RV CEO comments on racing corruption allegations
15 Aug 2012 | Racing Victoria Ltd Racing Victoria Chief Executive Rob Hines on Wednesday issued the following statement in response to allegations made in Fairfax newspapers regarding race fixing and corruption.
“Racing Victoria has no knowledge of the allegation in today’s Fairfax newspapers regarding a jockey wagering on another horse in the same race and is not aware of the source of this allegation. If evidence is provided to Racing Victoria to support this allegation then swift action will be taken by the Stewards under the Rules of Racing,” Hines said.
“With respect to comments pertaining to a separate investigation into betting activities, it is important to note that we stringently monitor betting on over 4000 races annually in conjunction with all approved wagering operators to ensure that the integrity of our sport is maintained.
“As part of this process, we regularly investigate betting on specific races where there may be an abnormal pattern of activity and if required will open an inquiry to further our investigations.
“We will not comment on individual investigations until such time as charges have been laid with respect to breaches of the Rules of Racing.
“As advised previously, Racing Victoria has been working closely with the Racing Integrity Commissioner, Sal Perna, and Victoria Police for a number of months on the allegation pertaining to fixing of the race won by Smoking Aces at Cranbourne in April 2011.
“The Victoria Police are not in a position to provide Stewards with the relevant evidence at this time due to legislative impediments, however, once the evidence can be made available Racing Victoria will immediately open a Stewards inquiry.
“Race fixing allegations often involve unusual betting activity by unlicensed persons but Racing Victoria’s powers over unlicensed persons were limited by VCAT in a decision in 2010. The State Government has indicated that they are not prepared to legislate to bridge this gap until the matter has again been tested in Court.
“We again welcome Victoria Police’s renewed focus on racing related crime which highlights the need for a collaborative approach to limit the opportunities for illegal activities in our sport.”