board or heaven forbid as Chairman. The mail is strong that a son of a former RQ Board Member will be front and centre when announcements are made and that sounds like a good move.

 

HERE’S KISS OF DEATH – WHAT LGHR & PUNTERS WANT TO HAPPEN

THAT’S what we’re reliably informed the stakeholders and the racing public want – now for the ‘Kiss of Death’ – what LGHR and those who pay for racing to survive – the punters – would like to see happen:

• A QRIC free of political or administrative (Government or RQ) interference with a panel of stewards who can make a difference. Not a do-little bunch headed by a Chairman who hasn’t held an Inquiry involving a top stable, trainer or jockey since Adam was a boy. And the replacement of seemingly ‘incompetent’ stewards outside the south-east corner, like the ‘I’ve Been Everywhere Man’ of the panel who would be better suited policing racing in Poland. Get on your hands and knees and beg Terry Bailey to return from Hong Kong and provide punters with the confidence needed to bet on the gallops and ‘red hots’ in Queensland once more.
• PROVIDING much-needed multi-million dollar cash injections for the industry through the sale of Deagon and refusing to allow political influence from those who have massive real estate interests in the area to halt proceedings. It’s time for an end to this ‘boutique training centre’ which for too long has served the purposes of a privileged few.
• JUSTIFY the millions being spent to ‘save’ Albion Park and reward a great supporter of the LNP, ‘Harness King’ Kevin Seymour with the fulfilment of his long-term dream even if the foundations of any high rise development sink into a watery grave created by the nearby Brisbane River. BUT if the worse performing of the three codes in Queensland – harness racing – is to benefit from this massive expenditure of industry and taxpayer funding, something needs to be done ASAP about the ‘jokes’ that continue on the track and the start arguably afforded to some big stables and trainers. It’s time the new Chief Steward, brought here to clean the joint up, got off his arse and did something about what continues to happen.
• STOP the ‘arse-kissing’ with those corporate bookies – including some big ones - who continue to ‘rob’ the industry and the punters. Show some loyalty to the TAB which arguably pours more millions into prizemoney than the ‘corporates’ would ever dream of. Dismiss any suggestion of reducing Point of Consumption Tax, like the Review under Matthew McGrath wanted to. In fact make them pay more.
• STOP pussy-footing around and install a new set of lights at Clifford Park, the ones operating now have existed since Toowoomba pioneered night racing and are reminiscent of the primitive oil lamps used by ancient civilisations.
• ADDRESS the governance, integrity and transparency issues that have dogged some clubs in all three codes in Queensland – ala the BRC-Gleeson family saga at the gallops; attempts by the Albion Park Harness Racing Club to return an under-siege CEO to his job before the Racing Minister intervened; and grading concerns at the greyhounds, not to mention the need to keep giving the Animal Liberationists a free kick with track problems at what has been dubbed ‘the killing fields’.
• STOP pouring public and industry funds into the pockets of one of Australia’s richest men during Magic Millions (a privately-owned sales company) and spend more on increasing prizemoney (we continue to fall behind NSW and Victoria), attracting a better quality of no-nonsense stewards (that’s if the powers-that-be are fair dinkum about policing racing and harness racing) and put a halt to the problem where owners buy horses to race in the country and bush, get them ready to race only to find out there are no jockeys available to ride them (unbelievable).
• AND finally our suggestions for a Racing Board to run the three codes in Queensland where appointments are made on ability rather than politically. RACING: Catherine Clark, Graham Quirk, bush bookie Richard Turnbull (he’ll keep the corporates honest) & Matt Nicholls (publisher of the North West Daily and more aware than most about what racing in the bush and the country needs). GREYHOUNDS: Lyn Keep, David Brasch (respected stakeholder & media man who has held down many roles in the sport) & Mark Rowe (might not be known to many) but is a successful young businessman in Beaudesert who loves greyhound racing and has outstanding qualifications. HARNESS RACING: WHO Knows? Bring back David Fowler as a Board member; add Phil Purser (deserves an Order of Australia for pioneering racing websites. Knows the sport well and would even make a good Thoroughbred Board Member – probably too fair-dinkum for most to handle). Away from Phil, no idea, perhaps ‘Archie Butterfly’ – no-one knows more about the ‘red hots’ than he does. ONE MORE QUESTION? Why isn’t there a Punters’ Representative on these Boards – no group invests more in the three codes than them?

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS – if you don’t agree with our sentiments above ADDRESS ANY HATE MAIL TO ‘HAVE MY SAY’ at LGHR.com.au.

 

A COURT CASE WITH INTERESTING CONSEQUENCES FOR INDUSTRY

A TRACK rider who claims he suffered a career-ending leg injury after his horse shied at a parked car has launched legal action against two prominent Victorian trainers and a well-known breeder.

DANNY RUSSELL reports for FAIRFAX MEDIA that Robert McKenna, 56, has filed a Supreme Court lawsuit for damages against Grahame Begg, Anthony Freedman and GSA Bloodstock, a breeding operation owned by billionaire Jonathan Munz.

In his civil suit, lodged on December 1, McKenna says he was riding a horse for Begg at a private training property at Mt Eliza, owned by GSA Bloodstock, when his horse took fright and threw him onto an unguarded steel post.

He broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg and needed extensive surgery. He claims the injury left him incapacitated, and he has not been able to work for almost six years.

Fifteen-time Group 1 winner Begg and the 2023 Melbourne Cup-winner Freedman train horses for Munz, and were based at his private training property, Pinecliff, at the time of the incident on January 24, 2020.

McKenna’s writ claims he was working his horse on a sand track when it shied at a car that had been “wrongly parked” near starting stalls by a ‘servant or agent’ connected to Freedman.

The writ alleges that Begg failed to ask for the car to be removed, failed to speak to Munz’s company about the steel post and did not carry out an adequate risk assessment.

The writ accuses Freedman of placing the track rider in a ‘position of peril’ and creating a hazard in an area that McKenna was required to ride his horse.

It alleges Freedman failed to heed Begg’s requests to not park the car ‘in an inappropriate location’ – an area that was ‘likely to cause the horse to take fright’.

The lawsuit also alleges that GSA Bloodstock failed to adequately guard the steel post, and did not display appropriate warning signs.

All three defendants are accused of failing to comply with occupational health and safety regulations, as well as failing to take heed of WorkSafe Publication Horse Stables and Track Riding Safety.

McKenna, who is being represented by Ryan Carlisle Thoms Lawyers, is filing for damages, claiming his accident happened as a result of the negligence of all three defendants.

WorkSafe is acting as the insurer in the case, but declined to comment. The defendants are yet to file a defence to the allegations.

McKenna says the fall left him with a deformed left leg, scarring, chronic pain, the development of deep vein thrombosis, post-traumatic stress and depression.

He says he was earning $1,113 a week at the time and expected to work until he was 67. He says he is likely to be incapacitated indefinitely.

The lawsuit says McKenna has not been able to claim hospital and medical expenses according to conditions set out by the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

Begg and GSA Bloodstock declined to comment when contacted by this masthead. Freedman was contacted for comment.

Freedman, who now co-trains with his son Sam, won the 2019 Group 1 Caulfield Guineas for Munz with Super Seth, a Dundeel colt that carried the owner’s red-and-white vertical-striped silks.

They also combined to win the 1200m Group 2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington in 2024 with the now-retired mare Right To Party.

Begg has also had Group 2 successes for Munz, winning back-to-back Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick with Passive Aggressive in 2023-24.

 

ATTACK ON SIMON GLEESON BACKFIRED, HE'S MORE POPULAR THAN EVER BUT ANGER AT CM REPORT NOW HEADED TO LACHLAN MURDOCH 

GODFREY SMITH, a contributor with close ties to LGHR, has weighed into the debate over why The Courier-Mail took so long to do what he called a ‘hatchet job’ on Director Simon Gleeson who quit the Board of the Brisbane Racing Club in controversial circumstances well over a year ago.

Here’s what Godfrey had to say and many of the issues he raised were among ‘Whinges’ to LGHR which we haven’t published today because they were well covered by him.

‘ONE has to question the timing of the story circulated throughout the Murdoch Media on Simon Gleeson claiming he resigned from the BRC Board after fiery verbal disputes with several directors. That might be right but those close to the action say it gutlessly ‘covers up’ the real reason for his departure.

SIMON was frustrated by the lack of action from some colleagues on the Board and did what so often happens in that situation elsewhere. Ask the no-nonsense Peter Bredhauer about the dust-ups that occurred when he was on the old BATC Committee at Doomben and he will tell you if every time a Director resigned after swearing at a colleague there would have been no-one left to run the club. ‘It’s the Australian way. If these blokes at the BRC can’t cop a bit of a rattle up with a few expletives involved, they must be a bunch of pussies’. Bredhauer suggests instead of delving into what happened with a good young man like Simon, the CM should examine what happened when one of their own used to cover the races in Brisbane, have phone link ups to the Media Rooms at Eagle Farm and Doomben with certain undesirables in Sydney and run betting business from the jockeys’ room to the bookies’ ring right under the nose of the stewards who did nothing about it. Read the article on the new Victorian Racing Club Vice Chairman Jonathon Munz claiming in a phone hook-up with the Racing Victoria Board that he staged ‘a massive tantrum … yelling and abusing members of the Board”. One source told Fairfax: “His behaviour was appalling. There were personal attacks. He played the man.’ In the end they catapulted him on the VRC Board as Vice Chairman.

PERHAPS it’s time for Sir Rupert or his son Lachlan who now runs the show to move on the Editor of The Courier-Mail (Chris Jones) who was appointed in 2019 and in the eyes of many has over-stayed his welcome and got far too close to some of those running the BRC. Where is his objectivity and journalistic fair play when Mr Jones allows a story which farcically was run as an ‘exclusive’ while allegedly permitting another by one of his own investigative reporters to be closed down? We all know that The Courier-Mail struggles to break news but when you put ‘exclusive’ on something that happened over a year ago it’s a farce. Those who were aware that for some time Simon Gleeson’s father, Wally, was attempting to obtain a copy of the AGM Minutes of the 2004 meeting and to expose why his son really parted company with the BRC Board, claim the State’s leading newspaper placed road blocks in his path. The industry, loyal Members of the Club and the racing public deserve an explanation from Mr Jones of not only why the story done by one of his own journalists was canned but also why the latest one on Simon Gleeson was run. Those close to how the mainstream racing media works in Queensland also want to know why Greg Stolz, the Head of the Gold Coast Bureau of the CM, wrote the story that appeared this week when there are many Brisbane-based journalists capable of doing so. Surely it wasn’t because it would have been embarrassing after a story written locally never saw the light of day and the locals would have been upset. Some say Stolz and Jones have an association dating back to days at the Hobart Mercury. Who knows?

A MESSAGE TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE – and in the country they are in their thousands – who are upset by the story written about Simon Gleeson and the timing of it, don’t bother contacting the Editor of the CM, send an email expressing your anger to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He’s a ‘chip off the old block’, a respected newspaperman who I am sure wouldn’t tolerate what is happening  in Queensland if he was aware of it. Tell him, that like me, this wonderful masterhead is not even worthy of wrapping fish and chips in now and moreso even whipping your arse on.

EDITOR’S COMMENT: LGHR has never met or spoken to Simon Gleeson. We have the utmost respect for his father, Wally, who is not only a supportive dad but is prepared to fight for what is right in racing and the way clubs operate. What we can say is that Simon has a mountain of support in the country. Instead of driving him away from racing, the Minister should be targeting young, enthusiastic people like him for important roles ensuring the sport gets out of the rut of being run by Directors using it as a Saturday afternoon ‘pigs in the trough’ social situation for themselves and their mates, not to mention feeding their own political appetites by getting the right people in business, politics and the media on side. So what if Simon let off a bit of steam. Painting him as some sort of ‘angry and uncontrollable young whipper-snap’ achieved one goal – shotting themselves in the foot. The Government and the newlook Racing Queensland, should be encouraging more young, enthusiastic and popular racing and business identities with knowledge of the bush and the city, to stay involved – not driving them away. As for The Courier-Mail this sort of ‘one-sided combined with protective’ journalism will only further dismantle the fine reputation the State’s leading masthead once had. Its circulation is falling, have a look how many people read it a decade ago compared to now and it seems to rely almost entirely on advertising revenue from Harvey Norman. There goes any chance of Magic Millions criticism where one of the country’s richest men is basically ‘paid’ by the Government and the racing industry to run race meetings associated with Yearling Sales that pour more millions into his pockets.     

 

MASTERS AND SERVANTS: RACING NSW AND THE NSW GOVERNMENT 

WITH all the bad publicity that racing in NSW is receiving courtesy of an Administrator being appointed to run the Australian Turf Club and subsequent court action challenging that, regular and respected SYDNEY contributor PETER MAIR offered his thoughts on the situation:

‘NSW racing is in disarray at the administrative level.

A 'mad' Spy v. Spy story is unfolding with no one knowing 'where to look' next.

RNSW has masterfully played a crushing hand, displacing Melbourne racing as the best. 

Along the way RNSW is accumulating a reputation for aggressively taking over control of the NSW industry --- at the expense, not least, of race clubs with substantial respected histories (as well as of the wider community). 

The saying 'who holds the purse strings'.....has 'the power to control and decide how money is spent'...is resonating as a practicality and now also reverberating through the courts as resistance sets in.

Not surprisingly, the noisily sharp focus is on RNSW.

In my mind, however, the purse-power is much more diffused...the unshakeable bipartisan commitment of the NSW Government to protect rural racing has found a co-operative ally at RNSW.

Understanding what has happened in the administration of racing in NSW is assisted by what RNSW recently said when opining on the 'way' to save British racing:

The essence of that advice was to mirror the formula for the success of Australian racing -- have a good relationship with the Government and, from the Government, get 'all' the funds for racing from an earmarked share of the racing tax-take.

This is sound advice perhaps but unlikely to find favour in the House of Commons.

As I see the game being played in NSW, it is driven by politicians wanting to protect rural racing -- generously funding its 'dead loss' commercial irrelevance -- possibly because who winsGgovernment now depends on winning rural racing electorates. 

The 'hands-off racing'  is so bipartisan that the, so called, review of NSW racing legislation  is not only chaired by a 'former' politician recruited from the party nominally opposed to the Government,  it expressly eschews any review of the funding and unquestionable independence of RNSW. 

So, as I see things it is a 'marriage of convenience' not well suited to the broader public interest -- RNSW gives the politicians what they want while they give RNSW more exclusive control of the money to do what they want. 

This, with the discretionary power to brook no opposition -- including an 'open cheque book' to ensure that any backbiting, calumny and detraction is discouraged.

A long story is still unfolding.’

 

‘DOGS’ DOUGIE TRIED TO COCK HIS LEG ON LGHR BUT ALL HE MANAGED TO TO WAS MISSFIRE & PISS ON HIMSELF

‘DOGS’ DOUGIE from BRISBANE has given LGHR an upper-cut over a story we ran last week on the greyhound industry. He didn’t have the balls to include his ‘real name’ but we published his ‘Whinge’ simply because it was a personal attack.

‘THE story you wrote calling Lynette Keep a ‘guardian angel’ of the greyhound industry in the work she did as a consultant to the Racing Review was finger-down-the-throat stuff.

There are those who remember the days when you were regularly in the company of Ms Keep in her younger days. So how much of this story was what you really felt about the job she did and how much of it were memories of your past friendship with her?

Opinions are mixed on the contribution Lynette and her family have made to the greyhound industry. Apparently she got the ‘gig’ as a consultant because of closeness to a Gold Coast MP. Many don’t believe she had the right credentials or background to do the job, was too close to the ‘wrong’ people and don’t support your fawning bouquets for the job she did.

Read this report in the BRISBANE TIMES by CAMERON ATFIELD, which of course has been ignored by The Courier-Mail and LGHR if you believe things are so ‘hunky-dory’ since the Racing Minister started listening to Lynette Keep:

RACING Queensland considered temporarily abandoning its new $90 million flagship facility if the spate of deaths at the troubled Ipswich track continued.

Documents obtained through right to information legislation show Racing Queensland decided to return to Albion Park if conditions at The Q, a newly built $90 million racing complex at Purga near Ipswich, continued to be unsuitable for racing.

The revelations come days after the death of another greyhound at The Q – the 21st to die from injuries sustained at the track this year.

Racing at The Q was suspended in July due to unsafe conditions, leading to the cancellation of the annual Brisbane Cup.

Meeting minutes obtained by this masthead show the Racing Queensland board decided to move greyhound racing back to its former home at Albion Park if The Q’s problems continued.

That was to happen in the “event of further track failures at The Q” but greyhound races would not otherwise be scheduled at Albion Park, now predominantly a trotting track.

Data presented to the board showed an injury rate at the two-turn Q2 Parklands track of 3.73 per cent and a mortality rate of 0.25 per cent, meaning one in every 400 greyhounds that raced at on that track perished.

A month earlier, on June 25, board meeting minutes showed optimism about The Q, despite its deadly operational start.

Q2 was expected to have a higher injury rate than the one-turn Q1 in the same complex, the board was told, but features such as transition turns, radius and cambers provided “reason to expect improved rates over time”.

“As reducing serious injuries is an ethical imperative, a transition to a predominance of one-turn and straight track racing should be prioritised,” the FY25 Greyhound Injury Summary and Benchmarking report presented to the board found.

The same report sought to downplay publicity about the greyhound deaths at The Q.

The fall that killed Cool Hand Rio, the 12th greyhound to die as a result of racing at The Q, on July 22.Racing Queensland

“The Q facility has drawn media attention in relation to greyhounds sustaining injuries or being euthanised as a result of injuries. There are several nuances behind the headlines that warrant noting,” the report says.

“To 30 June, 12 greyhounds were confirmed as being euthanised as a result of sustaining injuries during racing (4) or trialling (8) at the venue. The majority of these greyhounds were euthanised off-track (7), despite the [Race Meeting Injury Scheme] being available to cover the cost of treating the injuries [redacted text follows].

“The reporting of serious injuries and fatalities and subsequent off-track euthanasia for trials was unique to The Q during the period of familiarity trials overseen by stewards, with no other jurisdiction currently publishing trial data.”

The documents showed trainers were “now happy” with the track in July, yet the deaths continued to mount. By October, the toll had risen to 16.

The documents’ release to this masthead came as yet another greyhound death was recorded at The Q, bringing the total to 21 since races started in March.

The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds reported the death of Dynamic Ethics, following a serious leg injury on Q Straight last Monday. The FastTrack database showed she was dead by Wednesday.

Less than a month earlier, and after the release of a damning report that found poor track design has contributed to greyhound deaths, Casemiro Magic suffered a serious leg injury on November 20. The FastTrack database showed he was dead by December 9.

Among the governments responses to a review into Queensland racing industry were a new greyhound retirement program and a dedicated greyhound racing media team that would “better recognise the sport’s social contribution, ownership benefits and commitment to strengthening animal welfare”.

“The industry is more interested in creating a propaganda unit than addressing the systemic failures of greyhound racing in Queensland,” Coalition president Amy MacMahon said.

“The state’s animal protection groups are urgently seeking a meeting with Racing Minister Tim Mander to discuss the ongoing failures.”

Mander declined to comment.

The report into The Q’s three tracks – a large one-turn track, a two-turn track and a straight track – was released in mid-October.

It found faulty track designs had contributed to the deaths of 11 greyhounds in less than five months of racing after The Q’s opening. The toll has almost doubled since then.

“The Q is supposed to be the benchmark for greyhound racing but has become a taxpayer-funded, deadly nightmare for dogs. It has claimed at least 21 lives,” MacMahon said.

“Even the straight track at The Q, supposedly the safest form of racing, is killing greyhounds.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: YOUR criticism of any past friendship I had with Lyn Keep is drawing a long bow mate. I haven’t spoken to her in years and had no agenda in writing what I did. She was born into family with a love for greyhound racing and has shared that passion throughout her life. I stand by my comments that the sport will be much better thanks to what Lyn is trying to do.          

 

JONATHON MUNZ QUOTES ‘THE GODFATHER’ & HAS A PRIVATE JET – SOME SAY HE WIELDS TOO MUCH POWER IN VICTORIAN RACING 

DANNY RUSSELL & CAMERON HOUSTON wrote this story published in THE AGE which we reproduce courtesy of FAIRFAX MEDIA:

BARELY five minutes into a Racing Victoria phone conference, billionaire racehorse owner Jonathan Munz ran out of patience.

Munz – who last Friday agreed to join the Melbourne Racing Club Board as Vice Chairman – had dialled in from a holiday in France and could no longer tolerate hearing the industry’s new CEO Andrew Jones explain his vision for the future.

Jones had been hire as an agent of change in July 2022 and had quickly driven an agenda to lure young fans back to the sport.

In February the next year, he announced plans to reorder the time-honoured spring racing calendar, added a 10th race to Saturday meetings to boost wagering, and was forecasting millions of dollars in prizemoney cuts.

There were even suggestions that Jones and his executive team of Ben Amarfio and Matt Welsh would move the Melbourne Cup to December.

Munz, a wealthy breeder, owner and racing traditionalist, could not stomach the ideas. To him, none of the changes made sense.

But there are two versions of what happened next as anxious stakeholders, the Racing Victoria executive team and agitated board members argued their points of view.

Some with knowledge of the virtual meeting say Munz’s anger came thundering down the phone. One critic of Munz told his FAIRFAX that the businessman had “a massive tantrum … yelling and abusing members of the board”.

“His behaviour was appalling,” the source said. “There were personal attacks. He played the man.”

Others disagreed. They say Munz called the meeting in the first place, acting on behalf of a “participation alliance”, hoping Jones and the Racing Victoria board would “listen to reason” and dial back their ideas.

“But it became apparent they weren’t listening to anything we [the stakeholders] were saying,” an insider said.

“They were trying to provoke and bait Munz, to get a rise out of him. He was reasonably blunt but professional and polite. They were rude to him, not the other way around.”

The tone of the phone call might be disputed, but there is no doubting what happened next: Munz went on a crusade to get rid of Jones.

He privately told Jones that he was coming for his job, and publicly called for him to be sacked.

Less than 12 months later, Jones was gone.

The Age spoke to more than 20 people involved in various levels of racing across several months to understand Munz and his powerful influence on Victorian racing. Some declined to comment, others requested to remain anonymous to speak more freely. Munz and Jones both declined to be interviewed for this story.

HOW MUNZ MAKES THINGS HAPPEN

Munz moved a step closer to racing’s coalface last Friday when he agreed to join the Melbourne Racing Club Board as Vice Chairman, filling a three-year casual vacancy created by the resignation of John Kanga, the former chairman who stood down on the eve of the Caulfield Cup carnival. Munz will remain as Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association chairman.

In the past, Munz has used his position as chairman of the association to file a motion for an emergency general meeting to spill the Racing Victoria board.

In February last year, he called for five directors to be removed because they wouldn’t sack Jones.

The motion was lost after a flurry of last-minute phone calls between racing clubs and Racing Minister Anthony Carbines’ office but ultimately, it had the desired effect.

Sensing he had lost the support of the board, Jones resigned in April 2024. Amarfio and Welsh followed him out the door.

“The Board should have moved against him after the EGM because he lost; he didn’t get the votes,” a critic of Munz said.

“But they didn’t. He won the power struggle, and then he took control of the Melbourne Racing Club.”

Munz formed an alliance with Kanga and, according to a supporter, helped orchestrate a plan in August last year to overthrow the MRC board.

“He wields too much power,” said one concerned source, claiming the Racing Victoria constitution allows individuals to build voting blocs by installing allies in positions of power. “It’s an integrity issue for the industry.

“In my view, it can only stop by the government – and it would have to be bipartisan – saying we don’t think this constitution is fit for purpose any more, and we are going to change it.

“Name one regulatory body where those who are regulated can overthrow the regulator. It’s bizarre.”

When Carbines was approached for comment, a Victorian government spokesperson said: “Racing Victoria is an independent company established under the Corporations Act, and its constitution is a matter for its members.”

MUNZ’S FIVE-POINT PLAN

Munz’s vision for the future of racing in Victoria, as outlined in a series of press releases on the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association website, has taken shape in the past year.

He called for prizemoney for the All-Star Mile to be slashed. Tick.

He demanded Racing Victoria cut $10 million of “spending wastage” and slash another $10 million from its integrated media businesses, such as Racing.com. Tick and tick.

He insisted that prizemoney should not be cut, even following the alarming drop in wagering after the COVID-19 sugar hit. Tick.

He called for regular stakeholder meetings at Racing Victoria to ensure all parties were across any proposed changes – because “consultation means you make less mistakes”. Tick.

He said Melbourne Racing Club had to fix its spring calendar. He wanted the Thousand Guineas moved back to Caulfield Cup week for a start. Tick.

He called for the group 1 Orr Stakes and a new three-year-old fillies race to be staged at Caulfield on the Saturday after Melbourne Cup week. Tick and tick.

All these things, according to those who side with Munz, were for the betterment of the industry.

But not according to one detractor, who said it simply proved that Munz was in control.

“The only reason he’s got any power at all is because he’s the chairman of TROA and meant to be representing 70,000 owners who he never talks to,” the source said.

“Most of them wouldn’t even know they are members of TROA. This is an organisation that advertises its annual general meeting by putting a very small ad beside the death notices in the Herald Sun.”

When asked if Munz had too much influence, a Racing Victoria spokesperson said it had strengthened engagement by creating a racing forum for stakeholders under the leadership of chief executive Aaron Morrison.

“These forums have proven to be valuable platforms for transparent, collaborative dialogue on key industry matters, including race dates and prizemoney decisions which remain the responsibility of the independent RV board,” the spokesperson said.

“RV can’t always agree with every stakeholder’s views and there are plenty of times where we have not.”

VICTORIA'S ANSWER TO PETER V'LANDYS 

Munz is considered the most powerful and influential person in Victorian Racing. This state’s answer to NSW supremo Peter V’Landys, who wields immense power as that state’s racing CEO and also chairs the NRL.

Munz made his fortune working alongside his father, Philip, building an Australian plumbing supplies business into a global brand called Reliance Worldwide Corporation – an organisation that manufactured and supplied products for the plumbing industry, including pipes, valves and push-to-connect (PTC) fittings.

They floated the business in 2016, selling their shares for more than $1 billion by February 2019. Munz stepped down from the board that year.

Apart from thoroughbreds, Munz has a private jet and is a movie fanatic.

He has been known to drop lines from favourite films such as The Godfather into conversations and had a horse named Excommunicado, a term taken from the John Wick movies, starring Keanu Reeves.

“He’s always introducing himself as a billionaire,” one source said.

But rather than direct traffic from a position of power as V’Landys does, until Friday Munz operated behind the scenes.

While some paint him as a dark overlord or puppet master, others describe him as one of few people prepared to stand up for what is right.

He is either feared or respected for his ability to get things done.

“He has the intellect and ability to convince people on the right way to go,” a source aligned with Munz said.

But there is another side to Munz. He likes it known that he “can’t be intimidated, can’t be bought and that no one can leverage him”, the same industry source said.

If you can’t be convinced to join a Munz alliance, don’t get in his way.

“He will play the man if anyone gets in the way,” they added.

“More than that, he’ll shirtfront people if treated unfairly.”

Many have been critical of Munz for having too much to say from behind the scenes. If he wants to have an impact, they say, why doesn’t he join the Racing Victoria Board?

That position shifted slightly with his MRC board appointment.

A source close to Munz says that he “likes to have a positive influence in the background because it allows him to stay separate and be independent”.

But an opponent said Munz once told an RV meeting that nobody should be on their board unless they were worth $40 million because then they could not be “got at”.

A Munz insider said that quote was taken out of context. He said Munz believed that RV board members had to have the correct qualifications – a background in commerce or racing – the right intentions and independence, so they could make decisions without being “got at”.

He was suspicious of people beholden to a free lunch in a race club committee room, or dependent on a director’s annual fee. Racing Victoria directors are paid an annual fee of about $100,000, while race club directors are honorary positions.

His role as Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association chairman gives him leverage because the association is a shareholder of the regulatory body and has to be informed and consulted as part of the regular racing forums.

THE CAULFIELD CONNECTION

Munz toured the Melbourne Racing Club’s new $160 million facilities with Kanga in April last year.

Munz called the development “an insane waste of money”.

He helped Kanga form a strategy to topple the board and become chairman.

Nine months later, Munz’s associate Tanya Fullarton – who worked alongside him on the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association board – was named the MRC’s chief operating officer at the same time Tom Reilly was sacked as CEO. Last Friday, she was appointed the club’s new full-time CEO.

The Age reported in June that another Munz employee, Kenneth Neff, the manager of his Mornington training facility, was hired by Kanga on a $25,000-a-month contract to help prepare the club’s racing tracks.

Munz sat in on meetings between the MRC and Mount Scopus College before an agreement was reached in December last year to sell 7.5 hectares of land at Caulfield Racecourse to the Jewish private school to build a new campus.

A source aligned with Munz claimed the deal was in danger of falling over before he stepped in. The MRC said the Mount Scopus land deal was all completed through the correct channels.

The source said Munz, a former Mount Scopus student, saw the proposed sale as mutually beneficial.

The AGE revealed that Munz also took part in merger talks between the MRC and VRC in February this year when he hosted Kanga and VRC chairman Neil Wilson at his Toorak mansion.

Talks focused on bringing Flemington and Caulfield racetracks under one administration, and undoing 150 years of tradition by creating a super club that would oversee both the Melbourne and Caulfield cups.

Sources told The Age that proposed merger would have resulted in the two clubs operating under the VRC banner, with a combined board, while Wilson would act as temporary chairman before handing over to Kanga after 12 months.

Such an entity would also have created a strong voting block and a powerful voice at the Racing Victoria table.

RESULTS ARE VITAL

Munz is rarely seen at the races, preferring to watch from his Toorak mansion.

There is no guarantee that he will be at Flemington on Saturday to watch his filly, Getta Good Feeling, in the Wakeful Stakes or his superstar, Giga Kick, the following week in the VRC Champions Sprint.

He owns about 80 broodmares in NSW and New Zealand, runs a private training facility at Mornington called Pinecliff and races horses with several trainers across the state, including former Sydneysider Grahame Begg, Danny O’Brien and Clayton Douglas.

“He lets you do your own thing as long as you can get results for him, which is vital,” Begg told Fairfax last year.

“He’s a big investor in the industry, a massive investor in the industry. People don’t realise the amount of money he puts into it.

“So he likes to get results. But he is pretty meticulous with what he does. It has never been an issue to train for him.”

Munz has also ventured into political fields. The Age revealed in February 2023 that Munz’s company, GSA Capital, had paid $250,000 in membership fees to the short-lived Victorians Party, which folded two months before the November 2022 state elections.

A Victorians Party spokesperson said the payment was publicly declared and permitted under the Victorian Electoral Act.

The Age also reported that Munz was approached by Mitch Catlin – the then-Chief of Staff of former opposition leader Matthew Guy – in 2022 to make more than $100,000 in payments to Catlin’s private marketing business.

Munz declined to make the payments. Catlin quit his position as Chief of Staff to Guy in August 2022.

There are two perceptions of Munz’s views.

“He believes that owners and breeders put all the money in, while the rest are parasites,” a critic said. “He thinks the clubs are just social clubs. He has no respect for wagering input.”

But a supporter said Munz always fought for causes he believed would improve the industry.

“People go to him with problems because there is no one else to fix them,” the source said.

In 2022, he took on V’Landys over NSW’s refusal to pay other states’ licensed strappers their bonuses.

“In my view, it is fundamentally improper and unfair,” Munz told the AFR. “You can’t treat a worker differently for doing the same work in NSW, just because they live in Victoria.”

After his intervention, the strapper for his horse, Giga Kick, was paid $122,000 for their share of winning The Everest.

As ever, Munz got results.

 

MAINSTREAM RACING MEDIA NOW WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS 

SUPPORTERS of Simon Gleeson, the Director of the Brisbane Racing Club who resigned in controversial circumstances over a year ago, are questioning the coincidence of the timing of a story about him in today’s The Courier-Mail.

They are hoping it is not an attempt by the State’s leading daily newspaper, known to enjoy a cosy relationship with the State’s leading race club, to discredit Gleeson because of serious issues that he has raised regarding governance and integrity at the BRC.

Lawyers have advised LGHR that reports of a CCC investigation involving the BRC Board are ‘false, misleading and entirely without foundation.’ We understand how Directors are keen to distance themselves from this sort of bad publicity which reflects on their credibility. From our perspective, a complaint has definitely been made to the CCC who don’t make Media Releases about this sort of thing so all we can say is ‘time will tell’.

What we are more concerned about is how the mainstream racing media works in mysterious ways these days. Not a word has been written by The Courier-Mail about the war of words traded between high profile Club Member Wally Gleeson, father of former Director Simon, and the BRC Board in his battle to obtain a copy of the Minutes of the 2024 Annual General Meeting.

Gleeson snr was frustrated in attempts to have some form of media coverage of his unsuccessful attempts to obtain what Members are entitled to (in fact one of the recommendations of the Racing Review corrects an anomaly whereby Clubs will soon be required to release Minutes soon after the AGM and not a couple of weeks before the next one).

An investigative journalist from the CM was previously contacted by the Gleeson family and she compiled a report on concerns of governance issues within the BRC Board that were raised by Simon Gleeson. LGHR understands that an editorial intervention saw her story ‘canned’.

Along came the AGM and there was no coverage of the controversy that occurred behind closed doors over the failure of the Board to advise Members of the sale of an apartment to a company associated with then Chairman Neville Bell.

No-one was suggesting that Mr Bell did anything wrong. He was entitled like any other investor to buy the unit. Problem was the Board didn’t report the transaction to Members in the financial section of the Annual Report and many were not happy about that and attempted to stop the Minutes of the AGM from being adopted. That failed by a narrow show of hands vote.

All these things were happening – LGHR was providing reports of the battle between Wally Gleeson and the BRC Board – but The Courier-Mail and its scribes arguably turned a blind eye. Fairfax tried to attend the AGM but was told it was a 'closed shop'.

Then along came a dual Walkley Award winning journalist Grace Tobin who wrote an extensive investigate report involving what happened at the AGM at the BRC. She reported that ‘alleged governance failure and misconduct at the BRC’ had been raised with the CCC after Racing Queensland and the Racing Minister had failed to act on same. If we are to believe the BRC lawyers, the ABC like LGHR have been ‘misinformed on this issue’.

The question that those who have followed this saga are now asking is: Why the sudden end to the ‘silence’ on what has been happening behind the scenes by The Courier-Mail. The only one that can answer that is the Editor and we would love to publish his reasoning.

Failure to do so will only convince the critics that the story today has an ulterior motive. Having once worked for the Murdoch Media, LGHR cannot for one minute believe what is being suggested has any substance. Circulation is dropping, like with all newspapers, but it was once a great publication and a 'voice' of the people.

 

HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION WITH COLLYER APPOINTMENT – LET’S HOPE HER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM DOESN'T INCLUDE 'BUMS’ OF PAST 

RACING Minister Tim Mander should be applauded for the appointment of experienced racing administrator Mary Collier to lead the implementation of the Queensland Racing Review’s recommendations.

Ms Collier commences at RQ on Monday, December 22, and will establish an implementation team to progress the Review’s recommendations endorsed by the Queensland Government, with a roll out plan to be developed in the New Year.

This includes significant legislative reform, operational changes and infrastructure works to deliver on the recommendations.

Earlier this month, Racing Minister Tim Mander provided the Government’s response to the independent review - click here to see The Next Lap - which was overseen by Matt McGrath with assistance from Kym Daly, Lynette Keep and Scott Neaves.

More than 1,200 stakeholders, owners, trainers, breeders, clubs, racing fans and animal welfare advocates contributed to the review, with the Government accepting more than 100 of its recommendations in full or in part.

Minister Mander said measures outlined in The Next Lap would be implemented in a staged manner.

“The Crisafulli Government has delivered a plan which presents an opportunity for generational change in Queensland racing,” Minister Mander said.

“RQ has been tasked with implementing the reforms outlined in The Next Lap, and I look forward to a timeline being handed to government by April 2026.

“Mary Collier’s extensive background in racing administration and positive relationships across the industry made her the ideal choice to lead this process.”

Having been involved in the racing and wagering industry for more than two decades, Ms Collier has previously held senior executive or board roles within RQ, the National Jockeys' Trust, the Brisbane Turf Club, industry associations and wagering bodies.

Most recently, Ms Collier has served as the President of Tattersall’s Racing Club and Vice President of Tattersall’s Club, where she was the first woman in its 140-year history elected to the board.

“I truly believe everyone in the industry has a role to play to secure the long-term strength of racing in Queensland,” Ms Collier said.

“The Next Lap provides the clear roadmap, but it’s what comes next that is critical to the plan’s success.

"As recommendations move into implementation, ongoing consultation and constructive cooperation across the industry are paramount as is disciplined sequencing and transparency.

“It is an equally exciting and challenging time, and I can’t wait to get started.

“In accepting this role, I have also resigned from my role as President of Tattersall’s Racing Club to ensure best practice governance and independence.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: It seems an appropriate time to recall something that happened involving Mary Collier when LGHR was Communications Manager for Racing Queensland in the Bob Bentley era. I felt it was a significant milestone when Mary became the first lady elected to Chair a Metropolitan Race Club in Australia. This was a time when the Brisbane Turf Club was a separate entity to the Queensland Turf Club. I went ahead and did a feature on Mary for the Queensland Racing Calendar and in no time was told by Chairman Bentley that it had to be canned.  Bob didn’t like Mary for some reason but said it was an instruction from Dr Bob Mason who was at that stage Head of Integrity. It turned out Mary was in the same class at High School as one of Mason’s First Lieutenant’s and there were some skeletons in the closet leading to bad blood between the pair. On this occasion I stood my ground and published the story much to the protestation of the trio who were then running the show at RQ. Sadly, that was to end and within weeks I lost my editorial responsibility. The rest is history and I won’t go into detail about the Kangaroo Court that followed. That will make good reading in the book I am writing and what the ‘real’ story was behind the scenes. Mary Collyer is the right person for the role she has now be chosen. I just hope she picks the right people for her implementation team and not some of the 'bums of a bygone era' who sadly seem to have the ear of the Minister pushing their personal political platforms and objectives.  

 

RACING NSW NEEDS TO GET ITS OWN HOUSE IN ORDER IF IT WANTS TO BE THE LEADING STATE – OFF TO COURT WE GO WITH THE ATC 

THE Board of the Australian Turf Club has claimed Racing NSW has lost its way as an industry regulator as the warring parties go head-to-head in a Sydney courtroom.

CHRIS BARRETT reports for FAIRFAX MEDIA that the ATC, which owns and operates major racecourses in Sydney, launched legal action in the Supreme Court after racing’s controlling body announced on Monday it was removing the club’s board and placing its affairs into the hands of administrator.

The directors are fighting their dismissal, arguing in court on Thursday that Racing NSW, whose chief executive is Peter V’landys, had acted beyond its authority in moving to unseat them.

“This is a regulator that has lost its way,” said Scott Robertson, SC, appearing for the four remaining members of the ATC board including Chairman Tim Hale, who was in court.

“This regulator has taken it upon itself to effectively act as a supervisor for the decisions of my client,” Robertson told the court, saying the dispute seemed to have at least started as a disagreement over the proposed $5 billion sale of Rosehill Gardens racecourse.

The ATC board was split over selling the track, which is owned by the club, with former chairman Peter McGauran having been the most prominent advocate for the plan and Hale and others on the ATC board resisting it.

McGauran stepped down in July, two months after the sale was voted down by club members, and was followed out the door by the resignations of two other directors in September days after the sacking of ATC CEO Matt Galanos.

Racing NSW said it intervened due to serious financial and governance concerns and a breakdown in trust with the leaders of the race club and an erosion in confidence in them to perform their duties.

It opposed the ATC board’s request to suspend the instalment of an administrator until the case can be heard in full in February.

Racing NSW’s counsel, Oliver Jones, SC, told the court it was concerned about the ATC meeting its financial obligations during that period and it was “having to prop up the club with tens of millions of dollars of funds”.

“Racing NSW is the most exposed financially to the affairs of the ATC,” Jones said. “Our concern is that this club, under its board directors, has allowed itself to get into a position where it cannot maintain solvency unless large amounts of money are guaranteed by Racing NSW.”

Of particular issue according to the V’landys-led organisation is a $30 million loan the club has with the Commonwealth Bank, which is due in late 2026 and for which Racing NSW is the guarantor.

Jones told the court Racing NSW had a broad suite of powers under the NSW Thoroughbred Racing Act including the authority to appoint an administrator to a race club.

The ATC directors have maintained the club is solvent, with $22 million in the bank and $350 million in property assets, according to its 2024-25 annual report.

The club is a company limited by guarantee under corporation law and Robertson said Racing NSW had “proceeded under a misapprehension of the scope of its powers”.

“This is a regulator with regulatory functions, not commercial functions,” he said.

He told the court the funding received from Racing NSW was “money earned from my client’s racecourses”.

“It’s not right to say this money is purely voluntary or a matter of largesse from the regulator,” he said.

He rejected as “scurrilous” any suggestion the ATC would conduct a “firesale” of its assets if the board remained in charge until February.

The hearing will resume on Friday.

 

FALLOUT FROM THE ABC EXPOSE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE BRC  CASTS BAD LIGHT ON RQ & RACING MINISTER 

MAIN feedback in this week’s WEDNESDAY WHINGE involves fallout from the ABC expose of what has been happening behind the scenes at the Brisbane Racing Club with many wanting to know why the Racing Minister and the Racing Queensland Board failed to intervene.

Questions are also being asked by loyal readers of The Courier-Mail why the Murdoch Media has censored coverage of this controversy and want The Editor to respond to allegations that some of those responsible for content in the State’s leading daily are too close to high rollers at the Brisbane Racing Club.

Here’s what NEVILLE AGANOFF of CHAPEL HILL, a long-time reader of the CM and follower of racing had to say (and it expresses the opinion of others who emailed LGHR):

‘I was shocked to read the ABC report of the BRC Annual General Meeting that you effectively paraphrased with acknowledgement to the ABC throughout. We both read the same story.

The amazing thing for me was in our little cocoon called Brisbane, with one Racing Club, was that there was no mention in the Courier Mail about this. The CM serves us daily racing stories, which is good. In off days the stories are about Sydney horses, but mostly Brisbane.

And here we have the most controversial issue aside from the Government not reducing the tax rate on punters, and the CM did not even mention it.

That is astounding. The ABC went on to record questions at the AGM of extravagant travel by the directors, then the Bell issue of receiving $1000 a week in guaranteed rental. And the CM didn’t mention it.

The CM is not doing anything a reputable newspaper should be doing, that is, reporting the news. Hopeless!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Couldn’t agree more Neville but when you have one of their leading racing scribes in the Directors’ Room with his snout in the trough most race days it’s hardly a good look. But why would he think he was doing anything wrong when some of his bosses are so close to Directors and former Directors of the club that they are being accuseD of shutting down any constructive criticism of the BRC Board? LGHR understands this went as far as refusing to publish a story on the issue written by one of their leading investigative reporters. We understand the matter – along with control of the racing media by a former Turf Editor now working for the BRC as a consultant – has been raised with the Press Council.

 

‘DICKY’ IN HONKERS WHILE CARNIVAL ROLLED ON AT EAGLE FARM 

EXCESSIVE spending on travel by Directors of the BRC was a question raised by Members at the AGM and a matter that the Government has accepted a recommendation from the Racing Review that needs to be addressed.

Here’s an email from a BRC Member (no it isn’t Wally Gleeson) but this gentleman wanted to remain anonymous to ensure he wasn’t the subject of intimidation at his regular Saturday visits to the Brisbane races when he isn’t one of the privileged few with their noses in the trough in the Directors’ Room:

‘BRC Directors are under fire over excessive spending each year on ‘junkets’ to major race meetings throughout the world. But that didn’t stop Chairman Richard Morrison from swanning around in Hong Kong during International Week.

‘It wasn’t a good look with ‘red lights’ flashing about what individual directors have spent of club funds on individual travel in recent years. Then again ‘Dicky’ was just following the lead of his predecessor ‘Nifty’ Neville who was a regular at the big Hong Kong meet (along with many others far and wide) for many years.

‘Should Morrison not have been at home where Eagle Farm hosted feature races of the Summer Carnival last Saturday? What was more important that he could have gleaned from the Hong Kong visit apart from a ‘free holiday’ and ‘a gut full of food a drink?

‘One could suggest that the current Board are thumbing their noses at the recommendations of the Racing Review – on the matter of travel expenditure at least.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: Just wondering if the trip was a ‘freebie’ courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and not in fact an expenditure for the BRC – perhaps someone might let us know, then again they only want to deal with turf writers they can control – like Big Ben, whose services no doubt warrant another award.

 

‘RACING MINISTER MANDER NEEDS TO EXPLAIN HIS LACK OF ACTION’ 

HERE’S another interesting ‘Whinge’ which touches on some delicate issues that the Government and Racing Queensland failed to address for some inexplicable reason:

‘THE ABC report last week revealed that four independent auditors it had contacted all agreed that the Party Related Disclosures and the payments of Entitlements and Discretionary amounts to key personnel at the BRC (CEO, senior staff and the Property & Asset Manager) during the 2024-25 financial year should have been reported in the annual financial statements.

These questions were asked of retiring Chairman Neville Bell at the 2024 AGM and again of his successor Richard Morrison at the 2025 AGM.

The audio tape at the 5:13 minute mark of the BRC AGM held on October 17 2025 concerning the adoption of the previous AGM Minutes of October 16 2024 recorded the following statement from a concerned Member:

‘I’d just like to highlight the financial statements for presentation within these minutes. As I said, Number 6 in the minutes, Wally Gleeson asked whether directorship Related Party Disclosure had been the only disclosure for all directors in the Annual Report. The Chairman, Mr Bell, confirmed that was correct. Does this Board stand behind this? This statement of being correct?

CHAIRMAN Morrison at 5:46 minute on tape:

“Is there any other disclosures? Is that your question?”

MEMBER’S response:

“Yes, and Chairman at the time Mr Bell confirmed there were no further disclosures other than that of (Director) Mr Schatz. I want to know if the Board stands behind that?”

CHAIRMAN Morrison at 6.02 Minute on tape:

“Well we are passing the minutes from last time. Yes the Board stands behind that Wally.”

Subsequently to this and other issues raised by concerned BRC Members at the AGM the first (a show of hands mind you), to adopt the 2024 AGM Minutes was indefinable and required a second counted vote to scrape through adoption. One wonders what the result would have been if a secret ballot had been held.  

The 2024 and 2025 BRC Board and its external auditors, Bentley’s, have twice refused to acknowledge their requirement to disclose all Party Related Disclosures and Entitlement and Discretionary Payments to key personnel. It is ironic that four specialist accounting businesses contacted by ABC journalist Grace Tobin agreed that these should have been disclosed.

The BRC’s external auditors Bentley’s were unable to be contacted by the ABC despite phone messages left. Furthermore, the BRC Board Director responsible for Finance and Governance and the Board Company Secretary are both qualified accountants working in very senior positions in the business world.

The circumstances of this demanded an investigation which the regulator, Racing Queensland and the Racing Minister Tim Mander refused to undertake full well knowing the position for the last 12 months.

The industry and racing followers want to know why. In a normally functioning Parliament questions would have been asked by the Shadow Racing Minister but Grace Grace has been too close for too long to some of those running the BRC that she has refused to do her job which is an absolute ‘disgrace’.

While Neville Bell or a company associated with him was entitled to buy an investment property in the apartment block built at Eagle Farm, surely there was a requirement on him as Chairman at the time and the BRC Board to report same to Members in the Annual Report, especially as the unit in question was reportedly formerly owned by the club.

 

STEP CLOSER TO ASIAN APPRENTICES TRAINING IN  QUEENSLAND 

HERE is regular GREG BLANCHARD of the Gold Coast final contribution for the year:

THE GOOD 

GOLD Coast Turf Club hosting a huge amount of retired jockeys at the Reunion this year.

Government acceptance of a Racing Review recommendation that we get CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions & Courses for Overseas Students), so that Queensland can have overseas kids in our Apprentice School.

THE BAD 

THE on-going lack of jockeys in country areas – a shameful seven enforced scratchings from the TAB meeting in Townsville on Saturday because there were no riders, along with another three each from Atherton and Gladstone.

The worst thing I witnessed was the promises made to Mauritius track rider Prinish Goordin in Rockhampton that he could be in our Apprentice school. Prinish wasted nearly two years at Rocky on false promises made. I knew he couldn't be an apprentice. People in high places on good money should have known too. There is no accountability for this bad decision-making.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The mail is strong when Deagon is sold the training centre will move to the Gold Coast. In the interim a deal has been done for at least one Hong Kong apprentice to ride on the Coast during the off-season in Honkers which is a start.

 

‘LARRY’  BACK AT TRACK LOSING HIS MONEY & GOING THIRSTY

IT’S been a while since we heard from our old mate ‘LARRY THE LOSER’ but he's back and firing on all cylinders. He touched base during the week with this little gem:

‘I went to the races recently for the first time in years – at Doomben.

 I was going to write you a bit of a story about my day out, but I thought you probably had better things to publish.

I could rant about much but in essence I had to pay $25 to get through the gate just for the pleasure of doing my money.

Saddest thing though was in the Queensland summer heat, not one water station to be found, not one.

Even the Capalaba Dogs has water stations, and they don't charge you one red cent for the pleasure of letting you in to do your cash.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: ‘LARRY’, we might have to organize you media accreditation to represent LGHR at the gallops. Being an ex-motor bike cop and security guard, I’m sure you would qualify. That way you could get to know ‘Big Ben’ and he could show you the ropes on how to ‘suck up to survive’ and before you know it, no worries about water, you will be enjoying crumbed leg of mongoose washed down by cheap motor mower fuel alongside Ben and all the other free-loaders in the Directors’ Lounge. I would like to be sure your mail is right ‘Larry’ about no water stations being available at Doomben because I believe it is a legal requirement of race clubs, sporting clubs and entertainment venues to provide same these days.

 

IF KIM KELLY 'WALKS' IT WILL BE AN INTEGRITY NIGHTMARE FOR RACING IN QUEENSLAND - RISKING A RETURN TO THE 'BAD OLD DAYS'? 

THE mail is strong from reliable sources in the QRIC bunker that Kim Kelly is no ‘shoe on’ to accept the role created for him by the Racing Review – Commissioner of Stewarding.

If the international experience of Kelly, current Deputy Commissioner of the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission, was lost it would be a major blow for the ‘policing of racing’ to a State that finds it near on impossible to attract quality stewards.

Those close to the coalface say Kelly retired after a virtual ‘life-time of service’ to Hong Kong racing and before that in Queensland and Sydney, to spend more time with his family.

He answered an SOS after QRIC was near rock bottom due to the ‘questionable management’ of former Commissioner Shane Gillard who eventually fell on his sword.

There were fears that QRIC would be dismantled when the LNP won Government because of a cost ‘blow out’. There is always the question: What price integrity? But not when valuable funds are spent in the wrong direction, like was arguably happening when Gillard was running the show.

A newlook QRIC headed by Commissioner Catherine Clark and ably assisted integrity-wise by Kim Kelly, did a remarkable job in a short time but it wasn’t enough to stop the new Government from accepting a major Review recommendation to create a hypbrid RQ – QRIC model.

 

WHEN IT COMES TO POLICING OF THE GALLOPS & THE ‘RED HOTS’ NO-ONE TRUSTS THE LNP - WHO CAN FORGET THE DAYS OF 'BIG RUSS'?  

DESPITE assurances that a separation of powers with no high profile Board Member having influence over Integrity there are those in the Stewarding ranks and many stakeholders who don’t trust the LNP.

That’s because of their track record – and you don’t have to go back as far as the days of Racing Minister Russ Hinze when harness stipes in particular were virtually powerless to control what was happening on the track with horses owned and trained for the ‘Big Fella’.

In more recent times – again under an LNP Government – we saw an unhealthy relationship between the RQ Chairman and the Chief Steward. He was even advised by the RQ CEO of the day that it wasn’t a good look when the Chairman spent more time in the Chief Stipe’s Office than attending to racing matters of the day. This same RQ Chairman rejected an offer for a no-nonsense Chief Steward and Integrity Manager from the south to move to Queensland on a ‘joint package’ because he apparently felt they would be too tough.

Now we have high rollers from that era apparently trying to influence Racing Minister Tim Mander on the direction he heads with Integrity. If LGHR was Kim Kelly we would be having second thoughts about taking the job of Commissioner of Stewarding if we were answerable to the Minister. Surely this position should be totally independent of any Board or political influence.

Those concerned about what could happen in the next month are tipping Kym Daly, the gallops consultant to the Racing Review, to be a front runner for the job if Kelly walks away. Apart from his experience as a steward, they point out that he is an old ‘school buddy’ of the Racing Minister.

Without Kelly keeping the RQ Integrity ship clear of the icebergs, there is little hope for the punters. They have no confidence in current Chief Stipe Josh Adams and many of his team. When was the last time Adams conducted an inquiry involving the running of a horse from a leading stable or one of the top jockeys?

Perhaps racing in Queensland is squeaky clean. On a positive note a Review recommendation for more swabbing has been accepted and if you listen to the punters and some stakeholders that is certainly overdue.

 

‘OFFICIALS DON’T WANT TOUGH STEWARDS’ – JUST THOSE WHO WON’T ‘ROCK THE BOAT’ ENSURING NO BAD PUBLICITY FOR RACING 

LGHR recently sought the advice of a couple of highly respected senior stewards – one still working and the other now in retirement – on what needs to be done to strengthen integrity in racing.

Both were adamant that the problem lies with officialdom and that nothing will happen while they adopt the philosophy of promoting Chief Stewards who don’t want to ‘rock the boat’.

‘Inquiries involving top trainers and jockeys are not good for the image of racing. Those stewards running the show don’t have to be told. They know such action will be frowned upon by high profile officials, some of which they can’t afford to get off-side.’

The general consensus of opinion among punters is that South Australian racing is on the nose but not because of political interference – they blame it simply on poor policing. Watching odds-on favourites that looked like good things get slaughtered is commonplace.

There are so many form reversal and double priced winners every week, that in our LGHR LATE MAIL we warn clients: ‘BETTING ON SA RACING IS A WEALTH HAZARD’.

For those who like to follow the form in the major centres, punting on Sydney racing is an absolute nightmare, largely because top jockeys have a habit of riding like raw apprentices on some heavily-backed favourites and it is impossible to assess the chances of Chris Waller runners when his stable has multiple runners.

In Queensland, if Kim Kelly walks out the door, it will be a ‘back to the bad old days’ scenario. He already faces an uphill task with a team of second-rate stewards, especially some in the country headed by a Chairman in the Far North who isn’t fit to run a race meeting in Afghanistan.

Major concerns that stakeholders and punters have about racing in the Sunshine State at present rests with swabbing and how some horses have grown a leg in recent times. Enough said on that issue.

Over at Albion Park – where according to the Racing Minister the ‘red hots’ have a bright future (he has to be dreaming) – the powerful Grant Dixon stable is under fire from rival trainers, the racing public and the punters, for allegedly having too much start.

It pays to train for a big owner with political influence like Kevin Seymour – but not a good look when they are associated with the best pacer in the world, Leap To Fame.      

  

GRACE GRACE TAKES HATCHET TO RACING REVIEW AND ITS CHAIRMAN MATT McGRATH - GOD HELP US IF HE'S ON RQ BOARD

AFTER a year in hibernation since Labor lost Government in Queensland, former Racing Minister Grace Grace has finally emerged from under her Eagle Farm rock and taken a hatchet to the Racing Review instituted by the LNP and its Chairman Matt McGrath.

Speaking at the last session of State Parliament for the year, Ms Grace described the Review recommendations as ‘so lack lustre and such a waste of money that it is not even worth the paper it is written on.

‘All the things that we did were absolutely fantastic. This is nothing more than tinkering around the edges. It is a Review that was done by someone who left a mess in New South Wales and wants to bring it up here to Queensland.’

Ms Grace told Parliament of the delayed release of the Review recommendations:

‘Well, it finally arrived following an embarrassing two-month delay after the Racing Minister was sent to the sin-bin regarding possible changes to the Point Of Consumption Tax. Of the 110 recommendations made in the McGrath Review into the Queensland racing industry, the State Government has accepted 79, accepted 26 in principle and rejected five.”

The former Racing Minister claimed the previous Labor Government in 2015 inherited a racing industry plagued with integrity issues, governance and debt, with financial year 2016 being the sixth straight year of losses for Racing Queensland.

“We implemented the MacSporran recommendations and turned around the Queensland racing industry to be worth more than double the $1.2 billion in financial year 2016 to $2.5 billion, employing 14,500 full-time jobs—an extraordinary effort and a pleasing result.

“Since 2017, prize money and annual club payments have risen from $165 million to $370 million—more than double. The infrastructure spend both in the regions and in SEQ has amounted to well over $400 million including at The Q, the world’s best greyhound racing complex, the Gold Coast Turf Club, the Ipswich Turf Club and the Townsville Turf Club, and millions in upgrades to country-rural racing clubs right throughout Queensland. We are the only state that returns 80 per cent of the POCT to the industry—leading the nation.

“Any suggestion by the Government and this incompetent Minister that the Queensland racing industry was neglected is absolute nonsense. I challenge the Minister to find any stakeholder—just one—in the racing industry who agrees with him and who does not find such statements simply laughable.

Finally we get the recommendations of the lacklustre review after 12 months of inertia only to discover that things are operating pretty well here in Queensland and we did not need someone from New South Wales to tell us what to do.”

 

 

STORY THE MURDOCH MEDIA COVERED UP & STOPPED A  JOURNALIST FROM WRITING BUT THANKFULLY ABC INVESTIGATIONS INTERVENED 

By WALKLEY AWARD winning ABC journalist FROM The 7.30 REPORT, GRACE TOBIN, who showed 'ethics' are still alive in Australian journalistm.

MEMBERS of Queensland's richest horse racing club are demanding answers after they discovered its former Chairman struck a lucrative deal with the developer of its luxury residential precinct while he had oversight of the $850 million project.

The Brisbane Racing Club's recently retired chair, Neville Bell, has been receiving more than $50,000 a year in rental income from property giant Mirvac for use of his trackside apartment as its display suite.

The revelation emerged at a recent Annual General Meeting with one member claiming it was a "conflict of interest", while another asked the Board if the Club had "foregone regular income for the benefit of the former Board member".

There is no suggestion (by the ABC) that Mr Bell has broken any law which LGHR reiterates in republishing this story which we believe is of public interest, especially to the racing industry and its stakeholders.

Mr Bell told the ABC that he only ever acted in the best interests of the club and its members "in compliance with all relevant laws".

The Brisbane Racing Club (BRC) said it had "followed all corporate requirements in relation to its governance responsibilities … at all times".

The historic race club is also facing a backlash over ongoing integrity and transparency issues, and ABC Investigations has learned that complaints about alleged governance failures and misconduct at the BRC have been raised with Racing Queensland, the Minister for Racing and the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

It comes as the Crisafulli Government announced a major commitment of public funding towards replacing the Club's ageing grandstand, estimated to cost at least $100 million.