Trainer Richard Laming cobalt case to be held in August
Trainer Richard Laming will face the Victorian Racing Tribunal in August on three cobalt-related charges, more than two years after Iam Ekstraordinary tested positive to the substance.
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Richard Laming will face the Victorian Racing Tribunal in August on three cobalt-related charges, more than two years after Iam Ekstraordinary tested positive to the substance.
Laming is scheduled to appear at the County Court from August 17-19 to answer three charges stemming from a urine sample taken at Ballarat on May 23, 2018.
Racing Victoria stewards laid charges against Laming in October 2019 after analysis showed Iam Ekstraordinary‘s sample produced an elevated cobalt reading, allegedly double the 100 micrograms per litre threshold.
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Laming is charged with allegedly administering a prohibited substance, the alternative charge of taking Iam Ekstraordinary to the races when a prohibited substance was detected and failure to keep accurate treatment records.
Laming is also due to face the VRT at the County Court from October 26-29 on separate race-day treatment allegations relating to Jamaican Rain’s Melbourne Cup day scratching last November.
Laming and stable employees Marnu Potgieter and MD Zeyaur Rahman are accused of involvement in the illegal treatment of Jamaican Rain at Cranbourne on November 5 last year, when she was favourite for the Group 3 Jim Beam Stakes.
Stewards received a report from the CAT team, who allege Laming and Potgieter had either stomach-tubed or attempted stomach-tube Jamaican Rain on the morning of the race.
Rahman is accused of being party to the activity.
Laming is also charged with obstructing, hindering and/or delaying stewards “in exercising their powers, performing their functions and/or carrying out their duties, in that he deleted, or incited another person to delete, files from a network video recorder on the premises.”
Jamaican Rain was scratched after she was found to be lame during the stable raid.
Former Dockers boss lands VRC’s top job
Leo Schlink
Former Fremantle Dockers administrator Steve Rosich will become the Victoria Racing Club’s new chief executive.
Rosich will replace Neil Wilson after the VRC’s Melbourne Cup carnival, allowing Wilson to succeed Amanda Elliott to become the club’s 22nd chairman.
The VRC has appointed media executive David Barham, Godolphin Australia’s managing director Vin Cox and banker Michael Saadie to its board, replacing Peter Fekete, John O’Rourke and Elisa Robinson.
The VRC said Barham, Cox and Saadie bring “a very special set of skills, as well as a broad network of relationships across local, interstate, and international jurisdictions.”
“The areas of expertise covered by these appointments, which are central to our future direction, include media, racing excellence, globalisation, membership engagement, horse welfare, financial security and the capabilities to ensure a robust balance sheet,“ it said.
“Importantly, they all have significant racing interests, and a profound respect for the VRC as a club, as a business, and as a brand.
“Each director has been appointed by the board to fill a casual vacancy. As is the case with every appointment to a casual vacancy, each director is required to offer himself for re-election by the members ahead of the next annual general meeting.”
Rosich will be the 13th CEO of the VRC, having served as Fremantle’s chief executive for 11 years.
“It is very exciting to be part of the racing industry that has a rich history and diverse range of stakeholders,” he said. “I am looking forward to helping drive the future success of the VRC, racing in Australia and the experience of all industry stakeholders.”
The VRC said it “has extended the time of Amanda Elliott and Neil Wilson, in their respective roles of chairman and CEO until after Cup Week this year.”
“This was deemed necessary to ensure stability and continuity, as well as manage risk over the next few months when key strategic and operational decisions will be made as we emerge from this unprecedented situation,” the club said.
Weighty issue for isolated Vic jockeys
Gilbert Gardiner
Victoria’s top jockeys will continue to be segregated until further notice to limit any risk of a COVID-19 positive within riding ranks.
Talk of any relaxation for the protected “Green team” jockeys, who only recently started riding track work again, has been put on the backburner as Victoria fights a new spike in coronavirus cases.
Victorian Jockeys‘ Association boss Matt Hyland said the race day separation must stay in place.
“We haven’t had a case in our industry and that’s been a huge result,” Hyland said.
“We need to make sure, as we come out the other end … don’t just automatically say it’s all in again and it brings us undone.
“You look at how quickly it crept into the AFL … once it gets into the sport you got to go into damage control, trying to work out how you can work around it.”
Back in March, Racing Victoria invited jockeys to be part of ‘Green’ and ’Gold’ teams to mitigate the risk of infection. The protected ‘Green’ jockeys, including Damien Oliver and Craig Williams, had to abide by rigid work and lifestyle restrictions.
Meanwhile, the VJA will continue to lobby for the minimum weight scale to be lifted by one kilogram, with the Australian Trainers‘ Association poised to reject the proposal.
The minimum was raised from 54kg to 56kg during the pandemic to take the pressure off jockeys with limited access to gyms. It led to leading jockeys including Mark Zahra and Ben Melham to push for a 55kg minimum post-COVID-19.
“That was always the case, we would need the support of the trainers‘ association,” Hyland said. “What we do know is the majority of our people want the minimum raised a kilo.
“What can we do? Can we look to certain periods of time throughout the year?
“We’ll just keep the communication going … we won’t roll over just like that.”
In preparation for yesterday’s meeting, the VJA surveyed about 150 members last week on the weight issue after an earlier poll, on May 27, was missed or ignored by some jockeys.
“It was a 60-40 result, what we got in the first survey with 50 per cent responses and we doubled the survey and got the identical result, which has been communicated to the jockeys,” Hyland said.
“There was 18-20 members that didn’t respond out of 150-odd surveyed.
“We got almost exactly the same result, 59.4 per cent (for 55kg) and last time it was 60.1 per cent.”
Weir cruelty case adjourned to September
Leo Schlink
Darren Weir and three other men will return to court in September for a two-day committal over alleged animal cruelty, betting and conspiracy charges.
Weir, Jarrod McLean, Tyson Kermond and William Hernan will face Ballarat Magistrates Court on September 8-9 on more than 30 charges.
The matter returned to court yesterday (today) but was adjourned until the spring because of delays and logistic challenges caused by COVID-19.
Weir is charged with 10 offences, including conspiring with McLean and Kermond to defraud Racing Victoria stewards between October 24 and November 17, 2018, and six counts of animal cruelty relating to horses Yogi, Red Cardinal and Tosen Basil on October 30, 2018, at Warrnambool.
It is alleged the horses were tortured, abused, overworked and terrified when jiggers, or conducted energy devices, were used to shock them while they ran on a treadmill wearing blinkers, causing unreasonable pain or suffering.
Weir is also facing two counts of being a prohibited person to possess a firearm.
McLean is facing 16 counts, including conspiracy to defraud stewards, animal cruelty, two of conduct that corrupted a betting outcome, six of using corrupt conduct information and possessing cocaine.
McLean allegedly placed a $100 each way bet on Red Cardinal on Cup Day in 2018, which could have reaped $5200.
Kermond is charged with seven offences, including a conspiracy to defraud stewards, and six of animal cruelty.
Hernan has been charged with betting-related offences.
Weir is currently serving a four-year disqualification for possession of three electronic apparatuses.