Well and truly within insiders of the sport, not so much those on the periphery. Brad Reid has stood up to be counted whereas everybody from the HRV Chairman down do not appear to want anything known about the case.
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Some quotes
“It’s a dreadful look for the sport when our leading trainers are breaking rules everyone knows about. It’s not as if these rules have just come out, they have been around for a long time,” Butt said while talking to Gareth Hall on SEN Track Radio.
“It was a clear breach and is not a good look and casts a pool of doubt over their success on Saturday night. The authorities will deal with it in the appropriate manner.
“But I’m disappointed in the media too, it’s been brushed under the carpet by just about everybody. If this had happened in galloping it would be headline news. It’s not a good look and it doesn’t shine a good light on the stable,” he said.
Are industry participants meant to simply accept the apology as meaning this is the first time the rule has been breached? Or simply the first time Stewart has been caught?
Can you imagine an athlete or high performance coach in another sport being caught red handed breaching a fundamental rule the weekend it had achieved remarkable success, yet only having their highlight reels dished out for five days while the media ignore the elephant in the room? It wouldn’t happen.
Then when the media do decide to get involved, they simply regurgitate the information provided by the alleged offender and applaud them for being transparent and forthcoming. It’s laughable.
The route chosen by the gatekeepers of the sport, that being the mainstream media, further mars public confidence in harness racing and creates the perception of a coordinated effort to paint Australia’s leading stable in a favourable light.
https://harnesslink.com/new-zealand/...-longer-bliss/
It took a NZer to shine a light on it
I think it's reasonably fair to think this "mistake" has been made many times since the rule was introduced and I feel for the many people who may have been disadvantaged by that in many Group races during this time.
I would not like to be one of them, imagine the questions they are asking themselves now?
Time for someone to do something for the innocent victims.
And sadly, it will receive very little penalty.
The integrity of the whole industry is also being questioned as it is evident that what would have been lead story if it was the gallops has been totally downplayed by authorities/payed media
Will the stable in question be visited on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future in order to restore some confidence in the industry?
I think so. If the Melbourne Cup winning stable the next week were found to have one of their horses on a drip within 24hrs of racing, I reckon it would make the newspapers
One thing they wouldn't be doing - is continuing to have their paid media promote the stable and paid employees liking the stable's explanation
The problem is Dan, that unless they have proof to disqualify any Stewart earners, nobody is going to be classed as a victim and thus entitled (legally) to compensation
You can find on Adam Hamilton's twitter page that long time owner and sponsor Domenico Martello has pulled all his sponsorship over this
The biggest problem is the lack of information coming from HRV. Were the horses swabbed and is the content of the drips being analyzed ?
The participants want a level playing field, around the same time a small time NSW trainer was caught administering a substance into a horses mouth via a syringe on route to the track, they have been stood down until the inquiry is concluded. I know it's a different state but it shows a more serious approach is being taken by that state !