Page 6 - Racing Editor News Today

RSN927 PARTICIPANTS BEHAVING BADLY: RACING’S LATEST BLACK EYE February 4, 2021 7:23 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  Three shameful recent incidents have the scarred the reputation of racing and its participants and could bring into focus the adequacy of the sport’s welfare endeavours. About a month ago a video circulated through social media; CCTV footage of a man believed to be a prominent metro trainer striking an elderly man at a bar. The incident is believed to have occurred up to t...

RSN927 WILLIAMS HORSES RETURN AS MACEDON LODGE REMAINS UNSOLD February 3, 2021 2:33 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  Danny O’Brien confirmed today that three high-class Lloyd Williams-owned stayers had not returned to his stable after competing last spring. This comes as Williams reported today that his entire racing squad would be trained at Macedon Lodge under the care of Robert Hickmott, who had been Williams’ private trainer from 2009 until Hickmott went out on his own with a Caulf...

The flinging open of the Caulfield gates on Saturday could coincide with the unexpected appearance of Cox Plate winner, Sir Dragonet.

As fans become increasingly furious and Racing Victoria privately seethes about unyielding COVID protocols and false hopes, racing minister Martin Pakula has insisted that change is imminent.

RSN927 \WAGERING IS UP AND HARNESS HAS A SPRING IN ITS STEP. CAN IT SEIZE THE MOMENT? WAGERING IS UP AND HARNESS HAS A SPRING IN ITS STEP. CAN IT SEIZE THE MOMENT? February 1, 2021 5:55 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  Wandering out of the Palladium at Crown last night, I ran into a harness official wearing a look of serene satisfaction. The previous three or four hours had been quite extraordinary. The official was glowing. Harness racing is not glamorous by nature – at least that’s the...

RSN927 ALL STAR WEIGHT TWEAK NOT OFF TABLE January 28, 2021 1:57 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  The weight conditions of the All Star Mile – great for the star runners but a dream crusher for others – are not set in concrete. Racing Victoria executive general manager Greg Carpenter said there had been consideration to change the conditions of the $5 million race from weight-for-age to set weights and penalties for this year. “It had been on the table, it has been discussed and the ra...

RSN927 ANTHONY VAN DYCK FINDINGS TO BE RELEASED WITHIN A FORTNIGHT January 28, 2021 4:55 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  Racing Victoria is expected to conclude its investigation into the cause of Anthony Van Dyck’s Melbourne Cup death within a fortnight. A Racing Victoria spokesperson said today that the broader probe into injury and death among the international raiders would conclude by the end of March. The fatality report into another casualty, the Australian Bloodstock-owned Involve...

LONGINES LISTS AN ANNUAL HEAD-SCRATCHER BUT ALSO REVEAL HARD TRUTHS January 27, 2021 3:22 pm By Matt Stewart, Racing Editor  If nothing else, the good folk of LONGINES provide us with an excuse to roll our eyes and slam keyboards. The World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2020, determined by the very official-sounding International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, and sponsored by LONGINES, today released its controversial best lists; best horses of 2020, best races of 2020. Despite the ...

Mystic Journey became the shortest priced favourite to be rolled at Mowbray for many years when she kicked off her All Star Mile campaign with a second placing at $1.10 in the Ladbrokes Stakes.

Cheltenham jumps festival winning trainer Charles Byrnes was suspended for six months for negligence in a case that has stunned Irish racing – despite its rich history of scallywag track yarns – and left a trail of intrigue.