Mr Bentley will move to increase the size of the Board which will ensure a seat for both regardless of the outcome of the election process which has already begun.

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THERE are also reports emanating from Queensland Racing headquarters that the involvement of 'The Sherriff' John Schreck with the stewards' panel in the north will soon come to an end.

'The Sherriff's' expertise was brought in to build 'boys into men' on the newlook panel with the appointment of youthful chairman, Wade Birch, generally well accepted now by the industry and the racing media in Queensland.

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ARE there two sets of licensing rules relating to the refusal to allow under 18-year-olds onto race tracks in the Sunshine State? That’s the question being posed in North Queensland.

It follows the big Gold Coast City Cup meeting last Saturday when the Sky race-caller, Steve Hawkins (also a director of the club) told his audience of the great day at the track being enjoyed by thousands of families.

At the recent Cairns Cup meeting teenagers and even younger children were either refused entry or ordered off the track under the ‘supposed’ new licensing rules. This prompted racing enthusiasts in the north to question why the same situation did not exist at the Gold Coast.

There is a suggestion that the Gold Coast spent ‘big money’ installing surveillance cameras as part of a major blitz on alcohol-related problems at the track. Perhaps this earnt the club some dispensation under the new licensing rules.

The industry is calling for clarification from the Minister Peter Lawlor, who is responsible for Racing, Liquor Licensing and Tourism. He is also a former Director of the Gold Coast Turf Club,which gives him a finger in plenty of pies..

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THOSE who attended the recent Queensland Racing Awards are still talking about a heated fracas when a few too many had been partaken by a couple of industry participants. The debate apparently involved high profile officials of two major clubs.

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PLENTY of talk about an impressive Sunshine Coast winner from last Sunday with a part-owner feeling ‘a little left out of proceedings.’ Interesting situation as the horse was a ‘street corner tip’ on the Saturday but got out to better than expected odds on race day. Interesting parties are involved in the ownership.

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WOULD someone please tell the operators of the Queensland Racing web-site that they no longer race at Ayr in North Queensland and haven’t done so for many years?

The web-site carries the Ayr Acceptances for a meeting today (Thursday). Unfortunately it is for racing at Ayr in the United Kingdom. Surely the Ayrshire Post Every Wednesday Maiden should have given it away. As they say pay peanuts and you know what you get.

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STRONG stories doing the rounds in political circles that Opposition Racing Spokesman, Ray Stevens, has been ‘kicked into gear by his Party’  following criticism in State Parliament of the selection process that looks certain to see former Toowoomba Turf Club chairman, Neville Stewart, appointed to the Queensland Racing Board. Stevens is now confiding in colleagues that Stewart would make a great addition to the Board. Now how's that for a Peter Beattie-style backflip?

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THE Toowoomba Turf Club certainly won't be criticising its former chairman who almost single-handedly saved the club from having to run a reduced six-race twilight card at Clifford Park last weekend.

There were only five starters in the QTIS Three-Year-Old C2 race and Mr Stewart owned or had a share in four of them. His runners, all from the Mark Webb stable, ran first, third, fourth and fifth. There were probably insufficient runners for the QTIS bonus money to be paid but without the Stewart runners the race would have been abandoned.

The controversial new Cushion Track has proved quite a success story for Stewart on and off the track. He had an interest in the ownership of the last three winners last weekend and all were heavily backed favorites.