OF all the racing States in Australia, for some unknown reason QUEENSLAND is the hot-bed of rumor mongering and racetrack gossip – perhaps it’s the warmer climate. So we have decided to air some of these ‘stories’ and ‘e-mails’ that we receive in a weekly 'BELIEVE IT OR NOT' column.

The best news tip we received this week was that former top lady jockey, Lacey Morrison, would soon join the staff of Queensland Racing. There are reports of sleepless nights for trainers who ‘milked’ the CHAPS scheme. We had e-mails about the Sunshine Coast Turf Club elections, concerns over the dumping of a Punters’ Club host and bouquets for champion jockey Robert Thompson from the folk of Cloncurry.

FORMER TOP LADY JOCKEY EMPLOYED BY QUEENSLAND RACING

THE mail is strong that Lacey Morrison, the former top female jockey forced into retirement because of serious injuries suffered in a race fall, has been employed by Queensland Racing.

Morrison would prove a great mentor for young jockeys – male or female – but it seems more likely that she will become a member of the ‘youthful’ stewards’ team in the north.

One of the best lady riders produced in Queensland, Morrison rode a stack of winners but was forced out of the saddle for 10 months after a terrible race fall on Ipswich Cup day last year.

She spent 10 months recuperating after suffering bruising to the brain, swelling in the spinal column and even had to learn to walk properly again.

Morrison made it back to the saddle only to suffer another fall and decided enough was enough. She would prove a valuable asset to the stewards or apprentice training ranks at Queensland Racing.

SOME ‘CHAPS’ BIT OFF MORE THAN THEY COULD CHEW

TRAINERS who ‘milked’ the Federal Government CHAPS assistance program during the Equine Influenza outbreak may have bit off more than they could chew.

There are allegations that some trainers illegally claimed for many more horses than they had in work and scored a ‘temporary’ windfall from the Commercial Horse Assistance Payment Scheme.

But that action has come back to haunt them. One Brisbane trainer has already fronted court and been given a suspended sentence. The word is strong that many more are under investigation and some could face serious charges.

The Scheme provided a per-horse, per-day payment to trainers to provide for the welfare and on-going care of racehorses during the EI outbreak and until racing was resumed. The payments were credited to the Stakes Payments Accounts of trainers, who, in turn, were required to credit 70 per cent of the amount received to owners’ bills.

Claimants for assistance were required to provide evidence of Stable Returns or other suitable documentation detailing horses under their care which were in work.

It would seem however that some trainers saw the opportunity to land a windfall from CHAPS and took the risk of inventing more horses than they actually had in work. That is about to come back to haunt them with some now encountering sleepless nights.

One trainer, who you would probably describe as a battler, sent us this e-mail: “There was a trainer in Brisbane telling anyone prepared to listen that he hoped the problem continued for months because he was making more money when there was no racing that when there was. I hope he is one of the first that they catch.”

FROM CLONCURRY TO THE NEWCASTLE CAMERON IN FIVE DAYS

FIVE days after riding for the first time at Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, champion jockey Robert Thompson won the Cameron Handicap at Newcastle on Absolutelyfabulous.

It prompted an e-mail from Andrew Saunders, which summed up the situation perfectly:

“What a remarkable rider Robert Thompson is! He rode at Cloncurry in north-west Queensland last Saturday then comes out five days later and wins a big race in New South Wales. He mixed with the locals in Cloncurry like he was an old North West boy.”

Australia’s most successful jockey with more than 3,000 career winners, Thompson had ridden previously in Mount Isa and McKinlay in country Queensland. He doesn’t care where he goes as long as he rides a winner.

DID GEEVES PAY THE PRICE FOR HIS 'SERVICES' TO QUEENSLAND RACING?

ALL sorts of stories are doing the rounds about a coup at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club which saw Les Geeves replaced as chairman and top trainer Mick Mair dumped from the Board.

We received several e-mails concerning the annual meeting with the general theme a suggestion that Geeves was seen to be too close to Builder Bob Bentley and his sidekick, Tony the Tosser, who is a regular at the Sunshine Coast races.

Don Jackson, who got the ‘nod’ to take over from ‘Likeable Les’ in the chairman’s chair, has a terrific marketing background and appears the be a popular replacement. He and Geeves are long-time friends and one would imagine will have no trouble working together.

It was interesting to note however that a former Bentley confidante in Darcy Tyrrell, once a high profile executive at Queensland Racing, displaced Mick Mair from the Board. Tyrrell certainly knows the industry and would no doubt still have a hot line to the right man at the top.

E-mails received also criticized a report of the annual general meeting that was run in the local rag, the Sunshine Coast Daily. All we can say if you have a problem take it up with them.

Those complaints surrounded Geeves being credited by the newspaper with forming the inaugural committee of the SCTC. The suggestion is that the former national rugby league selector may have been on the committee since day one but Cam Boyle was inaugural chairman and that the late Des Scanlan also played a key role.

Geeves told the Sunshine Coast Daily: “I’m the only one left from the original board from 1982 and I’ve had 13 wonderful years as chairman. I’ve worked very hard over the last few years and spent a lot of time on it. Now I’m going to let someone who is a bit younger than me do the hard work and I can sit back and relax.”

Mair, who once told the media ‘I came to Caloundra with nothing and I’ve trebled it since I’ve been here’, ends a 10-year association on the Board. He was rewarded with life membership of the club.

RAIL-ROADED FOR DISAGREEING – THAT WOULDN’T HAPPEN IN QLD!

THIS website has received several concerning e-mails in the past few weeks alleging that Stephen Hewlett, popular host of TAB Racing Radio in Queensland, has lost his job running a Punters’ Club allegedly because he was opposed to the Eagle Farm – Doomben merger.

We find that hard to believe, especially with some of those now involved at the highest level of the merged club. If these suggestions are incorrect we would be happy to publish the official side of the story (simply e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

However, if the claims are right what a disgraceful way to reward Hewlett, who put his money where his mouth was, investing his earnings for the day in the Punters’ Club that he ran for so long with a good deal of success.

The mail box suggests race-goers, what few there are left at run-of-the-mill Brisbane Saturday meetings, want the Hewlett-style Punters’ Club resurrected. They say the service now offered is second rate – not to mention the lack of winners compared to when ‘their boy’ was doing the job.

IT’S NOT BIRDSVILLE BUT BETOOTA IS PROUD OF ITS CUP

SPORTS Illustrated once ran a story on a bush race meeting in the Australian outback where the population swelled for 13 to more than 300 on one day of the year.

The focus of their attention was Beetoota, population too small to register, where the annual Cup meeting will be held this Saturday as part of the Simpson Desert Carnival.

Beetoota is an old Cobb and Co coach town in the Diamantina Shire with only one building, a pub that was closed in 1997. But it still has a racetrack and – believe it or not – toilets and a shower that actually work.

Race-goers have to bring their own accommodation or camp under the stars, but according to outback tourism promoters, they will never experience a better time.

The Diamantina Shire, which borders South Australia and the Northern Territory and includes the Simpson Desert National Park, is an outback tourism success story. It has become the ‘in’ destination for travelers after one of the best autumn rain seasons in years.