Bailey is keen to discuss with industry stakeholders the prospects of a lock-down of runners in retention barns in the 24 hours leading up to the Melbourne Cup – a suggestion that will no doubt provoke a mixed reaction from some leading trainers.
This interesting story was broken in today’s Herald Sun in Melbourne by leading Victorian racing writer, Adrian Dunn. We re-produce it courtesy of News Limited:HORSES may be locked down in retention barns 24 hours before the Melbourne Cup.
Based on a Canadian system, the lockdown enables easier veterinary inspection of horses and surveillance for doping.
Racing Victoria chief steward Terry Bailey reported the merits of the barns after seeing them in Canada during his recent fact-finding trip.
Bailey promises to debate the holding area with trainers.
Horses in Canada's feature races are brought into a stable block 24 hours before a race.
A retention barn in Geelong was used for harness racing's Melbourne Inter Dominion last year, but it brought howls of protest from trainers. The lockdown was scrapped for this year's Inter Dominion at the Gold Coast.
Bailey said the problem stemmed from the facilities not being up to scratch.
"If we got the major players - Lee Freedman, David Hayes, Mick Price - from the outset, I think it would work," Bailey said.
"The main angst from the harness trainers came from the standard of the facilities. I think if it's done properly we wouldn't have that angst.
"Trainers will support it if they can go into a Melbourne Cup with 100 per cent surety."
Bailey said a retention barn would have multiple benefits from a Melbourne Cup perspective.
He acknowledged there would be a need for a block of 24 purpose-built stables at Flemington, but by having the horses there, it would not interfere with them being worked, if need be, on Cup morning.
"I think it could have two or three benefits say for a Melbourne Cup," Bailey said.
"We could get four or five vets to trot up all the horses and there would be surveillance of all horses."
Bailey said every runner on Hong Kong international day was vetted before it ran.
"They would come in the day before, they would all get vetted. (Now) we basically vet horses in the Melbourne Cup on feedback and the grapevine.
"The imports say, 'We are under the microscope at Sandown. Through the press everything is known about us. What about the locals?'
"It could be a process that balances the scales."
Bailey said stewards in Canada increased the use of the retention barn for trainers whose record in drug convictions was poor.
He said even if a trainer with a poor record had only one horse at the meeting, he would be required to take the horse to the retention barn.
"They don't believe they are singling people out because their record has earned them the right to be there," Bailey said.
"If a trainer has a poor record, he could be asked to bring a horse in for any race, but normally it is used for their feature meetings and that could be one, two or three races."
Bailey said despite the controversial Cup-morning scratching of Hayes' Irish import Changingoftheguard being raised with the RVL integrity department, he could not see too many changes, if any, being made to the veterinary inspection process.
"At the end of the day, the vets are the ones who are qualified and they make the call," Bailey said.
STORY COURTESY OF THE MELBOURNE HERALD SUN
