Ballarat Cup

[Messenger]

And more...
"BEAUTIDE " (James Rattray up) wins Miracle Mile in 1.50.2 "BETTORS FIRE" ( Kyle Harper up ) in a soft 1.53.8 Mt Eden Mile victory...using UFO Sulkies !!!!

There is no logic in what appears to have taken place at Ballarat/ Hope that the papers tomorrow pick it up and report honestly, and that the Racing Minister Martin Pikula has been informed.
The effects are enormous....Ballarat get 10% of the oncourse TAB turnover for th emeeting..that will be effected, sponsor goodwill down the gurgler,surely owners couldn't be in agreement with scratching from a Group 1 race.
You can actually hire sulkies on course ( Australian Sulky Hire via their Facebook page) , and some drivers have their own. Daryl Douglas takes his sulky to the races with him ( maybe they are UFOs)

Unfortunately it will probably be too late Saturday for the Sunday papers to go with it and by the time Monday comes it is old news - the fallout however may make sport headlines in The Sun

Surely the owners would have had to be in agreement Noel

[Big Mac]

Maybe a competitor manufacturer tipped off stewards

[Adaptor]

Maybe the competition ( trainers and owners) got sick of chasing the horses trained by the two trainers who scratched.

Dan Milecki just commented before race 9
"The meeting will be remembered for the wrong reasons. Following on from a fantastic Cranbourne Cup....tonight...tragic.

[Richard prior]

Obviously Big Dan can't say a lot as it may cost him his job.

[Adaptor]

Sulkies
Sulkies from the HRA website
271. Only sulkies of the type, dimensions and materials approved by the Controlling Body may be used.

271A. A sulky shall conform to the standards set out in the document adopted by Harness Racing Australia entitled "Standard For Safety and Performance of Sulkies" and sub titled "The Sulky Standard."

Where do you find details of 271A?

[Messenger]

Adam Hamilton said that it all came about due to HRA notifying HRV about concerns. How HRV took it upon themselves is another matter, as is the reaction of the 2 big stables

[Smoken]

Absolute Shambles!!!!! Ridiculous!

[Race For Fun]

On Sky last night they were calling the gigs "modified UFO gigs" what that means I don't know. Two sides to this but the question to be asked is, as a steward said when interviewed before the race on sky that they had the information on Thursday.Did the stewards allow horses to race at Melton on Friday night in these same gigs that were bared at the races on Saturday night?

There is no argument that
1. Gigs that don't meet specifications should not be sold as race gigs in Australia (not saying that this occurred)
2. When you buy something it's up to the buyer to ensure what you buy is legal for use (who would buy a gig for thousands of dollars and think that there could be a problem).
3. Cup night is not the time to be running the tape over gigs when you could have done something the day before.

[MJD]

HRV issued a statement..."We were informed by Harness Racing Australia during the week of concerns some UFO sulkies were wider than what is allowed. I informed our steward who oversees gear that when next at the races he is to measure the sulkies. He measured them at Thursday's meetings and there was no issue" Why would HRV not hav issued a message to trainers as a heads up as soon as the issue came to hand on Thursday/Friday to check their sulkies rather than thinking it will all be good. Also HRV Stewards are trying to shift blame as they said "UFO is not a new sulky manufacturer. I’m surprised that an experienced sulky maker would supply sulkies outside of HRA specifications". UFO made an error but common sense would hav been to issue a statement & contact trainers to avoid this happening tonight.
Also Emma Stewart confirmed that they used the same now illegal sulky at Melton on Friday night.

[Messenger]

On Sky last night they were calling the gigs "modified UFO gigs" what that means I don't know. Two sides to this but the question to be asked is, as a steward said when interviewed before the race on sky that they had the information on Thursday.Did the stewards allow horses to race at Melton on Friday night in these same gigs that were bared at the races on Saturday night?

There is no argument that
1. Gigs that don't meet specifications should not be sold as race gigs in Australia (not saying that this occurred)
2. When you buy something it's up to the buyer to ensure what you buy is legal for use (who would buy a gig for thousands of dollars and think that there could be a problem).
3. Cup night is not the time to be running the tape over gigs when you could have done something the day before.

All true Toni but I thought they were saying that the trainers who scratched were not prepared to use 'modified UFO gigs' (but you know I hearing is crap)