Racing Victoria’s chief vet Grace Forbes wants to return to work despite telling the Fair Work Commission she had been “damaged” by the administrative body and its CEO Aaron Morrison.
Forbes launched bullying claims against her employer earlier this year, accusing Morrison and her boss Jamie Stier of pressuring her to pass international horses to run in the Melbourne Cup despite RV introducing strict rules.
RV and Morrison have strongly rejected all of Forbes claims, also pointing at RV’s continued investment and success of the Cup vet protocols.
Forbes’ claims that she was pressured to show leniency with the vet protocols are significant and threatened to undermine the strict rules Racing Victoria introduced to stop horses dying in the Melbourne Cup. She said that would have allowed horses deemed at “high risk” of catastrophic injury to race in key events such as the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate.
The Age reported on Wednesday that despite the bad blood, Forbes ‘’wants to return to work in a safe, bully-free environment after being on personal leave for almost six months’’.
News of Forbes’ legal action first became public just before the Cox Plate, with some of the view the timing of the story was to cause maximum damage to RV.
The Fair Work Commission heard on Wednesday that Forbes had lodged an application with the commission for an order to stop bullying, with the claim to be heard over the next two days.
RV’s lawyer Tim Dowling failed to have the matter thrown out on “jurisdictional” grounds on Wednesday after long negotiations between Forbes and the administrative body.
But Forbes’ barrister Nicholas Harrington argued for the case to continue, arguing there was no evidence RV ‘’had taken any steps or imposed any guidelines’’ or introduced any safety net, for the possible return of Dr Forbes.
“Dr Forbes wants to return to work. That’s why she’s here,” The Age reported.
He told the commission that Forbes had been “damaged” by the conduct of Racing Victoria and Morrison and that she could not go back to an environment in which there were no controls or protections for her.
Morrison and RV have strongly rejected Forbes’ claims, with the CEO believed to be deeply upset at the allegations. The Melbourne Cup vet protocols have been a significant success, with no horse dying in the race since the protocols were introduced in 2021. Betsy has reported that the level of communication between RV and international trainers improved significantly in 2025, with hope even more international horses will compete in 2026.
RV has previously rejected all of Forbes’ claims saying, “regarding the workplace dispute, we are disappointed to read the allegations and strongly refute their accuracy and the disparaging comments attributed by Dr Forbes about Racing Victoria and its staff,’’ RV said in October
Forbes originally claimed in her court action that her role was undermined following her recommendation to scratch O’Brien’s horse Jan Brueghel before the 2024 Melbourne Cup after it failed to meet safety standards. That decision, she says, was made by an independent panel of imaging specialists.
Jan Brueghel later returned to Europe and had an injury interrupted season.
“I believe I was punished for enforcing that decision,” she wrote, adding that both Morrison and Stier sought to remove her from involvement in the vetting process for international runners.
In her original legal claims, Forbes also revealed some behind the scenes tensions between RV executives, claiming Morrison’s behaviour toward her shifted after a board presentation on the equine welfare budget in June 2024, where he allegedly shouted at Stier.
The Herald Sun report also details one alleged incident at Flemington Racecourse in October 2024, where Dr Forbes says Morrison made remarks in front of colleagues over a jacket she wore.
The legal complaint also names RV’s People and Performance Manager Xavier Linton.
