Should a controversial trainer, now rightly banned from the industry for years, be prohibited from living at home because it’s a registered racing premises, also used by members of his family?
That’s the curious question the Racing Victoria board will need to answer in the case of serial offender John Leek Jnr.
It was just months ago that Leek Jnr was toasting his Galleywood Hurdle victory at Warrnambool with The Storyteller.
It was not lost on some at the time that while Leek Jnr was front and centre on the day and featured throughout the broadcast of the carnival [and that’s no pot shot at anyone, what choice did they have], he had a significant legal case headed his way.
The winner of the $175,000 race is the same horse that Leek Jnr was caught on camera attempting to tube on the side of the road by Racing Victoria Stewards in 2025. It was heard in the Victorian Racing Tribunal that he admitted a bottle of liquid in the float was “to tube the horse” that contained “vitamins and salts”.
Leek Jnr is well known to Stewards, having been in their crosshairs several times. It was undoubtedly a key reason the Victorian Racing Tribunal went him so hard.
The independent VRT had the option of purely giving the veteran a mandatory 12-month ban, as per the rules. Instead, they gave him three years – Racing Victoria Stewards asked for four. Regardless, it is a big punishment that could end his career.
The curious situation here, however, is the situation Leek Jnr and his family find themselves in.
Their home is on their stable facility at Nar Nar Goon North which is registered with Racing Victoria. Under the rules, Leek Jnr isn’t allowed to enter a licensed training venue or participate in the training of a horse.
His wife of course is Andrea Leek, a successful trainer in her own right who trains Cosmic Crusader in this week’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes.
Leek Jnr’s son, Mitchell, is a trainer too [not to mention an elite boxer]. There is no suggestion either Andrea or Mitchell had any knowledge of Leek Jnr’s offending.
His lawyer, Matthew Stirling, did his best to somehow argue that Leek Jnr’s offending wasn’t that bad. His family provided affidavits to the VRT, essentially saying they will not seek or accept advice or help with their horses. You would assume they will make similar representations to Racing Victoria.
But considering Racing Victoria Stewards argued that Leek Jnr shouldn’t be allowed on site given his behaviour, it represents a curious decision – should they uproot a family based on the actions of one man?
While the punishment may seem harsh, Leek Jnr is a veteran of the industry, and should know better. He also was likely acutely aware of what the fallout may have been if he was subsequently caught like he was and what the punishment might entail.
He has also embarrassed an industry that has provided him with a livelihood.
If Leek Jnr is allowed to reside at the property, how can Racing Victoria Stewards police his compliance with his ban? Especially a participant who has shown a complete disregard for the rules
Leek Jnr will have the ability to make submissions on his behalf to the Racing Victoria board, which he is yet to do.
”If Mr Leek wishes to seek relief from any prohibitions that apply to a disqualified person, he would need to make application to the Board,” a Racing Victoria spokesperson said on Wednesday.
It’s not a straight forward task for the board, nor is it an enviable task.
Credit too must go to Racing Victoria’s Stewards for their case against Leek Jnr. They just happened to be following the veteran trainer when he pulled over on the way to the races to treat The Storyteller.
Investigators were wearing body cameras, picking up Leek Jnr’s actions, responses and subsequent admissions. All this was crucial given the trainer pleaded not guilty, a plea the Victorian Racing Tribunal didn’t believe.
It was a terrific piece of investigating that made their lawyer’s job easy when it came to proving their case, and subsequently kicking him out of the sport.
Off-track circus
It’s important to state from the outset that not all clubs are the same.
But we’re perplexed by the behaviour of a select few across the country when it comes time to provide punters with the best information on their tracks.
Bizarrely, two clubs have recently rejected media requests that would have provided key information on how tracks may play come race day.
They do realise that at some stage, horses will actually race on their surface and punters will get to see for themselves how their surface is performing?
One response when access was requested to a track, was the club didn’t want too many opinions on the surface before race day. This is not satire.
They even offered to send through the club’s own report, which I’m sure would include criticism if the surface wasn’t up to scratch…
Another asked what the ‘intentions’ were behind wanting to speak to a track manager before race day. Maybe to give punters the best independent advice possible before they lay out their cash?
Given punters essentially fund the sport, the clubs owe the industry to provide as much access as possible to allow them to bet with confidence.
It should be noted that not all tracks are created equal, some have bad days, and the fall out would be far less if punters knew early what runners may be impacted by the likely pattern.
Stars on track watch
In cases where trainers are genuinely torn where to send their stars, is track confidence a deciding factor this spring?
Cup Carnival on song
There has been the typical sour response from the usual types to the terrific field the Victoria Racing Club has assembled for their Melbourne Cup Carnival this year.
And we ain’t talking about the horses.
The club had already announced it had booked global sensation Fisher to DJ post Champions Day. His presence in 2025 undoubtedly brought energy to what was a terrific day of racing.
Now they confirm global pop star Robbie Williams will play on Melbourne Cup Day.
The most common complaint from some is that those coming for the day won’t care much for the racing, just the entertainment.
Isn’t that the exact point? Introducing new people to racing through their love of entertainment, not the punt.
The scores of people walking towards Fisher’s stage in 2025 had clearly already enjoyed themselves at the club’s licensed venues, and the demographic made your humble columnist feel as old as he probably is.
I had more requests for tickets on Champions Day for Fisher than I did across the entire Spring Carnival.
The outrageous success of The Everest is not only because it’s one of the world’s great races, but it’s a day of entertainment and partying too.
Racing must be agile to not only survive but thrive. Now let’s just hope the weather gods are kinder to Melbourne this year than they were for Fisher in 2025.
Memsie still a cracker
I’m sure a few Victorians would have been disappointed when Sheza Alibi headed north to take on Autumn Glow, instead of taking her place in the Memsie Stakes.
But what a race it still promises to be.
We wrote last week the once shunned race in the Spring deserves its place in the elite of racing.
And going by the acceptances on Wednesday, it still promises to rate highly.
There are nine Group 1 winners set to compete out of 12 starters.
It’s a fascinating race. And in good news for punters [and track staff at Caulfield] no further rain is predicted before Saturday.
Following a fair bit of rain on Tuesday, the course is currently rated a Heavy 8.
Hard to argue with James
Plenty of aspects within racing we need to do better to see it flourish in the future but surely this one is an easy fix. They’ve all got riders, they just don’t display on the one screen the industry goes to in order to see them. Embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/6ncZF3hRDC
— James Jordan (@James_Jordan) August 26, 2026
Congrats to Adam
Journalist Adam Pengilly won the prestigious Kennedy Award for Outstanding Racing Coverage last Friday. His piece for Idol Horse on Tom Prebble, who tragically became a paraplegic following a race fall, was expertly told and made Adam a worthy winner.
