I draw your attention to the last item in the attached stewards which was sneakily placed on the harness racing website on a Saturday. Note the inquiry started six months ago during the first COVID lockdown and has only just been concluded. HRV is big on banging the drum about its integrity; you would think this inquiry was chaired by Daniel Andrews. It has more holes in it than a crumpet. It seems it is now ok to forget to inform the stewards that you actually train your horse sure you work, the Stewart / Tonkin stables at Cardigan, not at your residence in Delacombe. Honest mistake, fair enough perhaps. But now it is ok to use all their gear, silkies, harness and, presumably, feed.

The horse in question Jay Jay Shady had one once and been placed twice in 21 starts. Clearly, not a star. Look deeper and you see it's win came courtesy of the winner being disqualified! The horse was acquired by a trainer that I've never heard of named Gerard Jamieson. Then again, I'm sure he's never heard of me. I ask the question, how many people knew that this pacing cockroach was being stabled with Ride High and its mates and, almost certainly, being worked with them as the trainer admitted, and possibly fed, worked and possibly treated like them? Who was in the know? Certainly not the average punters.

Now, how bloody thick are the stewards? Yeah, the stable return was wrong. No penalty for that, unlike the fines that get dished out if your treatment log book isn't up to date. But then they say they could find no concerns with getting data! God help us! The horse started at $2.70 second favourite and rated a very tidy 1:55.8 in a restricted race after finishing ninth and seventh at its previous two starts! Chief steward Frank Drebin says, "move along, nothing to see here!" Even the driver works for the Stewart / Tonkin crew so it is fair to assume the broader stable cleaned up.

In its two previous starts Jay Jay Shady started at $17.50 beaten 51.7 metres and $7.50 beaten 16.5 metres. No questioning the improved performance because the trainer forgot to say where the horse was really being trained. I guess one of the stewards stood in a COVID deserted betting ring to surmise the horse had not been punters

I ask the following question, why would any seemingly sane person invest a further dollar in the Victorian trots industry when this level of "integrity" is deemed acceptable?

[URL="www.harness.org.au/media-room/news-article/?news_id=45114"]http://https://www.harness.org.au/me...?news_id=45114