Endresz, Sokolski, The Great Dividers – Matt Stewart Tells it Like it Is
In horse racing it’s not always the horse, jockey or trainer that makes the headlines. Owners are sometimes fleeting, often fascinating and polarising. Many hold the stage only for as long as their horse is winning big races. There are “constants” like the big Arabs, Irish and big syndicate heads, but there are also those […]
Racing, We Have a Problem
We applaud the investigation currently being conducted by Racing Victoria into historical claims of sexual abuse in the industry in that State, but the question has to be asked – is it enough? Anyone who thinks that abuse only happened in racing in the dark ages is delusional. It’s happening here and now, and it […]
Has The Archer Fired a Poison Arrow, and Shot Itself in the Foot?
The word coming out of Central QLD is that the holders of slots in The Archer, the new race that kicked off earlier this year, are up in arms about changes to the conditions of the race, or – to me more precise – increases to the amount they pay for their slot. You might […]
Alligator Al and His Cheerleader Big Ben Go the Crow – Is It Early or is it Right?
I am expecting Alligator Blood to be given the green light to race in the Victorian spring carnival, starting with next Saturday’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes where Damien Oliver is poised to ride. The situation isn’t quite resolved but I understand a change of ownership, with colourful owner Allan Endresz potentially selling his share in the […]
Move the Spring Carnival? – Ben Dorries is Off His Head
Nurse, nurse, call the medics! Last week he was cheerleading for the bankrupt crook Allan Endresz, this week Ben Dorries from Racenet is spruiking putting the Melbourne Spring Carnival back to summer. This bloke is off his head. Customer focused, customer focused, Dorrie screams repeatedly. We’re not customers mate, we are punters. Customers are what […]
Ipswich Put to the Test
At 12.07 am the Ipswich track for today’s meeting was rated a Soft 5. There has been no rain in the past 24 hours, and just a quarter of an inch in the past week. That makes the Soft 5 rating somewhat strange, buy hey this is Ipswich. The skies are clear and the sun […]
A Court Case of Interest to Everyone in Racing
Forget that she is a trot driver, the Sheryl Wigg case in New Zealand is one that should be watched closely by racing participants on both sides of the Tasman, and in all codes, for two reasons. The first is challenges the NZ High Court to make a determination on the long vexing issue of […]
The Birch is Back – You Can’t Keep a Good Man or a Great Trainer Down
Liam Birchley is a great trainer who had it all ripped away from him, or so many thought. He got tangled up in a peripheral association with the Aquanita operation, and on the basis of a couple of innocuous text messages the authorities crucified him, even though he was later found to have nothing wrong. […]
Never Pay to Smile at a Port Douglas Crocodile When You Can Do it For Free
We’ve got a whole bunch of horse racing loving tourists up here at the moment for the Symons-Laxon wedding, and almost every one of the mugs is rushing off to pay some Mick Dundee type a motza to take them out to see a crocodile. I don’t why they bother. You only need to drive […]