Regulatory Restructure must be a joke

The stewards situation just goes from bad to worse. Posters on here have many examples of poor decisions or no decisions at all.

Greg Westwood has been appointed head Steward in the Hunter Valley.

This is the same Greg Westwood who made the decision with Kevin Adams in that infamous race at Tamworth. Do you remember the one. The one that was reviewed by the HRNSW Regulatory Review Panel that included Matthew Bentley.

I remember hearing from many people how it was the worst decision ever made by a steward.

http://www.hrnsw.com.au/hrnsw-media-release180.html

Haven't the Hunter Valley had a steady stream of wonderful stewards in recent times. Ron Bottle. Michael Beattie. Kevin Adams. All going to heaven that lot.

Many people I know will never take horses to race in the Hunter Valley. Never.

No wonder the current Government minister for racing is beside himself to merge the gallops stewards with harness racing stewards.

Best thing ever to happen. But how or why does this current board recycle jobs to people instead of bringing in new people or trying to attract some thoroughbred stewards?

No one wants to come and work in harness racing. Thats why. Poor gallops stewards having to come over. At least the level of ability will rise 20 fold.

Hmmmm. Call me a cynic... but do I detect a slight political slant to all that?
You wouldn't happen to be more than a bit matey matey with everyone's favourite Silvio Berlusconi impersonator, now would you...Davo?
http://www.tedescos.com.au/images/te..._tailoring.jpg
Let me guess...in return for supportive posts he has slipped you some of those ex-Hire suits that he used to get by the 40ft FCL load from Tedesco's. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davo

The stewards situation just goes from bad to worse. Posters on here have many examples of poor decisions or no decisions at all.

Greg Westwood has been appointed head Steward in the Hunter Valley.

This is the same Greg Westwood who made the decision with Kevin Adams in that infamous race at Tamworth. Do you remember the one. The one that was reviewed by the HRNSW Regulatory Review Panel that included Matthew Bentley.

I remember hearing from many people how it was the worst decision ever made by a steward.

http://www.hrnsw.com.au/hrnsw-media-release180.html

Haven't the Hunter Valley had a steady stream of wonderful stewards in recent times. Ron Bottle. Michael Beattie. Kevin Adams. All going to heaven that lot.

Many people I know will never take horses to race in the Hunter Valley. Never.

No wonder the current Government minister for racing is beside himself to merge the gallops stewards with harness racing stewards.

Best thing ever to happen. But how or why does this current board recycle jobs to people instead of bringing in new people or trying to attract some thoroughbred stewards?

No one wants to come and work in harness racing. Thats why. Poor gallops stewards having to come over. At least the level of ability will rise 20 fold.

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Let us assume for one minute that you are right and the decision to uphold the protest at Tamworth was in fact wrong.

I have viewed the race many many many times with many people who I consider to be good judges they all say the protest should have been dismissed the interesting thing is many have different reasons for reaching that decision which is why protests are subjective in nature.

Even if we say Kevin Adams got this wrong can someone, actually anyone point me to another decision made by him that was thought to be wrong at the time it was made.

I am not talking about when it came politically correct to kick the bloke when he was down. I am also not talking about the affair with another steward which when discussed on the national television program INSIGHT last year became a horse of an entirely different color and put a very different slant on those allegations and probably explained why Adams was not sacked at the time.

Perhaps the paper coverage was not as accurate as it should have been. I know VVV's much hated John Coughlan took the paper in question to court for statements made about him in the story and later had a retraction printed. However lets get back to your post I have drifted away. So tell me his other poor decisions I wait with interest.

Now let us deal with how little you obviously know about how a protest decision is reached.

Even if Greg Westwood was the other steward at Tamworth so what, he may well have voted to dismiss the protest you and I will never know. At a protest hearing every steward gets a vote and the chairman of the panel in this case Kevin Adams gets a casting vote so I will to do the simple maths so you can keep up

Adams Upheld

Westwood Dismiss

Adams casting vote upheld

Decision Upheld....So we will hang Westwood simply because he was there, yes that sounds fair.

Now lets deal with Beattie sure he was not well liked, funny that happens when you are trying to do the job. Two months ago the most popular stewards on the HRNSW panel were two blokes called O'Toole and Bentley. have you heard of them are their names familiar, they are to me, so much for popularity as a steward its a great measure.

I am not going to list all the hard heads Beattie took on but you know them.

I will give a written guarantee when charges are laid in the current investigation they will all be the blokes who were running around bagging him. One of his biggest knockers when he was in charge was Robbie Byrnes always wanted him gone... I wonder why.... no maybe I am just like you and turning into a cynic.

Now you want thoroughbred stewards or thoroughbred trained stewards.... ok here goes some facts you had them and you did not want them.

Beattie started working as a throughbred steward in 1975 moved to the provincial circuit in the mid 80 and worked on that panel and in the metro area until 1999 under a couple of Gallops stipes you may have heard of John Schreck and Ray Murrihy.

After a few years away from the stewarding went to Macau as Chief Steward at the request of John Schreck one of the Worlds most respected racing lawman for one season then back here for the trots job.

Now all the rumor mungors said he was sacked kicked out whatever. How then is it that just this year they entice him back to an even larger role as Director Of Racing ... must have forgot they sacked him. Oh and in case you missed it, he is now their Chief Steward as well in addition to his Director Of Racing role.

Greg Westwood when he retired from the previous harness panel a few years back worked for .....yes wait for it Racing NSW on their stewards panel in the mid and north cost region of NSW he only gave that away when the Trots wanted him back part time and he could not do both.

Of the current trots panel C Paul did his early training through the Racing NSW system so he is sort of a gallops guy as well.

Ray Livinsgstone a current gallops steward was trained at Racing NSW under Beattie in Newcastle and then worked under him at HRNSW before heading back to the gallops in a much more senior position. I would love to think we would get him back to Harness but we wont.

So where are the 20 fold coming from thin air perhaps or out of your hat.

The truth is harness participants do not like gallops stewards they are tuffer ask anyone.

I will bet a million dollars to a pile of dog shit that HRNSW received more complaints about Beattie, Paul and Livingstone over the past years than they did about Bentley and O'toole why because they were trying to do the job.

You know the funny thing none of that trio resigned when the complaints came in, you know why because they were doing the job.

Just some other stats that I should have included

Recent Chief Stewards

HRV

Terry Bailey returned to gallops Victoria

Ian Paterson returned to gallops Qatar

Alan Pearson Retired

Cameron George returned to gallops NZ

James Hitchcock went to gallops Victoria

NSW

James Perry( RIP) returned to gallops Korea then Queensland

Michael Beattie returned to gallops Macau

Qld

Martin Knibbs returned to gallops Queensland.

So of seven highly trained gallops stewards by the way all trained in NSW who were enticed to Harness Racing the industry currently has zero good work boys.

Nicely done Bill, nicely done.

Gee. Sorry for having an opinion. Seems you are not allowed that on here otherwise the bully boys will squash you.

Voice of reason. You always post in such condescending tones. Are you Michael Beattie?

I stick by my opinion because everyone is allowed to have one that when the stewards are merged they will be miles off better for it.

If you don't like that Voice that is too bad.

As for your mate he is a habitual bully that no wonder turns people off posting. Sure do disagree. But you blokes are something special.

Trooper, perhaps it's time for a reality check.
First of all, don't confuse rubuttals with being bullied. You opened up this thread with a straight out bagging of Greg Westwood... in direct response to his appointment as Head Steward in the Hunter Valley.
This you saw fit to do based on assumptions made about that Tamworth incident & with no other evidence offered to support that position other than he was there & despite the fact that he wasn't the Chairman that day & so obviously did not have the final say.
It was also despite the fact that..just as VOR has quite rightly pointed out...neither you, nor I nor anyone else has any idea at all & likely we will never have any idea, which way he voted as far as upholding or dismissing that particular protest. If you know for a fact he voted for it to go ahead then why not say so...don't go dancing around it, inferring.
Undaunted, you then went on to use your 'insights' into what happened at Tamworth, which way Greg Westwood may have voted etc. to bolster your case for the Harness & TB Stewards Panels to be mereged here in NSW...even going so far as purporting to know the thoughts, intentions & motivations of the current NSW Gaming & Racing Minister?

Gimme a break. I give the Stewards a lot more stick on here than most when I think it's warranted but fair dinkum, IMO that's just not warranted.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davo

Gee. Sorry for having an opinion. Seems you are not allowed that on here otherwise the bully boys will squash you.

Voice of reason. You always post in such condescending tones. Are you Michael Beattie?

I stick by my opinion because everyone is allowed to have one that when the stewards are merged they will be miles off better for it.

If you don't like that Voice that is too bad.

As for your mate he is a habitual bully that no wonder turns people off posting. Sure do disagree. But you blokes are something special.

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I make no apology for being condescending in this post as VVV says your post was to to denigrate Greg Westwood for something that I and VVV explained may well have been completely out of his control that is not opinion that is flat out muck raking.

You then go on the say what a better job the gallops stipes will do when we have already had a large number in the eastern states as pointed out Greg Westwood included.

After that you have a go at the board for not trying to attract gallops stewards.

Gallops stewards already attracted to Harness Racing in NSW in recent years Paul, Perry,Livingstone, Beattie and more recently Sanders.

This is not about your opinions being wrong it is about your facts being wrong.

I have no drama with your or anyones opinion I just like it to based on some facts.

Remember people once thought the world was flat that was an opinion as well ....just one that was wrong.