Bill GreenAustralian horseracing totally corrupt
June 20th 2008 04:21
Australian horseracing is like the game all over the planet – it’s totally corrupt.
Note that the media never break corruption stories (as in the Tony Mokbel scandals) they only cover the stories that are uncovered by police or those in the industry. I always claim that if racing writers covered politics we would be living in a fascist state right now. They are simply not motivated to expose the habits of trainers, jockeys and big gamblers; they are only prepared to listen to the rumours on a horse’s chances in a particular race.
None of this is news to those who patronise the game. It’s just part of the fascination. Gamblers are a case in point. They like winning but losing also gives them an emotional kick. Taking a bet on a horse is a cheap way to take part in the machinations that are behind the planned coups that most horse owners wish they were a part of.
How do I know all this? Some time ago I wrote a novel, Born Before the Wind, that exposed how races are fixed and how breeding frauds were undertaken. A panel of VRC stewards refused to renew my owner trainer’s licence unless I told them who had told me of these events. I refused. As I left the panel I was called aside by a member of the VRC committee and told, “You opened your mouth, you don’t get your licence.” They refused to take the novel as a piece of fiction. They were right not to. They and I knew it was based on real practices.
And within a very short space of time breeding criteria was reviewed. Blood tests were requested for entrants in yearling sales. Now it’s a close look at the gene make-up. Prior to that big breeders registered old, stake winning but barren mares as the mothers of their yearlings when in fact stallions had been put to unraced mares.
Note that the media never break corruption stories (as in the Tony Mokbel scandals) they only cover the stories that are uncovered by police or those in the industry. I always claim that if racing writers covered politics we would be living in a fascist state right now. They are simply not motivated to expose the habits of trainers, jockeys and big gamblers; they are only prepared to listen to the rumours on a horse’s chances in a particular race.
None of this is news to those who patronise the game. It’s just part of the fascination. Gamblers are a case in point. They like winning but losing also gives them an emotional kick. Taking a bet on a horse is a cheap way to take part in the machinations that are behind the planned coups that most horse owners wish they were a part of.
How do I know all this? Some time ago I wrote a novel, Born Before the Wind, that exposed how races are fixed and how breeding frauds were undertaken. A panel of VRC stewards refused to renew my owner trainer’s licence unless I told them who had told me of these events. I refused. As I left the panel I was called aside by a member of the VRC committee and told, “You opened your mouth, you don’t get your licence.” They refused to take the novel as a piece of fiction. They were right not to. They and I knew it was based on real practices.
And within a very short space of time breeding criteria was reviewed. Blood tests were requested for entrants in yearling sales. Now it’s a close look at the gene make-up. Prior to that big breeders registered old, stake winning but barren mares as the mothers of their yearlings when in fact stallions had been put to unraced mares.
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