Racing Victoria’s new chief vet was once forced to face court after he left a series of menacing voicemails where he was accused of threatening to kill a Melbourne Racing Club executive.
Betsy can reveal Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith, who Racing Victoria announced as their new chief veterinary officer on Monday, left anonymous threatening messages on the phone of former Melbourne Racing Club executive Jake Norton on several occasions in 2018.
Norton reported those threats to Victoria Police, who after months of investigating, traced the calls to the mobile phone of Dr Robertson-Smith. The threats, which were specific and disturbing in nature, were delivered weeks apart.
Police subsequently charged Racing Victoria’s new top vet, who admitted to the charge in the Melbourne Magistrates Court of ‘’using a carriage service to menace or harass’’.
He was sentenced to a diversion order but avoided a criminal conviction, which allowed him to keep his vet licence.
As part of his penalty, Dr Robertson-Smith donated $1,000 to the Royal Children’s Hospital and continued unspecified health treatment for at least 6 months.
As police investigated the threatening messages, Dr Robertson-Smith reached out to Norton following his threats.
To make the situation even more bizarre, it is understood the two did not know each other when the messages were delivered, and it was believed the threats surrounded an ongoing issue at the Melbourne Racing Club at the time.
Sources told Betsy the saga took its toll on Norton considering the nature of the threats. Norton declined several approaches to discuss the saga on Tuesday.
The appointment as Racing Victoria’s chief vet stunned some within racing on Monday considering his legal woes and his new role in enforcing the integrity of the sport.
The man responsible for the appointment is the organisation’s head of integrity Jamie Stier.
Betsy is also aware of several current senior Racing Victoria staff who were actively aware of Dr Robertson-Smith’s legal battles in 2018 as it also impacted another scandal it was monitoring.
Stier, his executive colleague Jamie McGuinness and current CEO Aaron Morrison were at Racing Victoria at the time. Several staff within Racing Victoria were stunned with the appointment of Dr Robertson-Smith on Monday considering their knowledge of his offending.
At this stage, Betsy believes Morrison was not aware of Dr Robertson-Smith’s criminal charges when he was appointed on Monday.
The appointment of Dr Robertson-Smith now raises serious questions about the process of his hiring, including whether those running the recruitment process knew the full picture of his offending.
Racing participants face a strict character test in order to be licensed in Victoria, which often scrutinises serious offending like that of Dr Robertson-Smith.
Racing Victoria has been contacted for comment. Betsy has been unable to contact Dr Robertson-Smith.
It is the latest scandal to plague the Racing Victoria veterinarian team. Dr Grace Forbes launched legal action in 2025 against Racing Victoria, Morrison and Stier over bullying claims. Morrison, Stier and Racing Victoria rejected the accusations and the matter was settled out of court. It also has dealt with accusations from lawyers and trainers that a Racing Victoria vet made crucial errors in the handling of a legal process regarding the Formestane drug saga.
In spruiking his appointment, Stier said on Monday that Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith boasts more than ”40 years” experience across specialist clinical practice, academia, and large-scale racing and regulatory environments.
‘’Glenn is returning to Australia from his current role with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and will be well known to many within the industry given his extensive veterinary background in Victoria,’’ he said in a statement.
Dr Robertson-Smith, who leaves the Hong Kong Jockey Club, has previously criticised Racing Victoria. In an interview with the Guardian, the vet was critical of the administrators’ handling of Darren Weir during his charges for animal abuse.
“I’m desperately concerned for the future of the state’s racing industry,” Robertson-Smith said in 2019.
He also told The Age in 2019 that Racing Victoria needed ‘’to be proactive, not reactive’’ around the use of jiggers in the sport.
