LARRY'S VIEW - MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN JOCKEYS AND STEWARDS IS VITAL FOR THE WELL-BEING OF RACING

By Larry Cassidy | Friday, September 7, 2012

Larry Cassidy currently has forty-two Group 1 successes behind his name. He is a multiple Premiership winning jockey having taken out three titles in Sydney and one in Brisbane. Larry’s View, the personal blog of this top class rider will appear on horseracingonly.com.au every Friday, workload permitting.

The occupations of race meeting stewards and jockeys are inexorably linked in the horse-racing set-up.

The fact of life is that stewards are there to police racing and without stewards the racing game would dissolve into anarchy. It is not the easiest job in the world, but it is an essential one.

Obviously there are times when jockeys and trainers will disagree with the view of the stewards but, at the end of the day, stewards are in charge and they have got to uphold the rules of racing, often in difficult circumstances where they might have to make a judgment call when the situation might not be so clear-cut.

As a rider you always have to respect their position while maintaining your right to disagree with particular rulings when you see fit. Without that general mutual respect between riders and the stewards for the job both parties have to do, problems can arise that would not only be detrimental to those involved, but also to racing in general.

The current stand-off between Dan Nikolic and Chief Steward Terry Bailey in Victoria is a case in point.

While I can’t comment on the specifics of the rift and the various clashes that created it, I do know that, in my opinion, this particular situation has been allowed to go a lot further than it should have. It’s been on-going. It has reached and gone past boiling point, and now, I would suggest … whatever else takes place … it needs to be resolved as a matter of priority.

Look, I’ve certainly had my moments with stewards. Sometimes, when rulings are contested, things can drag out and professional relationships can be tested. It is never pleasant when that happens, so nobody wants it to happen.

There are different ways to go about sorting out an issue. I had a situation once where I was particularly dissatisfied with the way I thought something was being handled. Instead of letting that aggrieved feeling fester, I approached the stewards, discussed the matter with them and happily it was resolved in a responsible way.

Having said that, I also know, as a rider, that there are times … let’s say when you are wasting and having trouble with your weight and perhaps going through a period where you are picking up a run of suspensions … when you can go into the stewards’ room and be a little hot-headed. I can tell you that certainly doesn’t do you any good.

I’ve put myself in that position probably on numerous occasions … along with other jockeys. I know there were times, particularly as a younger jockey, where I wouldn’t help myself in the room by pressing their buttons. Some jockeys have shorter fuses than others, but I’ve learnt, although it is still difficult at times because of human nature, the one thing you do have to do is hold back your emotions.

I’m not suggesting it can always be as easy talking about it, as I did with the stewards in my example, or backing off a fiery comment when embroiled in an argument. It will obviously depend on the particular intricacies of the matter in question, but the point is you have to remember you must all be working towards a resolution … and a quick resolution at that, if that is possible …and that should always be the aim.

Unfortunately … and I say this writing from a distance … all the information coming out of Victoria seems to suggest that aim has been well and truly lost in the current, high profile, much documented war of words and alleged underlying bad feeling between rider and steward.

With its associated bad press this type of conflict, albeit it more of a rarity than a regular occurrence, does racing no favours at all. The negative front page exposure racing received in Melbourne newspapers this week is something any industry can do without.

Like the rest of the race-goers in the country I look forward to some firm action being taken to bring this matter to an end, so that the focus can get back onto the positive side of racing as we move towards the big, Spring Carnivals.

Till next week,
Larry

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