THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CHIEF STEWARD TERRY BAILEY

By Graham Potter | Thursday, February 4, 2016

Racing Victoria’s Chief Steward Terry Bailey wears a lawyer-like persona when he is interviewed.

His answers, when he is free to give one given the legalities of certain cases that are still currently in play, stay on subject and are to the point. He is friendly and forthright enough but there is no unnecessary elaboration. There is no extravagance of opinion, good or bad. No rant. No praise. Just a report on the facts as he sees them with the explicit understanding that others are free to form their own opinions.

And really, that is the way it should be.

Love him or hate him, it has to be acknowledged that Bailey’s position has always been a pressure cooker, even when the setting was on low.

That pressure counter went up a notch with the unsavoury Danny Nikolic saga and then it started simmering on high with the series of high profile cobalt case investigations which made Bailey a chief target, particularly for those lawyers called up to defend top racing training identities found guilty of serious indiscretions.

Not to mention the bullets that were fired through the open front door of Bailey’s family home.

In-between coping with these serious side effects of holding a polarising position, Bailey still has to maintain his everyday work responsibilities in a professional manner.

It is to his credit that he continues to do so ... and it was good to see him out and about a smile on his face as he weighed in Mark Zahra after the first race at Sandown on Wednesday.

That’s his job, you will say. Well, he is doing it.

Bailey has just returned from leave and, as with his presence at Sandown, he was straight back into it. No hiding, as some of his detractors had been claiming.

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In fact, one day after returning to the office, Bailey made himself available for an extended interview with Michael Felgate on the Racing Services Network programme Racing Ahead.

The RSN interview covered a wide range of topics and gave great insight into how Bailey goes about his business and his general philosophy of the job at hand.

Here are some revealing quotes from Bailey, given in that RSN discussion which clearly gives readers a greater understanding of the life and times of Racing’s Victoria’s Chief Steward.

On the prospect of being cross examined at the cobalt case appeal hearings of Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh: “Being in the witness box and giving evidence is part of the job. Sometimes you have to give the same evidence three or four times through different levels of appeals. We were on a first name basis with security at the county court judge for a while. It’s part of the job. It is expected and when you’ve got nothing to hide it is easy to do.”

On the fairness of the cobalt case penalties: “The minimum penalties were set down by Racing Australia. Let’s face it there has got to be a deterrent if people are going to go outside the rules to get an edge against those who are playing with a straight bat. There has to be a deterrent."

On the possibility of charges either shortening or bringing a premature end to some high profile training careers : “We only have one rule book and it doesn’t differentiate between stature. Obviously, currently cases involve some high profile people. We have got to treat them the same as the two horse trainer in the country. It’s as simple as that. When we get two rule books they can let me know.”

On whether cobalt is a huge issue in racing, or not: “The short answer is no. When you weigh up the amount of racing we have and the amount of trainers we have it is a small ratio in the scheme of things.”

On the overall cleanness of the game:”Ninety-five per cent of our participants are just hard working people doing their best but, wherever there is money involved, you are going to get a percentage who are going to push the envelope. As you know it is a game of inches and there is a lot of money at stake. You know the cobalt threshold rule was brought in the April. Outside of the Hopes case our positives were all in the spring. There’s something that can be drawn from that. When the stakes are high and there is pressure on for trainers to get results ... and it is our job to make sure that everyone is going there fair and square."

On the controversial topic of finding ‘undercover’ ways of monitoring stable activity: “I think if you don’t look outside the square, what’s the point of being there? We had a look at the (mole) concept. We got some advice on it and we decided not to proceed with it. We’ll continue to look at all sorts of resources to ensure that when hard-working trainers turn up to the races they get a run for their money and when punters are putting their money on they get a run for their money. If we don’t do that, who is going to? The easy way around all of that is to look the other way. When that day comes God help us all.”

On ibuprofen: “It is a substance that is really troubling. We had our first positive in about 2010. From that point on we have sent out several warnings to trainers about using ibuprofen. It is not a registered product to be used on horses, although it is in the veterinary guidelines to prescribe it. Where we’ve got to with this latest spate was that back in October last year the advice from our vets to trainers was, because it is that erratic and unpredictable, just don’t use it. One of the theories is that it may be a substance that stores in the body of the fat of the horse and only excretes when the horse is under exercise. It is an unknown. There is no literature on it (regarding horses). There is a small bit of literature on humans. The difficulty we have with this spate at the moment is that they all came from one property and they were all under heavy dosages which seem to sitting dormant in the horses system for a long period of time. It’s a challenge for us and we’ll work with the trainers to try and get the best outcome but, at the end of the day, if horses are brought to the racecourse with prohibited substances, stewards will decide if there are charges to be answered and, if so, the RAD Board will adjudicate accordingly on each case on its merits.

On vets needing to be registered to racing bodies: “Personally I am pretty comfortable they are bound by the rules these days. Government legislation changed and that brought the vets into the playground of our rules. If they breach the rules they are answerable. While there has been a lot of pain before gain I think the culture and conduct of vets are changing.”

On whether he can appreciate things from a punter’s perspective:”I like to think so. Sometimes you do ask yourself the question, how would you feel if you’d had your hard-earned on that ... and how a punter might be thinking. That is why we try and address what we address. I know there are criticisms about why a jockey should have turned left and not right and why didn’t the stewards do something about it, but put them (those making those queries) on one at 60km an hour with a 500kg beast and see how they go. It is a sport where you have got to make quick decisions and unless they are blatant or unexplainable that’s going to happen.”

On the shooting attack on his home and the threat that entails: “We certainly have beefed up security but, at the end of the day, if they want to get you ... they’ll get you.”

On Danny Nikolic’s riding license: “Racing Victoria made a decision to refuse Danny Nikolic’s license application on the grounds that he is not a fit and proper person,” (to hold a license). “Danny’s exercised his right to take the matter to VCAT for appeal. We’ll let that play out.”

On how he is viewed by others:”Stewarding ... it’s not a popularity contest. It never has been and never will be. We go to the races and deal with everybody without fear of favour. If other people’s opinions affect you, you are going to struggle. You have got to be able to deal with confrontation. If you can’t deal with that someone is going to run over you. Some people are easier to deal with than others. I can understand, on race-day particularly, that riders who have probably been on lettuce leaves for two days and are trying to ride the weight and have stewards annoying them about something ... I can understand that they get a bit short (in their manner). I would be too. After thirty years though, they can like you or hate you but as long as I go away with them saying, he was a hard bugger but he was fair ... well, that will do me.”

On his future:”There was no question in my mind that I was always coming back to the job after my time off. The (Racing Victoria) Board have been very supportive. They are one hundred per cent committed to the integrity of the sport. When you have people like me who have got to run the ball up it is pleasing to know that you’ve got the support of the board behind you. It’s 2016 and we’re going to keep doing what we are doing.”

Please note: All of the above relates to racing in Victoria