http://www.harnesslink.com/Australia...ss-race-fixing
Another court report from the Herald Sun
per un PUGNO di DOLLARI
The younger generation - too lazy to talk face to face and too stupid to understand your phone will be your undoing when partaking In a scam.
These four will be nominated for the Australia Racing Hall of Shame, a shoe-in. Placed along side Rick Renzella and Haydn Haitana in the "most desperate for a dishonest quid" category.
I am not sure that we can tarnish all the young generation Trev - maybe just a few that left school early and joined the harness ranksOriginally Posted by Showgrounds
per un PUGNO di DOLLARI
Thats a bit cruel Kev.., but showgrounds is right, some of these people are not smart even though they can train and drive a winner with the best of them. Makes you wonder how many are are smart enough to NOT use their phones.
I remember an old (very, and still active) at a training forum a couple of decades ago lamenting that young horsemen (women, persons, et al) cannot tack on a shoe but can hit the jugular vein with a needle blindfolded.Thats a bit cruel Kev..
Similarly, Kev, not ALL of the younger generation can be tarred with the same brush as the Cobram Four. Nonetheless, it is hugely disappointing that our racing media, ever compliant with the industry as it shrinks in numbers, has gladly pumped the tyres and reputations of these four as models of the new generation of harness racing trainers and drivers. We are doomed if these models of modernity are not penalized for their greed and arrogant stupidity. Just reading the evidence put forward from Thursday's proceedings summarized it all - just tell the Police you don't remember!
Last edited by Messenger; 12-09-2017 at 12:53 AM.
From what I have read, if what I have read is correct, and I hope it is not.....if the recordings the cops have put forward as evidence are actually true then however old/young/tech savvy or otherwise the players are they will have to pay a hefty price for this, having said that one of the horses involved "Airbornemagic" has not been heard of for quite a while, I hope he is OK, and its funny when you look at his form that he did very little ( almost to the point of embarressment) in the starts before he had before the "Cobram Crew" took him in their care and very little after leaving their care, in a very brief career, but managed to win in 1.55 or thereabouts in his one and only "15 minutes of fame"....I sincerely hope the horse is OK.
There is a good story if you google Sheparton news, it's about the Police interview with Mark Pitt I don't know how to put the link on here
Have whoever you want on but don't ever have yourself on
Good summary of that one DannoFrom what I have read, if what I have read is correct, and I hope it is not.....if the recordings the cops have put forward as evidence are actually true then however old/young/tech savvy or otherwise the players are they will have to pay a hefty price for this, having said that one of the horses involved "Airbornemagic" has not been heard of for quite a while, I hope he is OK, and its funny when you look at his form that he did very little ( almost to the point of embarressment) in the starts before he had before the "Cobram Crew" took him in their care and very little after leaving their care, in a very brief career, but managed to win in 1.55 or thereabouts in his one and only "15 minutes of fame"....I sincerely hope the horse is OK.
Court hears police interview
DECEMBER 06, 2017
An interview with Avenel harness racing driver Mark Pitt was shown in court yesterday, as a hearing involving four people accused of race fixing continued.
Mr Pitt, Lisa Bartley, Amanda Turnbull and Nathan Jack have pleaded not guilty to charges of engaging in, facilitating and possessing knowledge and/or information about conduct that corrupts a betting outcome.
Magistrate John Murphy viewed the interview with Mr Pitt, recorded at Melton Police Station on August 28, 2016.
In the interview, Mr Pitt spoke with detectives about how he first became involved in the industry and his relationship with his co-accused Lisa Bartley.
‘‘I don’t know much else about anything other than horses,’’ he said.
An investigation was launched into the tactics adopted during a harness race at Cobram on June 22, 2015.
Prosecutors allege the footage of race four at Cobram shows Nathan Jack took to the track with Tooram Lad and he allowed Airbournemagic, driven by Mr Pitt, which was close behind, to win.
When questioned about who he knew to be the trainer of Airbournemagic in 2015, Mr Pitt said he thought David Bartley was training it.
‘‘I think he might’ve been taking it to Mr Jack’s place to use a water walker (a therapeutic treading pool for horses),’’ he said.
When asked about his recollection of the race in question, Mr Pitt said he remembered the drive ‘‘vaguely’’.
‘‘I can’t really recall the day ... I ended up behind the leader and ended up winning a good race,’’ he said.
‘‘It seemed like we were travelling fairly fast, I was always behind the leader and made a run when the leader was dying out a fraction.’’
Mr Pitt told detectives he did not think it was surprising that Airbournemagic won, as it had been ‘‘pretty strong’’ during a previous race.
‘‘(David Bartley said) ‘Do your best and try and hold a forward position’, as close a position to the leader as I could,’’ he said.
‘‘(There was) nothing out of the ordinary in that race ... Tooram Lad got a bit tired late.’’
Mr Pitt denied discussing racing odds with anyone before or after the race, but did admit someone made mention to his partner Ms Bartley about winning money.
‘‘I can’t afford to be doing stuff like that, it affects my career and income ... I’m trying to make a living out of it,’’ he said.
On Monday, Mr Bartley did not give evidence in court with Magistrate Murphy deeming the consequences to be too severe.
Last week, the court heard evidence from betting agency employees about the pre-race betting patterns of the alleged fixed race.
Harness Racing Victoria evidence was also thrown out and not used during the hearing as it was found to be involuntarily obtained.
The hearing continues today.
The prosecution's key evidence is the mobile phones. I will be interested to see how many mobile phones the police obtained. You would think, with 4 people charged, there will be 4 phones. I reckon there will be more.
I carry 2 mobiles but one is supplied with my job and is strictly work related. My grapevine tells me the, as yet, unnamed trainer arrested in the Bendigo area the other week on suspicion of "historic" race fixing charges, handed over one phone when asked. When hung upside down and shaken (metaphorically speaking) another 3 or 4 phones were obtained.
Given the relatively small amount of money (a couple of grand each) said to be won by the Cobram Four, it seems they underwent a lot of planning to win a small amount of money by today's standards. Interesting that Bet365 ad Ladbrokes disclosed that Airbornemagic had been backed from $35 to $3.60. One would think somebody got a fair bit more out of the win,
It's the use of multiple mobile phones that is my concern. It seems multiple phones are common, one for "official" use other (probably pre-paid) ones to talk with others about less savoury topics. Unfortunately, for the needy and the greedy, the cops are all over this and know that mobile phone records leave foot prints, not fingerprints. These 4 industry participants appear to have been wearing gumboots just to make the job a bit easier for the police.
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