Peter Moody adamant 'treatment rule' needs to be revisited as it is damaging image of racing

PETER Moody says the drama involving Gai Waterhouse and Mikel Delzangles highlight a glaring flaw in Australia's rules of racing.

LEADING trainer Peter Moody says Tuesday's dramas involving Gai Waterhouse and French trainer Mikel Delzangles highlight a glaring flaw in Australia's rules of racing.

Moody has no complaint that stewards allowed Waterhouse's Tres Blue and Delzangles' Dunaden to run in the Melbourne Cup even though the horses had been given race-day treatment.

"But I will be pushing at the next trainers' meeting that the Australian Racing Board reconsider their draconian rule," Moody said.

"The race-day rule came in (on March 1) to stop tubing and injections and that sort of illegal activity, and that was fine. But it has gone way too far. Trainers now face their horse being scratched and a six-month disqualification for themselves for the most innocuous treatment.

"The ARB has put in rules without consultation with the very people it affects, the trainers. The rule is wrong.

"Here we have two highly regarded trainers being hauled before stewards because of the most insignificant treatment, a cream on hoofs and a cream for ulcers. That is not what the rule was originally supposed to do - to stop tubing and cheating.

"The rule needs to be revisited. A trainer now can't even put ice on a horse's legs on the day of a race without permission from the stewards or, as in Tuesday's case, give it its daily hoof treatment or an ulcer treatment.

"Clearly neither treatment was illegal. The stewards and their vet said there were no prohibitive substances used. Yet both trainers have had their names dragged into inquiries. How is that good for the image of racing?

"Worse, if there is not an escape clause, we could have had a situation where both are disqualified for six months. Wouldn't that be great? It is too silly.

"I will be bringing this up at the next Australian Trainers' Association meeting so that we, the group of people intricately involved in all this, get a hearing with racing officials.

"We were not consulted about the widening of the rule in the first place, and now we are being harassed by draconian rules."