Harness racing trainer says racing industry in crisis, new regulator needed
A harness racing trainer said many of those with allegations of misconduct in the racing industry are scared to come forward. DETAILS >
Tasmania
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Gavin Kelly says he’s under no illusions about the potential cost of speaking publicly about misconduct in the racing industry.
But he says: “You wait for a day like this to come”.
The harness racing trainer says he understands others may not be so keen to take the risk.
“I’m fortunate. harness racing is my hobby,” he told reporters outside parliament on Tuesday.
“If by speaking out today, they take my licence off me, that’s an issue I’m comfortable with.
“The other participants, it’s their livelihood. They can’t speak here because they can’t afford not to be able to feed their families next week.
“They can’t afford to speak out because they then have to race under this body that they’re speaking out against.
“The authorities, the Minister, they sit and do nothing until their reputation’s on the line and then they try and deflect and save face.
“We can’t afford to just keep sweeping the mess under the rug.
Mr Kelly says the future of the industry is bleak amid stories of race fixing and animal cruelty. After watching parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday, he is not convinced improvements will come soon.
“You put your head on the chopping block, and you hope. I’m here today because it’s the right thing to do.
“I’m not here today expecting that we’re going to be racing on Friday with Victorian stewards overlooking us and race drives being heavily scrutinised, drivers being suspended for suspicious drives.
“That’s pie in the sky rubbish but it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes you just have to stand up for what’s right.”
Mr Kelly, who reported concerns about race fixing to the CEO of Tasracing in 2019, said his own experience with the administration of racing in Tasmania had been instructive.
“They almost broke me when I took them to task over the abuse of power in forcing me to hold a whip.
“Their tactics there were disgraceful. They’re there to uphold integrity. They’re there to enforce the rules. There was no rule that said I had to hold on to it.
“They deviated from upholding integrity. And they made it clear to my legal representatives that it was going to be a personal attack and that I was going to be rubbished, my integrity would be questioned”.
He says the only way forward is to dissolve the Office of Racing Integrity.
“The blame lies with ORI. We can do so much better on integrity, we can do so much better on animal welfare.”
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