No tears for this exit
An ugly altercation between a recently departed CEO and a female industry participant has been dealt with by racing bosses.
Betsy has long considered this week whether to name the man – we have no interest in protecting his reputation, or what’s left of it.
Issue is, we name him and his victim gets unwarranted attention. She doesn’t deserve it.
Numerous sources have told Betsy the man’s behaviour towards the female at a function last month was way out of line.
The interaction left the participant in tears, with sources confirming the man was asked to leave.
Betsy understands Racing Victoria were incredibly upset with the incident and made their strong feelings known to the man’s employer given the CEO was still employed at the time. Those we spoke to on the issue this week said his exit wasn’t entirely linked to this altercation.
The participant who was at the end of the verbal, for the record, is a respected, popular and true professional who didn’t deserve the insults she received, nor to be caught up in this fiasco. She has received the support she deserves.
The man though is accused of delivering several disparaging remarks towards the participant, which left her visibly upset. They included remarks about her appearance, professionalism, treatment of people and other remarks which if we detail, will identify her.
What gives him the right?
We contacted the former CEO in question, who feigned surprise and even claimed he was trying to help. Please.
In an industry striving to work to make it better for women, it’s left many disappointed, others disgusted, but sadly, some not surprised.
The man’s former employer ducked providing any reasonable answers, which again, is no surprise. We just hope they have the stones down the track to be honest if anyone comes knocking for reference checks.
Fair Start? Debate erupts after Kyle unseats Jye
Punters were aghast when the Enver Jusufovic-trained Kyle was declared a runner after unseating jockey Jye McNeil in the stalls and taking no part in the race.
The flashpoint came in the opening seconds. As the gates flew back, a Racing Victoria barrier attendant clearly had hold of the horse, vision broadcast on Racing Victoria’s media arm, Racing.com, showing the attendant gripping the rein as Kyle reared and swung his head. McNeil was unseated almost immediately, the race effectively over for the $4.40 chance before it began.
Social media lit up within minutes. Many punters argued the gelding had been denied a fair start, pointing to the attendant’s hold as the decisive factor. To their eye, Kyle had no genuine opportunity to jump on equal terms.
In making their decision, Stewards concluded that Kyle had been afforded a fair star”
“After taking evidence from Starter, Mr Paul Didham, rider Jye McNeil and Mr Jusufovic it was established in evidence given by J. McNeil and Mr Didham that Kyle had been fractious in the barriers prior to the start being effected, at which point barrier attendants had been called to assist J. McNeil in settling the gelding.
“Furthermore, as the start was effected, Kyle reared and swung its head behind the nearside partition, at which point J. McNeil was unseated and not in a position to jump. As the Stewards were satisfied that Kyle had been afforded a fair start and, further, that the actions of the barrier attendant subsequent to Kyle rearing were in the interests of the safety of rider J. McNeil, the gelding was deemed to be a runner,” read the Stewards’ Report.
On paper, the ruling rests on two pillars: that Kyle was already fractious before the start and that the attendant’s intervention was a safety response, not an impediment. Rider welfare is, and must remain, priority number one.
But the vision complicates the optics. If Kyle was clearly playing up and required assistance immediately before the barriers opened, it is fair to ask whether the starter erred in letting the field go at that precise moment. Safety and fairness are not mutually exclusive and protecting punters is vital, given they fund the sport.
If Kyle wasn’t being held by the barrier attendant, the decision would be far easier to digest. As it stands, perception and process sit uneasily side by side.
If that’s considered a ‘fair start’ under the rules, then maybe it’s the rules that need looking at.
Who said lawyers don’t care?
Deep inside transcripts in one of the most important drug cases racing has had in some time is a snippet that shows that money isn’t everything.
Experienced barrister Damien Sheales has become racing’s lawyer of choice, mainly because his strike rate is great.
Sheales is representing five stables against charges from Racing Victoria after very low levels of Formestane, a breast cancer drug, was found in their runners. Part of the case is around whether the horses were given the drug to cheat, something the trainers long deny, and a claim now accepted as wrong by RV. You can read James Tzaferis’ excellent work on Betsy.
We digress. The trainers in question have spent significant amounts of money to clear their names, and thanks to some good will, it could have been worse, as can be witness below.
The notion of money is dealt with as magistrate Pete Reardon warned Sheales and his opposing counsel Adrian Anderson to be nice to each other.
‘’Just remember in relation to these matters, the Tribunal has given an indication in relation to these matters, it can’t be more clearer and this is not a situation where this is personal between the barristers. Your clients are paying money for you. I don’t want a situation where it’s personal. All right?,’’ Reardon said.
‘’Just for the record, my clients paying money for me ran out days ago and I’m not charging any more, so I am wasting my own time being here, not their money,’’ Sheales cooly replied.
Credit where it’s due
Finally! Betsy notes that Racing Victoria and Country Racing Victoria finally put their hands into their pockets to invest into some proper help for country track managers.
Too many meetings have been cancelled at the last minute because of preparation problems, environmental impacts, often picking up on significant issues would mean the meeting would be abandoned.
A press release during the week stated that CRV will pay for a Country Tracks and Facilities Coordinator, who will then report then directly to RV’s Tracks and Facilities Manager but will liaise closely with officials at CRV. Confusing sure, but credit to both for listening to clubs, participants, punters and finally taking action.
According to the release, the ‘’role will provide general support across all country clubs with the preparation of their racetracks, with scope to spend additional time and resources at some clubs where required’’.
Field size issues continue to plague two-year-old racing.
While five and six-horse fields may suit connections, they are poor wagering contests and struggle to generate the turnover required to justify prizemoney. Two-year-old field sizes have been declining for the past decade, particularly in the first half of the season, leading to races being removed from programs and others running with minimal depth.
A 2YO race was deleted from Thursday night’s Pakenham card due to insufficient acceptances. In spring we saw a two-horse juvenile event, a three-horse race at Seymour in January and several five and six-horse fields across the summer.
The reasons are layered. Part of the decline is a welfare positive, with trainers now quicker to not run young horses at the first sign of an issue, aided by better diagnostics and monitoring. But commercial realities also play a role, as trainers and breeders protect strike rates and stallion reputations in a market where early 2YO success is gold and failure can quickly become a liability.
It’ll be interesting to watch how the 2yo trend continues to evolve.
Good luck Laura
There were real fears for Laura Laferty after a nasty fall back in 2024. She was in a bad way and her future was uncertain, let alone any thought about a return to racing.
Trent Masenhelder has done a terrific interview with her for Racing.com, where she deals with her battles with PTSD following her horrific injuries. It’s well worth your time.
Laura Lafferty opens up on surviving a life-threatening fall, battling PTSD & her long road back to race riding 🙏
🗞️ https://t.co/0fa1tQWllK pic.twitter.com/ShZFGdIw3z
— Racing.com (@Racing) February 18, 2026
The classic social media error, we assume
A prominent Melbourne stable set for a big weekend quickly deleted a reply to a tweet that would have upset during the week. Seemingly, it was posted in error, with the author we assume believing they were using a personal account, not a work one. Poor taste regardless considering the current political climate.
