Racing Victoria has pulled up lame and the vet, Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula, has seen enough.
Pakula watched on as Racing Victoria lurched from one damaging incident to the next.
Former Chairman David Moodie was forced to resign after divulging confidential knowledge to trainer Peter Moody, who was under investigation for a cobalt irregularity in his stable.
Chairman before that, Rob Roulston, resigned suddenly after being found to have attempted to ask for a nomination fee waiver for an overseas horse in the 2015 Melbourne Cup, once the purchase of the horse fell through.
Roulston paid without hesitation, but the matter was considered serious enough to have compromised the integrity of the chair.
A press release this week by acting-chairman Mike Hirst appeared to absolve outgoing chairman Moodie. That release was then followed up by an extraordinary press release from integrity commmissioner Sal Perna, stating that he found Moodie guilty of misleading behaviour and leaking confidential information to Moody.
The Age’s Patrick Bartley was forced to publish his sources and at the same time exonerate chief steward Terry Bailey, who was temporarily dragged into the mud by innuendo.
The origin of the cobalt leaks are still unclear, but appear to come from up high. Meanwhile, the Mark Kavanagh and Danny O’Brien cobalt matters drag on, after years of back and forth in courts and tribunals.
Acting CEO Bernard Saundry, who resigned after a long stint and then waited for a replacement to be appointed, is set to make good on his commitment to walk away by the end of 2016. Still no replacement CEO.
Then there’s poor Azkadelia, the wonder mare with ownership links to conman Peter Foster. She and her connections are set to be stripped of her Group 1 wins, and prizemoney of more than $1.5 million. (The joke is that she’ll now likely be valued much less as a broodmare. Funny how breeding works based on black type, as opposed to actual ability.)
Add into the mix the stepping down of VRC Chairman Michael Burn. He walks away clean – it just happens that his professional life within Macquarie Group may have been seen as a conflict of interest following a consortium, that involves his company, bidding for Tatts Group, in opposition to Tabcorp. The TAB are the joint venture wagering partner of Racing Victoria – and Flemington.
Racing.com was supposed to bring Victorian racing together but seems to have been unable, despite showing the way in terms of quality coverage of pre-race and post-race atmosphere.
However, despite all the rumblings at the top, the product on the track hasn’t suffered – yet.
Confidence for anyone from owners to potential owners to trainers to connections to the all-important punter have been lowered. If that affects turnover, the product on the track will suffer in time.
Queensland is rejigging to get things back on its feet. Racing NSW appears, comparatively, in rude health, hand-in-hand with clubs including the ATC, and Tabcorp, their 99-year partner. They don’t have quite the carnival that Melbourne offers in spring, but they’re working on it.
In any case, Pakula has seen enough. Conflicts of self-interest are everywhere in racing, but the fingers in the pie are about to be given a whack the likes of which haven’t been seen in the state for some time.
The Victorian Government moved to start proceedings to replace the Racing Victoria board in 2017 with an independent board, following in the steps of the AFL Commission and the Australian Rugby League Commission.
The announcement came in a release, stating “it is no longer appropriate for the board of RV to be chosen by the people and organisations that it regulates”.
Within moments, social media and commentary were lit with hope from punter to owner.
Lloyd Williams, the very definition of a prominent racing identity, told News, that it had been coming for some time.
“Conflicts of interest cannot exist in the governance of racing,” he said. “I commend the Andrews government and racing minister Martin Pakula for their decision to move with an independent board. It’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
Nick Williams, son of Lloyd and the spokesperson for the stable, told Fairfax it was “fantastic”.
“It’s the single greatest thing that has happened in racing in the last 20 years,” the younger Williams said.
Why is that? It’s hoped that the independent board will be able to wrangle the three Melbourne clubs into a cohesive band that favours racing generally, rather than each club. It’s also hoped that true leadership can better serve racing Australia-wide, working more closely with other states and Racing Australia to develop a harmonious product that works so well for Hong Kong.
It won’t be easy. Political appointments often attract their own ire. Those with enough acumen to be in a position to be appointed to an independent racing board, and have an interest in racing, will surely be industry participants in some manner.
Will the independent board receive remuneration, and to what amount? Racing club boards across Australia do not, but the Racing Victoria board disclosed its board members did receive remuneration.
A final thought, will punters get a say? Not representatives of those that enjoy the revenues from the punting dollar, but from those that fund the industry? One of Saundry’s best moves late into his CEO stint was to implement minimum bet laws after punter pressure.
Further action is needed to force corporate bookmakers to stop banning successful punters, to stem the flow of racing betting into sports betting. But maybe that’s just punter self-interest.
geoff
Guest
It was on R vV website the day after Moodie. When u opened the site there were 3 blue boxes up the top.. It was there for 2-3 days but not in anywhere else. Gone after 3 days & cannot find it. MAYBE IT RELATED TO A HORSE SOLD TO HONG Kong Where Brent Stanley was convicted of recirving $20.000. The horse was part owned by D Moodie & Patsilis who I believe has severed his long term relationship with Contract Racing. Needs an investigative reporter on this. Thanks for the feedback . Happy searching
James Mathers
Guest
What is the RV report on secret commissions. I seem to have missed it,
geoff
Guest
Is the Moodie resignation & the following days RV report on secret commissions related. Took 2 months to enquire about a few phone calls
lee edwards
Guest
Poor Azkadellia indeed. How can Racing Victoria think stripping her of her Group One achievements is fair given she won her races fair and square? Sure they can take punitive actions against the owners if there is a breach of the rules, but why punish the horse? I think it is Racing Victoria showing they have no real grasp in the love of the sport or the horse. I never understood why Peter Moody walked away until now, how can anyone want to deal with these bully boys on a day to day basis.
Tristan Rayner
Editor
Thanks Geoff, and same to you! Thanks for all the support and well done on your own rugby writing and more as well!
Geoff Parkes
Expert
Thanks Tristan, another great account. I'm no fan of the Andrews government, but Pakula looks to be on the right tram with this. Have a great Xmas mate!
Mark Haywood
Roar Pro
A big step in the right direction for which Pakula should be commended. I'll be interested to see who they get to fill the spots. Unlike other sports, there's few people with an interest in racing - particularly at the level that you'd want on the RV Board - who aren't financially invested in some way. It's a money game, that's how it works. There aren't really "racing fans" out there who aren't also breeders / owners / trainers / whatever. For racing to truly step forward the set-up needs to be largely scrapped anyway, in favour of a national body. That's a huge shake-up though which may never come. In the meantime, as I said, this is a good move. (Just on that... O'Farrell review blocks in-play betting - racing the biggest campaigner for that - next minute, Barry O'Farrell new CEO of Racing Aust. A long, long way to go in the "conflict of interest" stakes for Australian racing.)
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Why is it in Melbourne the governing bodies try and sweep things under the carpet, in the name of public perception and with the all to willing help of a complicit media? The cobalt saga is still going and it's now costing the suits their jobs. Racing NSW hit it head on, dealt with it, and it's now in the rear vision mirror. Same thing happened with the AFL and the peptide saga. The AFL played games with it, and it only just finished and Essendon are struggling on the field. In the NRL, they dealt with it, and the team involved just won the premiership.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
I have to admit I haven't been following the ins and outs of Racing Victoria recently, but where does this decision sit in the context of the Bittar review that was published in April? Has this been formally accepted or rejected? http://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/justice/resources/3d6028a3-70cf-49fb-93fe-ad42824353e0/review-of-the-integrity-structures-of-the-victorian-racing-industry.pdf Essentially that review recommended that the integrity services (still not entirely sure what that means, but, whatever) were to be a separate entity that covered all three racing codes. Has the Victorian Government rejected that model and instead simply decided to appoint the board using integrity failures as a pretext? Will the new board maintain all the integrity and welfare responsibilities, will it be outsourced or will it be a distinct entity of Racing Victoria? I'm guessing the Government may have answered these questions though while my attention was elsewhere. A final thing, racing in Australia can't be Hong Kong. They don't have Grafton carnivals, for instance, and don't have any understanding of the importance of those events for Australian racing. Further, smaller clubs are often the innovators in racing (Cox Plate, Golden Slipper and Magic Millions carnival off the top of my head) and at the level of Racing Australia or Racing Victoria it's about ensuring that the competition between clubs is constructive. A Government monopoly in Australia would mean racing would be a vehicle for politicians to appeal to constituencies with no real long-term interest in racing itself.
Tristan Rayner
Editor
Great comments James, thanks so much for your detailed thoughts. "Filling the board of RV with a team of interested, competent, visionary and trustworthy members is possibly easier said than done." That's the crux of the situation now. Queensland's system of three racing industry participants and four independents, as recommended by the MacSporran Commission, has merit. This new board are now responsible for a 20-year plan for infrastructure! It's a lot of responsibility, that's for sure.
James Mathers
Guest
Tristan Thanks for your comments. Again an outstanding article. I compliment Martin Pakula on taking his stance although the making of these sorts of decisions is the easy bit. Filling the board of RV with a team of interested, competent, visionary and trustworthy members is possibly easier said than done. In many ways I think the industry may be able to live with minor conflicts of interest however coupled with the acceptance of conflicts is the assumption of trust. First and foremost those who are in charge must be trustworthy. Surely that is the key. The industry continues to confuse me somewhat. I was very surprised to see the recent appointment of Barry O'Farrell as CEO of Racing Australia and to a certain extent I was very surprised to see Peter McGauran take a senior job at Tabcorp. These sorts of moves and appointments are confusing as both gentlemen were former senior politicians. I'm not sure that any criticism of the Melbourne club's is fair or with foundation. These clubs have been incredibly successful for more than 100 years. They have done a fabulous job for the racing industry and indeed have built amazing asset bases. These clubs have been administered by member elected boards. The model has proven itself to work and work well. So I guess the interesting question is who will be appointed to the board of Racing Victoria and will they really do a better job. Only time will tell. The recent governance issues with certain board members are important and should not be overlooked however in each instance they hardly appear to be of such monumental proportion to suggest that RV isn't doing a good job. In some ways sadly the world has changed and the sorts of things that might have been kept behind closed doors in days gone by are now well and truly out in the open. I say sadly because I'm not sure that the industry is a level playing field and I'm not sure that the standards that we seem to be looking for or expecting are a applied across the board and throughout Australia. I would be very surprised if there wasn't more fallout with racing boards and even club boards as we look forward to 2017. Whatever it is and whatever happens I certainly hope that we can do the best by the industry. The industry aside from the sorts of things that you are talking about seems to be in pretty good shape. Those at the coalface, those who really do the heavy lifting in training and presenting horses to the races continued to do a fantastic job. Indeed the race clubs are also doing a tremendous job in a very difficult market. That's what really matters. Notwithstanding this I really feel the industry model in Australia needs a real overhaul, an overhaul which could be quite dramatic and possibly a little painful but an overhaul for the better. The industry needs to be nationalized and it needs to own its own tote. It needs to look closely at the Hong Kong model and determine whether this model can be successfully adapted down under.