Originally Posted by
Showgrounds
Well Old Fox, you are not quite correct. Moran didn't cheat, he was outed for actions he took against a former partner. Those actions took place in her workplace. Had Worksafe Victoria become involved I am certain he would have copped more than a seven month suspension that allowed him to master puppetry while others trained his horses.
There is a fair chance he might be eating porridge thrice daily had the law investigated the incident. Lucky him, he had HRV prosecuting his charges.
What you say about the compliant, weak-kneed, grovelling harness racing media is true. As mentioned previously, the fact none of them questioned the "minor bleed" claims with LA will never rate as quality journalism. Gee, where is the next generations of Richard Trembaths and Bob Cainsc coming from?
The reality is freedom of speech is outlawed by HRA and state controlling bodies. While rules are in place to prevent licensees and owners from stating the bleeding obvious the "accredited" media seem to play to that rule book.
Recently, my insomniac self watched a great series of documentaries on late night pay TV called The Prohibition. Al Capone, now widely acknowledged as one of the shonkiest gangsters of the era, was given celebrity status by the press of the day (no "media" back then). They were even more compliant then than harness racing media are today. Villains are good guys in their view. Of course, when the CEO of a state controlling body relicences a 13-time disqualified offender on grounds that "everybody deserves a second chance you realise why the sport is in a death spiral.