Owner Lloyd Williams blames lack of support for chief steward Terry Bailey’s resignation

LEVIATHAN owner Lloyd Williams has blamed a lack of high-level support from Racing Victoria executives for the departure of its chief steward Terry Bailey, which has eventually “worn him down”.

Racing Victoria chief steward Terry Bailey has quit. Picture: Getty Images

LEVIATHAN owner Lloyd Williams has blamed a lack of high-level support from Racing Victoria executives for the departure of its chief steward Terry Bailey, saying a failure to publicly back him had eventually “worn him down”.

Bailey said he had no regrets, insisting “looking the other way” was never an option after deciding to end his tenure in Victoria.

“It has been an honour to serve the Victorian Racing Industry for the past 17 years,” he told the Herald Sun.

“The road has been tough and stressful at times for myself and my family but looking the other way has never been a part of my make up. I am very proud of what our integrity team has achieved.”

Bailey’s last metro meeting will be Flemington on July 7 and last officiating duties at Mildura on July 9.

He joins Singapore Turf Club as chairman of stewards on August 15.

A six-time Melbourne Cup-winning owner, Williams said he could understand why Bailey had quit to take up a position as chairman of stewards in Singapore, given he received little or no recent public support from Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson and other racing administrators.

Terry Bailey has quit as Victorian racing’s chief steward to take up a position in Singapore. Picture: Jay Town

The Sunday Herald Sun this week detailed that speculation on Bailey’s future was rife late last week, with sources suggesting he had told close associates of his plans, with confirmation of a long-mooted move to Singapore coming early on Monday.

“Having had a lifetime of experience in racing, I have been disappointed in the fact that the chief steward has had very, very little support from the powers that be,” Williams said.

“As a former major employer ... it is incumbent on the chief executive to support his general managers in public.

“That hasn’t happened and if you don’t support the people who are in your management positions, why should they (stay). I think they have worn him down.”

Williams admitted Bailey had been “uncompromising” in his role, but said: “If you want to be the custodian of integrity, you need to be uncompromising.”

“If they (Racing Victoria) don’t take care of integrity, they won’t have a sport left.”

Owner Lloyd Williams says Terry Bailey didn’t receive any high-level support.

Williams also expressed his frustration that too many modern racing administrators do not have the same grassroots, “hands-on” feel for the sport that their predecessors had.

Racing Victoria will immediately launch a far-reaching search for a new chief steward.

“Terry has given tremendous service to Racing Victoria for more than a decade and he has our support and best wishes as he embarks on the exciting next chapter of his career abroad,” Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson said.

“Terry is highly respected for his unwavering focus on administering the Rules of Racing and ensuring that all participants and customers can compete on a level playing field.”

Trainer Danny O’Brien took a farewell swipe at Bailey, tweeting: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out champ. #4corners”, with the hashtag appearing to be a reference to the ABC current affairs program.

O’Brien was originally disqualified as part of the cobalt investigation, but had that overturned at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, ultimately copping a $8000 fine. He was also required to repay $34,500 in prizemoney.

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out champ. #4corners pic.twitter.com/08b4dpdAXN

— Danny O'Brien (@DOBrienRacing) 11 June 2018

Bailey, who took over from Des Gleeson as chief steward in 2008 but who has been with Racing Victoria for 13 years in total, will work through until July 11 before taking a short leave of absence.

It ends his contentious reign as RVL’s chief steward, where he was never far from the headlines during a time of significant upheaval in Victorian racing.

He was in charge during the long-running and messy cobalt saga that dragged on through a number of judicial hearings across several years and split a number of participants in the industry on the matter.

He was also at the helm during the Aquanita Racing scandal which came to light on Turnbull Stakes day last year, and led to the suspension of a number of high-profile racing identities, including leading trainer Robert Smerdon.

Bailey was involved in a bitter feud with jockey Danny Nikolic, with Nikolic deemed “not a fit and proper person” to ride in this state after verbally abusing the steward.

The unflappable chief steward also revealed he had received death threats during his time in the role, and in 2015, gunshots were fired into the exterior of his Melbourne home in what remains an unresolved police incident.

Singapore’s outgoing chief steward Peter Chadwick was on Monday appointed as Queensland’s new chief stipendiary steward, replacing Allan Reardon.