ROB'S SHOUT - STRANGLED BY RED TAPE

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, November 18, 2010

Robert Heathcote is the leading racehorse trainer in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout' - the personal blog of the premiership winning trainer will appear every Thursday on HRO.

An extremely important aspect of this racing industry falls under the heading of 'Integrity' and the integrity of the industry is policed by the Racing Stewards.

In an industry which has participants ranging from High Court judges right through the whole spectrum of society down to your everyday battler and even the villains and petty grafter's that can hang on to the fringes of this industry, there will always be those who are seeking to gain an 'edge' or an advantage in an effort to win a quid!

Therefore it is essential that the Racing Stewards keep their fingers right on the pulse and do everything in their power to maintain confidence within the industry with regard to the fact that the integrity of our sport/business is not compromised.

But, for a better understanding of the current climate, two new questions have to be asked.

Firstly, has the authority of the Racing Stewards itself been compromised to a dangerous degree in recent times which has eroded the effectiveness of the system?

If so, is that because the interpretation of racing laws and an individual's rights in a politically correct modern world is fast becoming an almost unnavigatable legal minefield?

Let’s take a couple of examples to help prove a point.

The ongoing battle between the Chief Steward Terry Bailey and Danny Nikolic in Victoria is a very high profile conflict which has been coming to a head for some time.

Danny is seemingly taking on the establishment and he may well have 'over stepped' the boundaries of respect in this case.

No doubt he is aggrieved or even believes he is victimized by the Stewards and I can fully understand why. I had similar feelings at a time when I received a massive fine (which still gives me sleepless nights) a number of years ago … and Danny does has a right to defend himself!

Talking with Larry Cassidy and Chris Munce, they both believe any person has the right to defend themselves, but there is a line which must not be crossed in the Stewards’ room!

Perhaps Danny has crossed that line and I sincerely hope his career is not too severely jeopardized by his behaviour!

But the disturbing factor is that the situation has been allowed to come this far for this long.

It’s not a good image for racing.

Another case involving the Racing Stewards which has created its share of debate is the Laming case which has just been finalized.

This, again, was an example of the 'snail pace' that legalities bring into play.

There is little doubt that everyone is entitled to a fair deal, but this case simply took far too long to sort out … only to provide an outcome that has sparked fierce debate.

It has long been accepted that a partnership is a partnership but, with the result in this case, that now seems to be a contradiction in terms.

I do not know all the facts of the case so any detailed comments from me on the subject would be out of place.

The bottom line though is that people in racing are asking questions and opinion is divided about the outcome of the case, the lengthy period it took to reach a decision and the reasons why such a decision was taken.

If a member of my staff commits a breach of the rules, I, as the trainer, have to bear the consequences.

Maybe the right decision was reached by the Stewards in the Laming case, but a more comprehensive explanation should be given to the industry as a whole to help clarify this grey area that now engulfs the partnership landscape which appears to have been altered from its original concept.

Again, this has been a protracted episode which has certainly not been good for the profile of the industry.

Talk about the industry taking a hit … what about the current betting probe involving several high profile jockeys.

How is racing managing that!

Should these jockeys’ be named before the conclusion of the enquiry?

This is the case at the current time yet they may be exonerated, but for sure the mud may stick to them!

Is there 'a better way' of dealing with such issues as those mentioned above?

Is the current system of stewarding, which has at times been described as 19th Centuryish, one that is seriously compromised by red tape?

Are the various levels of accusations and enquiries followed by an even greater number of appeals and a myriad of legalities that can stall a case playing havoc with the industry?

Perhaps the Stewards' powers need to be more clearly defined where it has absolute powers in certain areas and open to appeal in others!

One more thing while we are debating procedures.

Monetary fines maybe a necessary evil in our game, but again I do believe there has to be a 'better way' of dealing with certain issues.

There are many times that I don't agree with the 'penalty' system that is employed, and at the forefront of that are the fines continually handed down to the jockeys for their whip rule infringements.

We often use the term revenue raising regarding traffic offences and I relate the whip fines to the same thing, primarily as I simply do not agree with the limits of use placed upon the jockeys in the first place!

I have been lucky in that I have never been involved in a positive swab case, but that’s not to say I don't cop my fair share of fines for 'misdemeanours' which are common occurrences!

Just recently I was fined $400 for forgetting to scratch two horses from the Saturday which had raced the day before. We didn't mean it to happen and I hope it doesn't again, but it probably will at some stage.

I actually believe a demerit points system of penalties for a given period calculated on the numbers of runners a trainer saddles up or, for that fact, a jockey rides, would be a better system.

If nothing else, the above examples serve to show that the Stewards have a difficult job to do and, although we can disagree with them on issues, they deserve the utmost respect for their position which is becoming more and more difficult.

I don't for one minute ever believe that 'skulduggery' within racing will ever be totally eradicated and I fully support the vigilance of the stewards in their efforts to keep racing clean.

Everybody wants a fair playing field in this industry. It’s as simple as that.

I certainly do not have the solution to some of the problems which may exist within the industry.

Still, it never hurts to have an opinion and what better place to have an opinion than in the racing game!

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