THIS website continues to listen to what our readers have to say and has introduced a ‘Wednesday Whinge’ where you can express your feelings on racing industry issues of the past week. Try to keep them objective. Just e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
THE focus of our new theme – THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY side of what has happened in racing over the past week continues in the new-look Wednesday Whinge which feedback suggests has been well received by our readers. It gives us an opportunity to provide some of the racing news that is now harder to access or simply isn’t run in the mainstream media because of space restrictions. That doesn’t mean we are steering clear of allowing our readers their weekly whinge on racing topics. This week the key topics of discussion are NSW plans to try and upstage the Victorian spring carnival; why a beach race day at Mackay can attract so many people but real race days cannot and a host of other features. We also continue our ‘News That You Might Have Missed During the Week’ section which has proved popular with readers.
AMBITIOUS SYDNEY PLANS TO USURP THE MELBOURNE SPRING ‘SOMEWHAT DELUSIONAL' 
IT would seem that most who read the grandiose plans of Racing NSW officials to upstage the Melbourne Cup Carnival regard them as pie-in-the-sky and – as Matt Stewart described in the Herald Sun – somewhat delusional.
Granted the hostile responses that we received were largely from readers in Victoria but in the media leading turf writers were engaged in a State of Origin style war of words on the merits of the proposal.
HERE is an example which hopefully sums up in general terms what our readers had to say about the plans for the Sydney autumn to usurp the Melbourne spring:
KB of MELBOURNE wrote:
‘JOHN Messara, Peter V’Landys and company should concentrate on lifting Sydney racing out of the doldrums on a weekly basis before they get too carried away with trying to upstage the Melbourne Cup carnival.
These blokes must live in fairyland if they believe there is a hope of conducting a carnival to rival Melbourne in the spring. They are simply dreaming or as one of our newspaper scribes described them - delusional.
Whilst no-one should criticize anyone for trying to boost the lagging image of racing in NSW and in particular Sydney – it certainly needs plenty of work – they should start at the bottom and work up instead of trying to compete at the top.
Get your house in order on a regular Saturday – with fields that are at least competitive and not dominated by a couple of stables – then you might be ready to start looking at something more ambitious.
They have tried just about everything with the Sydney carnival to make it competitive – without success I might add – and to suggest they can overnight snatch the major annual spotlight from the Melbourne Cup is simply pie-in-the-sky dream-time stuff.
And to make more of a joke of this overly ambitious project even Peter V’Landys – the official who would normally talk under-water with a mouth full of marbles – was blaming confidentiality agreements for his silence. What’s the big secret?’
EDITOR’S NOTE: THE Melbourne Cup carnival will always be No 1 with the racing and punting public but for those who missed it here are the ambitious plans as outlined by RAY THOMAS in the SYDNEY TELEGRAPH and below that the response from MATT STEWART, a parochial fan of Victorian racing whose dislike for NSW is well documented:
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH report: 
A $6 million race featuring some of the world’s best gallopers, a condensed week of Group 1 racing and a carnival atmosphere to rival any feature meeting in the world.
This isn’t Melbourne in spring – it’s Sydney in autumn from next year.
The new-look Sydney autumn carnival will drive NSW to regain its premier race status and pour millions into the state’s economy.
Although racing officials are remaining tight-lipped about the 2014 autumn carnival proposals,The Daily Telegraph has learned:
• A 2000m weight-for-age race at Royal Randwick, likely to be called the Sydney International Champions Cup, will carry record stakes of nearly $6 million;
• AS many as 12 Group 1 races will be decided over successive Saturdays at Royal Randwick next April with total prizemoney of around $15 million;
• CANTERBURY is to be upgraded to become a training and stabling facility for visiting international gallopers;
• THE NSW Government has become a financial backer of the revamped autumn carnival which is now an integral part of Destination NSW’s tourism promotions; and
• SUBSTANTIVE minimum race prizemoney increases will also be introduced for country and provincial racing.
Sydney racing officials are hoping to emulate the success of Melbourne’s spring carnival which over the last 20 years has attracted worldwide interest with the annual invasion of northern hemisphere-trained stayers for the Melbourne Cup.
With Royal Randwick’s spectacular $170 million grandstand now complete, the so-called Australian Breeders Cup series over two “super” Saturdays is now set to become reality.
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a Group 1 weight-for-age race run over 2000m, is set to be renamed the Sydney International Champions Cup, given a massive prizemoney injection and become the main race of the Sydney autumn carnival.
There is speculation the race could be worth as much as $6 million, eclipsing the Golden Slipper ($3.5 million) as Sydney’s most valuable race and rivalling the Melbourne Cup as the nation’s richest horse race.
Racing NSW and Australian Turf Club are planning to stage up to 12 Group 1 races over the two Saturdays at Randwick with total prizemoney reaching $15 million.
Canterbury will be the quarantine training and stabling facility for any international who are sent to Sydney for autumn.
It is significant the ATC has not scheduled any race meetings at Canterbury for March and April next year in anticipation that overseas-trained gallopers will be competing in Sydney during the autumn carnival.
The timing of Sydney’s autumn carnival is not ideal for European-trained horses as their feature race season is only just beginning but the rich prizemoney down under will be difficult to resist. The carnival is well-placed to attract the best gallopers from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
However, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys refused to discuss any of the autumn carnival proposals last night.
“I’m under a confidentiality regime and I won’t be making any comment,” V’landys said.
AND the MATT STEWART response in the HERALD SUN which has promoted rave reviews from the Victorians: 
EVERYTHING – history, geography, seasons out of whack – says the mooted $6 million Champions Cup idea for Randwick next autumn is delusional.
The plan was raised again yesterday as part of what would be a new-look Sydney carnival that could include 12 Group 1 races.
But it’s been tried down here before and failed.
Moonee Valley, its expectations too high, is still trying to lure overseas stars and failing.
They tried to go international with the Tancred Stakes (now The BMW) in Sydney 30 years ago and it lasted two or three years then collapsed.
“They still see us as an outpost, no matter how much money we put on,” top trainer Peter Moody said. “They tend to race in their own bubble over there (Europe).”
No time of year is a good time of year, no bucket of money full enough, for weight-for-age Europeans and Americans to travel here.
There’s plenty of international fodder to feed the Melbourne Cup because the Cup is a handicap.
There is no established roundabout of races in the northern hemisphere for handicappers.
A trip Down Under, with a $125,000 refund for any horse that finishes top 10, in a race worth $6 million, is enough to fill the hulls of 747s. But the world’s champion horses exist in a different orbit.
Melbourne Racing Club suggested last year it might lure Frankel and people fell about laughing.
For these premium horses, Melbourne in spring is as uninviting as Sydney in autumn; wrong ends of the long-established northern hemisphere summer and so far-flung we may as well be Jupiter.
For Coolmore, Darley and the other handful of dominant international stables, an easy October hop across the Atlantic for the Breeders’ Cup is more palatable, and more prestigious, than a trip to Randwick or Moonee Valley.
Even the Dubai World Cup carnival, closer and richer than Melbourne or Sydney, and run during our autumn, is in the too-hard, too-early basket for many top European stables.
A regional approach, a focus on Asia, makes more sense; link the Cox Plate and Emirates Stakes to the three big Hong Kong races a month or so later with a $1 million bonus.
Create a regional champions’ circuit.
We might be an outpost, as Moody says, but the racing world is shrinking.
The Poms race for a pittance while we race for millions. There is surely a limit to prestige if some joint far away is offering pots of gold.
John Messara is our most successful and influential breeder.
No one can sell Australian racing like the Arrowfield boss, who has the respect, and ear, of organisations such as Coolmore and Darley, which race the champion horses Randwick is trying to lure.
Maybe over a long lunch at some cosy London pub, someone such as Messara might ram home a few realities and convince these mobs to finally think outside the bubble.
TIME OFFICIALS LOOKED OUTSIDE THE SQUARE TO PROMOTE RACING IN QUEENSLAND? 
WHEN 10,000 turn out for a race day on the beach at Mackay and an anticipated 7,000 will be at Deagon for the picnic meeting next month perhaps it is time officialdom started looking outside the square when it comes to attracting crowds.
Let’s face it there are so many competing distractions on Saturdays – rival sports, mums and dads under pressure to take kids elsewhere, not to mention the movies or the beach – and that’s before we address the problem of having to pay for the right to go to the track to lose your money.
The problem confronting club officials was highlighted in Mackay in the past week. There were fewer than 80 paying customers at Ooralea for the TAB meeting – the real thing – yet 10,000 converged on Mackay Harbor for the annual Beach Race Day.
The racing industry should be asking why? It defies the logic that Sunday is not a suitable day for Cup racing in North Queensland. It also proves that to ‘sell’ the product these days you need more than the racing – which to the traditionalists is a crying shame.
The Beach Day at Mackay – whether it attracted a crowd of 5,000 as some are arguing or was as high as 10,000 – was a roaring success because if had something for everyone – from the kids to the oldies.
Whilst all breeds of horses raced down a sandy beach for a purse there was no betting. The support attractions included Fashion on the Sand (glamorous dresses, crazy hats and even bikinis were the order of the day).
There was a Kids Kingdom with a band (Zooboyz) providing non-stop entertainment. For the older patrons there was plenty to eat and drink (15 pallets in fact) – none of the problems that race clubs are encountering with under 18s prohibited from attending Cup and feature days because of Liquor Licensing laws.
There were corporate areas, live bands, a mechanical horse, plenty of beach-side entertainment. Some will argue this is growing to as big a success story – thanks to organizer Mick Pope and his committee – as the Cairns Amateurs and Birdsville.
There were plenty of celebrities in attendance including dual Melbourne Cup winning jockey Damien Oliver, Malcolm Johnston, Allan Langer, Graham Eadie and SKY’s Greg Radley.
“It's hard to get away sometimes with the racing calendar,” Oliver said. “But I've had a bit of spare time on my hands recently, so I thought it was an opportunity to come up ... and to get a bit of nice weather before I get back to the serious stuff in Melbourne.”
The Festival – that’s what it is – has grown beyond the wildest dreams of the organizers. It kicked off last Thursday night with a call of the card event with celebrities including Rhonda Burchmore, who is the race day ambassador, and rugby league legend ‘Alfie’ Langer.
A charity golf day was held on Friday and a seafood and wine day on Friday at the Mackay Marina.
HERE’S what a couple of our readers had to say about the Mackay Beach Festival:
SW of MACKAY sent this e-mail: 
‘PERHAPS the new hierarchy at Racing Queensland should have sent some of their overpaid and under-productive marketing gurus to Mackay for the Beach Festival. They might have learned something.
Outside of the carnival the only time we see a half decent crowd at the races in Brisbane is for the Exhibition meeting when every feral under the sun forces those who want to be there for the sport to stay away.
Ferguson and his crew brag about what a wonderful day it is and how it is bringing young people back to the races. It’s just an excuse for them to get sloshed. They couldn’t care less about the racing. And as for the crowd figure from last Wednesday well the counters must have been seeing double.
Mackay is a true family day and hopefully so will the picnic day planned for Deagon even if the locals are looking at it more like a fete than a race meeting. What either of these events do for the overall financial standing or future of racing in Queensland remains a mystery but at least they show that with the proper promotion you can get a good crowd to go to watch horses race.
I am told on Ekka Wednesday that the jockeys almost refused to ride early in the day – something to do with the band or the music continuing to be played while the race was being run. These blokes at the BRC have to decide whether they want to run a race meeting or a rock concert. Then there is the story that some moron in the crowd was letting off fire-crackers and sending the horses troppo.
It would seem to me that places like Cairns (for their Amateurs), Birdsville (for their Cup meeting), Mackay (for the Beach Racing Festival) and Gold Coast (for the Magic Millions) survive quite nicely without wasted money being poured into a ‘werunasone’ campaign.
There’s a simple solution for Racing Queensland – sack your marketing staff, consult with people like Mick Pope in Mackay who know how to attract crowds and perhaps the industry will live to fight another day.’
AND this one from CJ of TOWNSVILLE:
‘THE Beach Race Day has highlighted the ineptness of the Mackay Turf Club. Not only did they dispense with the services of organizer Mick Pope at Ooralea but officials have rejected offers to make a race day part of the Festival.
That’s how stubborn – I steered clear of using the description dumb – some of these officials are when it comes to promoting an industry that struggles to attract crowds most race days of the year.
It’s not a problem unique to Mackay either. People just don’t go to the races in big numbers any more. They set aside Cup day or one of the major meetings of the year and that’s about it.
That has been blamed by officials on the TAB, Sky Channel and TVN where you can stay in the comfort of your home and watch the racing action live or go to your local pub of club.
But it’s hard to justify that argument when crowds in excess of 5,000 turn out for a Race Day on the Beach at Mackay. They enjoy the best of both worlds – a nice day with the kids at the beach and can watch the horses as well (even if it isn’t the real thing).’
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think CJ of Mackay is being a bit harsh on the marketing ‘experts’ at RQ. Everyone knows their think tank has been exhausted of ideas getting the spectacular ‘let’s all pull together’ campaign off the ground. Now they have to focus on ensuring the success of the big day at their boutique training establishment at Deagon. Perhaps someone can explain how the honorary promoters of a picnic event can attract an anticipated crowd of more than 7,000 when highly paid officials struggle to attract a couple of thousand to a regular Saturday race meeting in Brisbane. Perhaps they are spending too much time worrying about how to run racing in Queensland rather than their own backyard.
TIME FOR RACING AUTHORITIES TO PUT RULES IN PLACE FOR LICENSEES USING TWITTER? 
DS of SYDNEY sent this e-mail:
‘WHEN are racing authorities and stewards going to ban licensees from using Twitter to vent their spleen over issues that damage the image of the industry?
No-one wants to stop people from engaging in Twitter activity but rules have to be laid down to prevent some of the incidents that continue to occur – like the latest verbal dialogue – perhaps diarrohea would be a better term – between Daniel Ganderton and Peter Robl.
There were heated words exchanged via Twitter before involving Blake Shinn. I think that might have involved his former girlfriend Kathy O’Hara. Lee Freedman was in strife with stewards over comments he made about a horse being scratched at the barrier.
I am not against Freedom of Speech – that is why I use your forum on occasions to get a point I believe is important across – but there needs to be some guidelines. We just can’t have no-holds-barred verbal attacks between licensees or unsubstantiated criticism of officials who don’t seem to have the right of reply.
It’s time officials or stewards stepped in and did something to control or overcome this situation which is getting out of hand.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: When critics recently used Twitter to attack the rides of a couple of jockeys at a Melbourne Saturday meeting I can recall Chief Steward Terry Bailey being asked for a reaction on the Correct Weight show on RSN the following morning. ‘Twitter is something I don’t rate,” Bailey replied. “If we were to worry about every time someone talked through their pocket on Twitter we would go mad.” It’s not a bad point but when it comes to licensees engaging in verbal attacks then stewards have no choice but to get involved.
HERE is the story involving the latest incident by CHRISTIAN NICOLUSSI in the DAILY TELEGRAPH:
STEWARDS will investigate a Twitter exchange between Peter Robl and former Sydney hoop Daniel Ganderton, which kept their followers entertained for a couple of hours early (on Sunday).
Ganderton, who now rides in Perth, took aim at fellow jockey Blake Shinn and his efforts as a guest presenter on TVN Saturday.
In one post, Ganderton wrote: “Would rather shoot myself in the eye with a nail gun than listen to his drivel ! Apparently Australia agrees”
Shinn’s good mate Robl then went on the offensive, telling Ganderton what he thought, starting with an 8.57am post: “They labelled you the next B Shinn until you cracked under the pressure and turned to the drink #haterwillalwayshate”
Ganderton hit back: “Called the next B shinn ! Really no wonder I took up drinking ! That would be torture! Pressure ?? What pressure ?”
The pair continued to trade barbs for most of the morning.
Chief steward Ray Murrihy said he would look into the matter, and decide if they had crossed the line and brought racing into disrepute.
Murrihy said stewards were currently investigating another matter involving another jockey sending messages on Facebook.
“Forums that public have access to, jockeys are better off keeping out, ” Murrihy said.
“We’re already investigating another jockey acting inappropriately on social media.”
The Hong Kong Jockey Club was believed to have come down hard on their jockeys towards the back end of their racing season after several jockeys took pot shots on Twitter.
Interestngly, while Murrihy would love to see jockeys spend less time on social media, Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland encouraged Aussie players to embrace it and continue to engage fans.
Sutherland was at the time responding to a question about the use of Twitter after David Warner’s late-night attack on two respected journalists.
Ganderton was never far away from the headlines while riding in Sydney. Robl is Shinn’s closest mate in the jockey’s room and pulls no punches.
“There comes a time in life when you have to stop blaming all others for your own inabilities and realise it’s not everyone else’s fault!!” Robl wrote about Ganderton.
Robl tweeted again: “Mate it takes a strong person to criticise someone they are jealous of on social media. Yet when in the same room don’t say boo!!!”
Ganderton wrote in another post wrote: “You may need to go easy on the coffee today only 25 cups instead of 30 your a bit on edge.”
Ganderton finished the exchange by telling Robl “… It’s all about what you want out of life ! Me I’m still unsure.”
BITS & PIECES FROM THE MAIL BAG
PUNTERS WITH A ‘CRYSTAL BALL’ CLEANING UP ON QUEENSLAND RACING IN SINGAPORE 
WE continually receive e-mails urging stewards in Brisbane to take a closer look at what horses are being backed or laid on the Singapore Betting Exchange.
Our mail is strong that Queensland racing is attracting even more interest than Sydney or Melbourne which is interesting considering the turnover figures in Australia.
Unfortunately we cannot run the information that we are receiving for legal reasons. Certain trainers and stables are being named and we would be risking legal action by publishing the same without proof of the allegations that are made in the e-mails we are receiving.
All we can say is that one well-informed punter has contacted us twice recently – a half hour before races were run in Brisbane – and predicted exactly what would happen and the pattern of the races involved. On both occasions heavily backed favorites on the local betting scene have been laid for plenty in Singapore and been beaten while he has predicted the winner and told us how it would be ridden. (And before someone suggests we talk with the Integrity Commissioner about this, they have to be kidding).
Now either the punter in question has a crystal ball or there is some truth to the suggestions he is making about certain races in Brisbane. If we can hear about it surely the stewards must know what is going on as well. If not local punters are getting a bum deal.
BOUQUETS FOR MURRIHY PANEL IN SETTING THE LEAD ON FORCING MORE HORSES TO TRIAL 
WE received a couple of e-mails highlighting how the Racing NSW stewards’ panel of Ray Murrihy is breaking new ground in ordering more and more horses to trial after unsatisfactory performances at race meetings.
There were no less than five ordered back to the trials after Rosehill on Saturday and that included one of the winners, Photon Willie, from the leading stable of Chris Waller.
Those under the microscope of stewards included Champagne Cath, Studio and Photon Willie, all trained by Waller and the Gai Waterhouse duo of Whittington and Sugar Rush. Some will also require veterinary clearances before racing again.
Champagne Cath, the favorite in the first, pulled up sore and with a poor post race recovery; Sugar Rush was sore behind and short in its action; Studio was suffering cardiac arrhythmia; Whittington got its forelegs over the barriers and had to be scratched at the start before the San Domenico Stakes and Photo Willie shifted in abruptly near the finish (the second time in three runs) causing trouble to other runners.
Punters have praised the action of stewards believing that whilst it doesn’t get the money back of those who backed these horses at least steps are being taken to ensure they are protected when they start again.
IS IT TIME THAT RQ GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER IN THIS PRODUCT FEE CRACKDOWN?
TERRY Butts received this interesting response from a respected and well-informed racing identity on the Gold Coast after his column item in ‘Silks & Saddles’ this week relating to the product fee crackdown.
It read:
‘I always enjoy your column on the letsgohorseracing website.
The product fee crackdown is well overdue.
Unfortunately a few Queensland bookies are yet to gain approval from authorities in NSW and Victoria but that hasn't stopped them from fielding on their races and RQ won't lift a finger.
Dare I say, even the (country-based) bookie who fields on the rails at the Gold Coast races every Saturday hasn't sorted out the necessary approvals.
These guys are playing with fire as I understand it's a breach of the criminal code in both states.’
BOOKIES JUSTIFY REASONS FOR HAVING PUISSANCE DE LUNE FAVORITE FOR BIG RACES 
CORPORATE bookmakers have defended suggestions that they over-reacted to the win by Puissance De Lune at his Lawrence Stakes comeback at Caulfield last Saturday.
They agree that the quote of $6 about the French import for the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate is ‘unders’ but qualify that with the excuse that Puissance De Lune is already ‘a bad loser’ for them.
We repeat what has been said in many outlets since the win that much water has to flow under the bridge before the two big races, many stars have yet to return to the spring scene but it seems no-one is listening if you are to believe the support for him reported by corporate agencies.
HERE is a story on that situation by MICHAEL LYNCH in THE AGE:
DARREN Weir’s striking grey Puissance De Lune will have to go where no horse has gone before to triumph in the Melbourne Cup after winning the P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday, as no winner of the race – formerly the Liston Stakes – has gone on to win the Cup.
But it seems he will have to set another sort of benchmark to win the race that stops a nation.
According to bookmakers, no horse has been at a shorter price to win the Cup this far out, and never has one galloper had such a hold on the big race as the Irish-bred six-year-old.
Puissance De Lune is a $5 shot for the Cup with Centrebet and TAB Sportsbet, and a point longer with Sportsbet, who all say that since his impressive Caulfield triumph the son of Shamardal has come in for more support than ever.
”Our records can’t find a shorter-priced favourite for the Melbourne Cup in August. This time last year Mount Athos was the favourite at $17,” said Centrebet spokesman Michael Felgate.
”We opened Puissance De Lune a $19 favourite after his stunning win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at last year’s cup carnival and he has been the best backed by far. Puissance De Lune represents 43per cent of all bets on the Melbourne Cup, with more than 1300 bets written already.
”We don’t think he should be as short as $5 at this stage, but he is already a big loser for us and the punters are still happy to back him at the price, so we can’t push him out any further.”
Adam Hamilton, from TAB Sportsbet, said the grey was the shortest Cup favourite it has had in the 20-plus years it has been offering fixed odds.
”Around this time usually the short-priced candidates and favourites are at least $10,” he said. ”Around $100,000, about 40 per cent of what we are holding so far, is on Puissance De Lune. The other well-backed runner is Fiorente – he’s around $10 or $12.
”A fair bit of what we have taken on Puissance came in the week to 10 days before he ran in the Lawrence, so confidence has been strong.”
Sportsbet.com.au has the former French-trained galloper at $6, and is offering $21 against him landing the Cox Plate-Cup double.
”Jockey Glen Boss rates Puissance De Lune up there with three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva and Cox Plate winner So You Think,” said spokesman Ben Hawes. ”If this horse keeps winning he could be a very short price when the big majors come around.”
HAYES ASTONISHED BY SOCIAL MEDIA VITRIOL DIRECTED AT OLIVER 
PATRICK BARTLEY reported in THE AGE that leading trainer David Hayes said he was astonished at the vitriol directed towards disgraced jockey Damien Oliver via social media after his stable invited the rider to ride trackwork at his state-of-the-art complex in country Victoria.
Hayes, one of Australia’s most powerful horse trainers, announced that Oliver was riding trackwork at the new Lindsay Park racing stables in Euroa via the stable’s Twitter account and was dumbfounded by the immediate negative response.
Hayes described the feedback on Oliver, banned for eight months and suspended for two for placing a bet and due back to race riding next month, as ”most unpleasant”.
”From some quarters they were accusing Damien of being a cheat. I’ve got to say I was genuinely taken aback at the harsh criticism about the jockey,” Hayes said.
”My position is that he’s done his time. Whether his sentence was too light or too heavy, I don’t know, but it’s in the past and I think we’ve got to move on.
”Damien, if he’d like to, can come back to Euroa and ride work. I have no problem with that, I’m very much of the mindset to move forward. So I was disappointed with this harsh criticism about Oliver being at my place …”
It was revealed by Fairfax Media exclusively that the Melbourne Cup-winning jockey had placed a $10,000 bet on a horse in a race that he was riding in.
The decision to out Oliver for 10 months in total and that he was allowed to ride in last year’s Melbourne Cup divided many not only in racing but in sport.
SUSPENSION COULD COST WHITELEY MOUNT ON MORE MORE MORE AT CAIRNS AMATEURS
THE successful association of Gold Coast jockey Chris Whiteley and country Cups winner More More More has been placed in jeopardy following a stewards’ inquiry.
Whiteley, winner of the Townsville and Cairns Cups on the Mackay galloper, has been suspended for four weeks after an inquiry into his ride on Dahara Prize in the Mackay Newmarket last month.
Of concern to stewards was Whiteley’s apparent failure to take advantage of a run which appeared to become available shortly after the field straightened for home.
In response, Whiteley advised that he placed Dahara Prize under heavy pressure leaving the 550m but the hose did not improve and only held its ground.
The bookmaker starting price of Dahara Prize was $71 and a review of wagering on the event did not reveal any abnormality across the totes and corporate markets.
Whiteley was charged with failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to ensure that his horse was given full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible place in the field. He pleaded guilty to the charge as particularized.
In determining an appropriate penalty stewards considered Whiteley’s degree of culpability in relation to the offence and his guilty plea. Bearing in mind the circumstances of this particular race and the consequential effects of the breach, stewards believed the appropriate penalty to be a suspension of his license for four weeks to commence at midnight 24 August and expire at midnight 21 September.
This means Whiteley could miss riding More More More, the likely early favorite for the Cairns Amateur Cup on September 7.
DANN FINED $5,000 AFTER POSITIVE SWAB BY TEA TATTLE AT GATTON 
RACING Queensland stewards on Tuesday conducted an inquiry into a report from the analyst that the post-race urine sample taken from Tea Tattle after it raced at Gatton in June was found to contain Dexamethasone.
Evidence was taken from John Dann, the trainer of Tea Taattle, along with Dr E B Young, Manager, Veterinary Services RSC, and Dr Karen Caldwell, Senior Veterinary Officer RSC.
Dann was found guilty of a charge under AR178 for presenting Tea Tattle at Gatton on 10 June, for the purpose of engaging in a race, when a post-race urine sample taken from that gelding, upon analysis, was found to contain a prohibited substance.
Stewards considered his record in assessing a penalty of only $5,000 and disqualified the horse.
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN’T THROW STONES – PUT A SOCK IN IT RICHIE! 
ALBERT W of REDCLIFFE sent this e-mail:
‘I would like to go on record as saying that I thought the comments of Richard Callander on TVN concerning the Puissance De Lune team leading up to Saturday’s comeback win were pretty ordinary.
The way I read it Callander accused trainer Darren Weir, owner Gerry Ryan and form analyst Dean Lester of playing games which saw the price of Puissance De Lune drift to as much as $4 after he had opened around the $2 mark.
I think what Callander – who is known for his outspokenness and putting his foot is his mouth – suggested that there was plenty of 'theatre' played in the lead up to the grey’s return.
Weir did have concerns about the firmness of the track and openly warned that he was hoping Puissance De Lune – which had never won below a mile before – would be charging late. Ryan shared pretty much the same opinion.
In the case of Lester – one of the best judges in the land who is a consultant to Ryan and Weir on the program being set for the Melbourne Cup favorite – it should be said that he tipped the horse to win but stated the price at that stage (Saturday morning) lacked value. Bookies obviously agreed and eased it to $3.8 before some money arrived.
It was a cheap shot for Callander to suggest – or that is how I interpreted his comments – that the Puissance De Lune crew were fishing for a better price. People who live in glass houses big Rich shouldn’t throw stones.
When was the last time you criticized the trainer of your horses in Chris Waller when one of his second string runners – which had been backed – saluted while the stablemate and favorite got out in the market and performed accordingly. All we get from you is more verbal horse manure about what a wonderful trainer Waller is.
Show a bit of objectivity for a change. If you were half the judge that Dean Lester is – and tipped even a tenth of the winners that he does – you might enjoy the same reputation with punters and you might even be worth listening to when you shout down the TVN microphone to get your opinion across and talk over the top of everyone else.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: I heard the comments on RSN on Saturday morning by Dean Lester – the best tipster in the land – and also those of Darren Weir. I did not read an ounce of ‘theatre’ in what they said as big Richie suggested. Dean, in fact, tipped the horse with the rider that he felt the price was a shade short. The bookies agreed and eased it to attract punter interest. If they want to talk about ‘theatre’ what about the time that Lee Freedman threatened to scratch Makybe Diva from the Melbourne Cup if they didn’t water the track and then admitted at the presentation that he had no intention of doing so?
RQ COMMENDED ON VACCINE FOR HENDRA VIRUS BUT THERE IS A NEED FOR SUBSIDIZATION 
OP of BRISBANE wrote:
‘AS an owner of several horses I am hardly in the big league and I commend the availability of a vaccine to protest horses from the Hendra virus.
But I am most concerned about what it will cost me. I am already struggling to combat increasing costs and can ill-afford to have yet another impost thrust upon me.
There is a need for racing authorities to subsidize this vaccine or to do a deal of some sort so that owners are not too much worse off.
We all appreciate that these things cost money and the vital need to have a vaccine. But I would just like to urge those running racing to consider the plight of the owners as well – especially those who are battling to stay in the industry they love.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story by SARAH ELKS in THE AUSTRALIAN might interest all owners, especially those in the north:
DRUG giant Zoetis will slash the price of the breakthrough Hendra virus vaccine for all racehorses in the state under a deal struck with Racing Queensland.
But racing authorities in NSW are resisting a similar move, despite four horses and one dog perishing after contracting the virus in the past two months.
The bat-borne virus is transmitted to humans via horses and has killed four of its seven known human victims since 1992.
A vaccine to protect horses from Hendra hit the market last November but its take-up suffered from an initial wariness.
Now Racing Queensland is pushing to vaccinate the 12,500 thoroughbred and harness racehorses registered in the state.
The vaccination won’t be mandatory, though, as inoculated horses would be prevented from entering key racing markets such as Macau.
Horses require two initial shots — at $50 each — and a booster dose at six months. The drug manufacturer Zoetis has agreed to provide the first dose for free and a $3.50 rebate on the second until the end of next month.
Racing Queensland chairman Kevin Dixon said 30,000 Queenslanders worked in close proximity to racehorses and he wanted to protect those people, as well as horses, from the fatal virus.
He said the subsidy would help allay concerns about costs and combat continued misinformation about the drug.
However, a spokesman for Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said the state was “not in any rush” to follow suit. He said the threat of Hendra had not increased in three years and “biosecurity measures” were in place to keep bats away from horses.
AND here is a MEDIA RELEASE distributed from RQ concerning the virus vaccination:
RACING Queensland (RQ) has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement that Hong Kong will now accept race horses vaccinated for Hendra virus.
The decision follows today’s roll out of RQ’s Hendra virus vaccination program for all registered thoroughbred and harness racehorses throughout Queensland in a bid to reduce the risk of the deadly disease.
RQ Chairman Kevin Dixon said the Hong Kong decision removed one of the major roadblocks to making the crucial vaccination program mandatory.
“As I mentioned this morning, the more horses vaccinated against Hendra virus the better our chances are of protecting the health and safety of horses and people working in the racing industry,” Mr Dixon said.
“It was wonderful news to be told just this afternoon that the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have advised Australia they are lifting the import restrictions for horses vaccinated for Hendra virus. Hong Kong is one of Australia’s biggest importers of race horses.
“The decision will go a long way to helping RQ move towards implementing a mandatory vaccination program; however, we still need to continue to work through the remaining obstacles,” Mr Dixon said.
ALLEGATIONS PROFESSIONAL PUNTER USED POLICE TO RUN GAMBLING ACCOUNTS 
AND now to our new feature of news from AUSTRALIA and ABROAD during the past week that you may have missed and that we felt was worth reproducing:
RACING’S best investigative reporting team of NICK McKENZIE and RICHARD BAKER reported in the MELBOURNE AGE that:
ONE of Australia’s top professional punters, flamboyant Sydney identity Stephen Fletcher, is under investigation for using police to run secret gambling accounts and obtaining betting information suspected to have been leaked by Victorian and NSW jockeys or their associates.
Fairfax Media can reveal the NSW Police Integrity Commission is probing Mr Fletcher’s association with a small number of NSW detectives, including a homicide squad officer whose offices were recently raided by investigators. The PIC has also travelled to Victoria to conduct inquiries.
The police officer’s account with gambling agency Betfair has been seized by the PIC along with multiple betting accounts linked to Mr Fletcher, who bets on behalf of several wealthy, high-profile Australians.
The revelation of the inquiry by the PIC – which has the power to tap phones and hold public inquiries – will alarm several high-profile Sydney and Melbourne sporting, legal and business identities who associate with the multimillionaire Australian punter.
It will also cast a shadow again over the racing industry as it involves allegations of well-placed insiders trading in information not available to the general public. Fairfax Media has separately discovered that an associate of Mr Fletcher, Melbourne man Ben Joyner, has for several years spruiked his ability to obtain inside information from jockeys he associates with, and claimed that he had inside mail on horse More Joyous before the running of the now infamous All Aged Stakes.
The PIC inquiry is focusing on allegations that Mr Fletcher maintained an inappropriate relationship with members of the NSW police force which may have involved financial inducements. The NSW police force is responsible for investigating illegal betting and racing and sports corruption in that state. The PIC probe could also expose Mr Fletcher’s secretive betting operations and ties to prominent racing figures.
The PIC inquiry spans at least two states, with investigators having spoken to Victorian racing stewards along with other racing industry figures.
Mr Fletcher’s betting on the NRL, tennis, thoroughbred and greyhound racing has previously been investigated over allegations he received inside information or acted improperly, while NSW stewards have previously referred his activities to the police over suspicions Mr Fletcher has operated as the state’s biggest SP bookmaker.
The Betfair records seized by the PIC include an analysis of Mr Fletcher’s highly suspicious betting activity in relation to a top Melbourne jockey. The analysis suggests Mr Fletcher may have been getting inside information that the jockey could not win certain races.
Over six weeks in early 2012, Mr Fletcher risked more than $200,000 to win around $70,000 when he successfully bet that this jockey could not win in more than 12 races.
Several of the horses Mr Fletcher gambled on to lose were highly rated by bookmakers, including a second-favourite horse on which Mr Fletcher risked $45,000 by betting it could not win. Some of Mr Fletcher’s gambling patterns were mirrored in betting accounts held under the name of police officers.
Mr Fletcher has denied being leaked inside information or having any improper dealings in relation to the Melbourne jockey.
Fairfax Media can reveal that a business partner of the Melbourne jockey last year stated in text messages that he had leaked inside information to punters in Sydney about the jockey’s riding activities, an activity banned under the rules of racing and which may breach criminal laws.
The jockey’s business partner is minor racing identity and convicted criminal Ben Joyner, who stated in text messages he sent an associate this year that he had leaked inside information from jockeys to Fletcher. One text message from Mr Joyner stated that he had leaked information to ”several guys” in Sydney ”turning over hundreds of thousands of dollars”.
Mr Joyner also boasted via text messages that he had been given inside information about the outcome of the now infamous All Aged Stakes – the race which led to a NSW stewards inquiry involving the Waterhouse racing family earlier this year – with Mr Joyner texting a Melbourne punter prior to the race that he had been told that trainer Gai Waterhouse’s horse More Joyous could not win the race.
Mr Fletcher and Mr Joyner have both confirmed they had business dealings in 2012 when Mr Joyner ran a Vanuatu betting agency, BetJack, but both have denied any wrongdoing.
Fairfax Media has decided not to name the Melbourne jockey – who in 2011 and 2012 had extensive business dealings with Mr Joyner – because there is no evidence the jockey knew of Mr Joyner’s activities.
Mr Fletcher is Australia’s most flamboyant sports betting figure, with contacts among top AFL, NRL and racing figures – former AFL star Brendan Fevola once owed Fletcher $20,000 – as well as friendships in the business and legal world, including with top NSW prosecutor Margaret Cunneen.
In a 2011 case, Mr Fletcher successfully fought a move by Queensland stewards to ban him from racecourses and placing bets after they uncovered a series of bets that suggested jockey Bobby El-Issa was telling Mr Fletcher which of his horses couldn’t win.
Mr Fletcher became part of gambling folklore in 2005 when he and another punter legally manipulated the price of a greyhound called Lucy’s Light from $1.10 to $13 shortly before the race started. The pair walked away with $700,000.
TREND OF OVERTURNING RESULTS IN ARLINGTON MILLIONS CONTINUES 
SAM WALKER reported in the RACING POST on this controversial aftermath to the Arlington Millions:
THREE decades of inflation has done little to dent the international appeal of the Arlington Million’s million dollar purse. It was a lot of money in 1981 and it’s still a lot of money now. It’s also a lot to lose in the stewards’ room.
Unfortunately the Arlington Park officials are developing a reputation for overturning results and on Saturday The Apache became the third horse to be thrown out after ‘winning’ the Million in the last 11 years.
The South African was demoted to second for “interference in the straight”. As with every inquiry there were upset parties on both sides, but of the three horses recently disqualified in the Million this was the least controversial.
Storming Home, who jinked and unseated Gary Stevens on the line in 2003, and Powerscourt, who won by daylight in 2004, each won the valuable turf prize on merit. They were disqualified because their actions affected the run of other horses.
That’s the way America governs interference and the rule is different in other countries. In the UK, for instance, because they were the best on the day Powerscourt and Storming Home would have kept their share of the million dollar prize fund and kept the race.
In this year’s Million, however, international stewards may have found harmony in the decision to throw out The Apache, with the demoted horse failing on both the American question: ‘was there interference?’ and the follow-up British question: ‘did it make a difference?’.
A review of the tape shows two supporting facts for Real Solution being promoted to first. Firstly the side angle shows him come with a charging run and make up lots of ground on The Apache, but this momentum stops when The Apache starts to drift off the rail. Secondly the head-on shot shows something much more important.
The disqualified horse hangs to his right away from the whip and pushes the promoted horse (there was plenty of contact) a good four yards over to the right.
You don’t need evening classes in geometry to tell you that if Real Solution was allowed to run in a straight line he would have crossed the line before The Apache. Perhaps not by two or three lengths, as Real Solution’s rider Alan Garcia suggested, but the momentum and ground lost during that final furlong would certainly account for more than the head he was defeated.
Christophe Soumillon believed his mount (the first past the post) was clearly the best on the day, but Garcia says he might have won by two or three lengths if he hadn’t been bumped in the straight.
As far as the stewards are concerned the decision on who was the better horse doesn’t always come into it, but this time the horse who was the best on the day (probably) was awarded the race.
So there is harmony in the equine court of justice. The horse who suffered interference and should have won the race was awarded the race. Real Solution was the right solution.
Even South African trainer Mike de Kock, trainer of The Apache, felt his horse would get thrown out after he saw the head on, admitting “if it had happened to me, I’d have felt aggrieved.”
NO NEW EVIDENCE BUT INDIAN STEWARDS INCREASE BAN ON BRITISH JOCKEY 
CHRIS COOK reports in THE GUARDIAN that Indian stewards who increased Martin Dwyer’s riding ban from 56 days to eight months during the week had heard no new prosecution evidence before doing so.
The only new material presented to stewards of the Royal Western India Turf Club at Monday’s hearing came from Dwyer’s side, according to Paul Struthers, chief executive of the Professional Jockeys’ Association.
As Dwyer travelled to Nottingham for Tuesday night’s race meeting, he had not yet received formal notification of the decision. “I’ve been checking my emails all day,” he said, “but it can sometimes take a day or two for it to be typed up and sent out. I’ll definitely be appealing, no matter what, and in the meantime I’ve just got to try to stay positive.”
Jockeys riding in India have to sign away their right to legal representation at hearings, so Dwyer was represented on Monday by a local trainer, who later advised Struthers as to what had occurred. “This … was a re-hearing and when that happens there is always a chance the punishment could increase,” Struthers said, “but the bottom line was there was no new evidence presented, so they were going solely by the video. We thought very strongly that the video spoke for itself and the worst Martin was guilty of was careless or reckless or dangerous riding at its absolute worst.”
In the six months since it took place, astonishment has regularly been expressed in British racing circles that stewards could infer from the ride that Dwyer was guilty of not trying.
“In my view,” Struthers added, “the problems arose because he was trying desperately hard to win with a horse that had bled five days before and hadn’t left its box for the five days in between.” That last detail is thought to be the only extra detail put before the stewards this week.
Dwyer and his supporters had expected a much happier outcome since April, when an Indian appeal board expressed concern over “unnatural justice” in relation to the original 56-day ban and referred the matter back to the stewards for further inquiry. Now, the Indian system allows Dwyer another appeal, which Struthers says may take two months to arrange.
If that should fail, Dwyer has the option of asking the British Horseracing Authority not to reciprocate the ban. Such applications are unusual and it is not clear that there has ever been a successful one, though BHA officials are seeking out the details of a 20-year-old case involving the former champion jockey Kevin Darley.
Darley said that his memory of the procedure was vague but he believed his Indian ban – for a year, reduced to three months on appeal – fell almost entirely outside the British turf season. He recollected serving the last two weeks of it once turf racing began in Britain and did not think the Jockey Club, which then ran the sport, had been persuaded not to reciprocate the ban.
In any case, Struthers said the PJA is “prepared and ready” to make such an application for Dwyer. “Anything other than a finding of careless riding and we’d almost certainly put in an application to the BHA,” he said, adding that there were significant differences from last year’s case involving Richard Hughes, who missed the first month of the turf season when the BHA opted to reciprocate an Indian ban.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in the above e-mails should not be interpreted as those of JOHN LINGARD, the owner-editor of the letsgohorseracing web-site. That is why he has added an ‘EDITOR’S NOTE’. Every endeavor is made to verify the authenticity of contributors. We welcome any reasonable and constructive responses from parties or individuals.
