Bum Stier in vet scandal
You would think that if there was anyone inside of Racing Victoria equipped to do their due diligence and properly investigate before hiring anyone to a big, industry facing role where public perception is critical, it would be the head of integrity, Jamie Stier.
The same Stier who manages Racing Victoria’s team of investigators, former police officers and analysts who work diligently to ensure racing is clean.
You would think he would be across some of the most unique investigative tools, have a solid contact base across law enforcement and be able to ensure who Stier brings into the sport hasn’t threatened to kill anyone.
But it seems he can’t even do a simple Google search.
Stier of course decided to hire Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith, who lasted less than 36 hours as Racing Victoria’s chief vet before Betsy revealed he was charged by police when he threatened to kill former Melbourne Racing Club executive Jake Norton in 2018.
Now you could easily argue that Dr Robertson-Smith should have flagged earlier there might be a slight issue with his appointment [the small fact he admitted in court that he bizarrely left a series of voicemails where he rattled Norton with specific, detailed death threats]. He made no admissions until Racing Victoria quizzed him after Betsy made enquiries into his past.
Punters and the industry were genuinely aghast that Racing Victoria appointed Dr Robertson-Smith when his past was revealed. Undoubtedly qualified for the role, his offending instantly counted him out.
So the question is – what did Stier know? And how could he miss the red flags?
The Herald Sun briefly mentioned the above fiasco in their esteemed gossip pages in 2018 around the same time Stier began at Racing Victoria.
It was clear from that short piece Dr Robertson-Smith may be in strife. While much of his offending and legal woes had not become public before Betsy reported them, the brief mention was available on your search engine of choice.
It was the obvious point that should have at least paused the hiring process and led to serious questions being asked.
The saga raises significant issues about not only Racing Victoria’s hiring process, but Stier’s judgment too.
Stier’s handiwork has now made national and international headlines, and many within Racing Victoria remains furious, including his CEO Aaron Morrison.
It’s not the first time of late Morrison has been forced to clean up a mess surrounding Stier or his team. His handling of the Formestane drug saga needed Morrison to come out publicly and reassure the industry they would find answers to the mess.
Stier’s team of course suggested trainers may have cheated [a suggestion denied by Morrison] before later withdrawing evidence in that case following one of his vets making a crucial error in the legal process. Stier’s team have since gone from alleging that cheating was one possibility, to Morrison commissioning a global study that could prove their innocence.
It only came after Morrison’s intervention and leadership that there seemed to be a palatable path forward.
Stier too once managed former vet Grace Forbes, before they fell out. That ended in court, with accusations of bullying levelled against the organisation. The matter was later settled without blame.
Now Morrison must clean up another one of his messes and he is rightly filthy.
How can a professional sporting organisation run an international search for its new vet only to create such a public facing fiasco?
Betsy isn’t suggesting Stier knew of Dr Robertson-Smith’s offending, but there are some within Racing Victoria that were definitely aware, which begs the questions whether they should have raised the red flags earlier?
Stier, via Racing Victoria, said he had no recollections of the events surrounding the vet and Norton. He rejected he withheld any prior knowledge of Dr Robertson-Smith’s legal woes and the two are not friends but have attended the same functions over the years.
Those with knowledge of the situation remain convinced Stier at least should have heard the rumblings throughout 2018 and 2019 when he was on the Racing Victoria executive.
Dr Robertson-Smith’s legal woes in that period were incredibly relevant to a very public saga it was battling at the time. Betsy is aware of some within Racing Victoria who actively sought updates to the court case. How can the sport’s head of integrity remain oblivious at the time to such an important set of circumstances?
Betsy asked whether he still has the confidence of the Racing Victoria board, which they did not address.
Morrison has now commissioned another investigation into Stier’s world, this time how the recruitment process went so pear-shaped, leaving the organisation deeply embarrassed.
The investigation no doubt will look at the organisation’s People and Culture team too, led by executive Janelle Helleur, who has also been at Racing Victoria since 2018.
But what could she do? Dr Robertson-Smith passed a police check [no conviction was recorded] and any role her team would play would surely be supporting Stier with a process as he looks for the best possible candidate. Perhaps the investigation will determine who should have typed Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith into Google?
No matter the number of cigarettes Stier consumes [a keen smoker] will calm his nerves as Morrison’s investigation works through the most obvious question – what the hell was Stier thinking?
Quick action unlike Racing Victoria of the past
One area we will congratulate Racing Victoria on was the speed they speared Dr Robertson-Smith. The organisation, historically, has been quick to anger but slow to respond to a crisis.
The speed Morrison and his team moved on Tuesday once it became clear their new vet was not the answer indicates a welcome fresh approach.
Beers flow at the ‘Bool
It wasn’t exactly beer drinking weather, but that didn’t stop the punters tipping them back at the ‘Bool last week.
It wouldn’t be a Warrnambool Carnival without the freezing weather, but the club CEO Luke Cann said not only did crowd numbers rise, beer sales soared.
He told Betsy that crowds were up across Tuesday and Thursday – and 700 up overall for the carnival to around 29,200 for the three days.
But they were a thirsty lot, with beer sales up 10%. There were stories around the club needing to source extra booze.
‘’Our beer sales were definitely up, I haven’t got the complete picture yet, but around 10 per cent up across the board,’’ Cann said.
‘’We are absolutely stoked with the result across the three days. Our pre-sales were up 15 per cent and overall up 700 across the three days.
‘’We were really strong operationally, a near flawless performance from the team, there were bits and pieces along the way but we seemed to pivot quickly
‘’Our feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and it was just a great three days’’.
The Warrnambool club is a crucial cog in the Victorian racing ecosystem and there was a time the club needed a strong CEO, to which Cann has delivered.
‘Bool interview for the archives
Interviews on live television are hard enough at the best of times. To do it post-race, with a brother of the winning jockey who had beaten brain cancer who had just won the race in a nail-bitter [plus a big race like the Grand Annual] is even harder.
Racing.com’s Matt Stewart’s interview with Daniel Small was one of the great racing moments. He masterfully leaned into the emotion of his brother Braidon’s Grand Annual win – while cleverly and sensitively asking about Braidon’s cancer struggles which took years to overcome.
Despite Daniel’s tears of emotion, Stewart gently pressed on.
“It’s no secret my little brother has been through hell and back.”
Up we go, Braidon 🥹 A proud brother moment.
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/p30bahR35Y— Racing.com (@Racing) May 7, 2026
He followed it up with another beautiful interview with his father, former jockey Cyril.
Having the confidence and emotional intelligence to ask such questions and probe emotional areas is not always seen across sporting television, so kudos to Stewart.
Cyril 🥹🥹🥹 So special
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/JzntYJE2Dj— Racing.com (@Racing) May 7, 2026
Baz slipped in to Oz sales
The Poms might not be that good at cricket at the moment, which is glorious, something their coach and racing fan Brendon McCullum is keen to turn around. He faces a crucial three-Test series against his country of birth New Zealand starting in June.
But preparations for the series didn’t stop Baz from attending the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in Sydney last week – but he was keen to keep a low profile considering his team’s preparations are underway. He is involved in syndicating horses through Vermair Racing, including owning a gelding aptly named Stokes, named after his captain.
Bruce does racing a favour
He is one of Australia’s greatest ever broadcasters and racing is still incredibly blessed to have him.
Bruce McAvaney remains a key cog in the Channel 7 racing team, and apparently personally lobbied to have the broadcaster on course for the Group 1 Goodwood in Morphettville on Saturday.
A proud South Australian, the presence of the team on track did wonders for consumption of the state’s racing and no doubt wagering too.
Moody on a dart ban
Just like winning big races like the Goodwood on Saturday, having a ciggie goes hand-in-hand for Peter Moody.
Viewers of his wildly successful podcast Moody On The Mic will have seen him constantly churning through the darts as he works through the show.
But that could be about to stop. Ladbrokes has built Moody his own studio at home, but tragically for the master trainer, he is banned from lighting up.
And that’s not a Ladbrokes directive – Moody is banned from smoking in the house, so alas no darts. If you see a grumpier Moody this week, you know why!
