We are less than a month away from the Melbourne cup - billed as the " race that stops the nation ", but unfortunately all is not well in the horse racing industry. A leading trainer who has had Melbourne cup wins to his credit is facing charges of animal cruelty and faces banishment from the sport.
Animal lovers will recoil at the news that these magnificent animals have been subjected to pain in an effort to make them run faster, The Victorian Police 's Sporting Integrity Intelligence unit raided a training property where they seized what is believed to be battery powered shock devices, known in the industry as " jiggers " !
Charges have been laid and these include conspiracy to defraud Racing Victoria's Stewards, three counts of engaging in the torturing, abusing, overworking and terrifying a thoroughbred race horse and three counts of causing unreasonable suffering to a race horse. These charges will apply to a number of people working at the training establishment.
Horse trainers gain fame from the success they achieve in races. Owners are attracted to place their horses with a successful trainer and this is a big money industry. Unfortunately, anywhere gambling is involved it seems that crime quickly follows. Many punters complain that the horse they backed was not allowed to run on its merits - and that is often correct.
Across Australia a vast army of punters place bets with bookmakers and the TAB every race day. They carefully study the racing form and they are guided by racing celebrities offering advice. It is the job of both the police and the racing stewards to ensure that standards are met and the horses in each race compete in a fair competition.
The news that a leading trainer has been charged with a form of cruelty will cause dismay and shed a bad light on the entire horse racing industry. There is the expectation that the big name racing stables are squeaky clean and this prosecution will spread doubt. Just how widespread is the use of devices like " Jiggers " in creating winning horses ?
It also raises the interesting question of what happens to horses that fail to achieve their expected prowess at the race track ? Owners quickly become discouraged when their investment fails to win and those training charges soon multiply. For a trainer, a horse like Winx comes just once in a lifetime. What happens to the horses discarded as never likely to win a race ?
Horse racing is described as " the sport of kings ". In Australia it is the choice of millions of people who like to have a bet. It is encouraging to know that the industry is under direct surveillance to ensure that industry standards are being met.
No comments:
Post a Comment