International Rescue

May I begin by saying I was overwhelmed and humbled by the response to my last blog. I received many e-mails and messages and I think I managed to reply to them all. If I did miss anyone out with my replies I apologise – it wasn’t intentional.

It’s interesting to note the BHA continue to show their ineptitude and complete lack of authority.

Reading the recent Sungate report it now transpires the cornerstone of “regulation” - strict liability of trainers for what is administered to their horses isn’t so strict after all.

Presumably the secret list of impacted trainers includes some very high profile names and, as was the case with Sheikh Mohamed, it seems the BHA is more interested in keeping the powerful onside than true, impartial regulation.

However the BHA doesn’t have a monopoly in incompetency when it comes to racing regulators.

The punishment handed out to Martin Dwyer by the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) on the face of it and when compared with similar offences in the UK, looks severe but that is as far as my sympathy goes.

Riders are happy to take the money on offer for riding overseas and in doing so accept they have to ride to the local rules and regulations, so they cannot bleat when what is deemed an excessive punishment is meted out by the local stewards – if you don’t like the local rules then don’t play the local game.

My sympathy for Dwyer is all the more diminished as, following the Richard Hughes case, it was patently obvious the rules in India were harsher than in the UK – but he was still lured by the money on offer.

Now there is a clamour for Dwyer’s ban not to be reciprocated by the BHA.

I had to smile at PJA boss Paul Struthers pronouncements on the matter calling on the BHA not to reciprocate any ban, whereas in his previous role he would have been defending the BHA’s stance in reciprocation – a classic case of gamekeeper turned poacher.

It is irrelevant if we think Dwyer’s ban is too harsh,  for what it’s worth I do think it’s excessive but those are the local rules and the general agreement is bans are reciprocated.

If there is a reciprocation arrangement in place then ALL bans should be reciprocated otherwise it will make a complete mockery of the disciplinary process if authorities can pic and choose when to enforce bans.

However this incident and others like it does underscore a more serious issue.

Racing is, more and more, becoming an international sport yet each local jurisdiction has its own rules, regulations and punishments – surely that cannot be right.

Can you imagine the chaos at the football World Cup if all the different associations played to their own set of rules?

Racing has become a truly international sport - it is time it had an international governing body with an internationally agreed set of rules and standard punishments.

Of course all the local “leaders” will fight this tooth and nail as it will mean losing power within their own personal fiefdoms.

As has been seen with steroids, as well as the Hughes and Dwyer cases, not forgetting the initial British Champions Day being mired by the controversy over  the whip ban handed out to Christophe Soumilon for his ride on Cirrus Des Aigles, there is no standardisation at present.

Until there is a standardised set of rules, we in the UK are in no position to criticise the RWITC, to do so reeks of imperialist bullying and, frankly, we are in no position to lecture others until we get our own house in order.

Until there is a standardised set of rules how can racing be expected to be taken seriously as an international sport?

The Camel's Back Is Broken

Regular readers of my musings (I know there are at least two of you) will know I hinted at the end of last year that 2013 may be my final year covering racing.

I can now confirm 2013 will be my final year reporting on it.

I’ve been going racing for over 30 years and for the past six years I have been covering the sport full time, mainly for my web site but for other outlets as well.

It’s been a privilege to be able to cover the sport and 95% of those I have met whilst covering the sport have been really fantastic people, as for the other 5% I may write about them in a future article.

However I must admit I have fallen out of love with the sport. I had been teetering between carrying on and “retiring” but the decision has, effectively, been made for me in the past week.

It’s been a gradual falling out of love. Like a couple, once gloriously in love, who have been together for years, have become complacent with one another, found each other’s little habits and foibles increasingly annoying but they don’t have the inertia to walk away.

Racing never ceases to amaze me at its propensity to shoot itself in the foot – indeed racing must be an octopus as it has managed to shoot so many feet over the years.

Most memorable in recent years is the introduction of new whip rules and it was only the timely arrival of Paul Bittar which gave the BHA the “excuse” to backtrack – in the process their excellent head of PR, Paul Struthers, was made the sacrificial lamb.

The backtracking was a move that proved the A in the BHA to be pure fantasy.

Numerous disciplinary hearings have chipped away at the reputation of the sport, like a river slowly eroding the rocks to form a chasm.

Each one, in its own right, not earth shattering but cumulatively eroding at the fundamental trust of the sport.

More cases are being acted upon by the racing authorities but how many go undetected?

Integrity aside, for the moment, and racing still limps along with a wholly outdated funding model and despite Bittar being a qualified accountant no meaningful replacement for the Levy is on the table.

Whilst the income falls the bloated fixture list continues with more and more meetings becoming horse racing’s equivalent of BAGS racing – most of the meetings are even held on a similar artificial surface. We’ve all seen what has happened to Greyhound racing.

Like my earlier river analogy other “tiny” incidents have eroded away at my love for the sport.

We had the Dettori drug ban, which came as absolutely no surprise to the majority of those working in racing, yet it took the French Authorities to nail him, whilst the token testing this side of La Manche proved to be inadequate.

When Dettori returned to the saddle we had the nauseating sight of certain parts of the media lauding him as some kind of returning hero, the biggest offenders were Channel Four.

This is a user of an illegal drug being hailed as some sort of hero and don’t forget this wasn’t the first time he had been found in the company of “Charlie”.

Then we had the “Al Zarooni” steroid scandal. Remember the show trial where the whole matter, was discovered, prosecuted and punished with indecent haste – just the sort of justice that would be dispensed in an undemocratic tin-pot state like, for example, Dubai.      

Last week we were treated to a glimpse of the BHA whitewash, sorry report, into the whole affair.

“Whole” is quite appropriate as the “inquiry” has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the report.

 
It strikes me as being inconceivable that a tightly run organisation like Godolphin would not have standard operating procedures across all its stables, therefore why would the control at Moulton Paddocks have been allowed to be so lax?

As the de-facto boss of the Goldolphin operation and Moulton Stables how is Simon Crisford's position still tenable?

So both Al Zarooni and the vet are supposedly in Dubai yet they cannot be contacted - sorry don't buy that one - if they are in Dubai and old Mo said so they would be immediately contactable.

Why are the BHA so afraid and in so much awe of Sheikh Mohammed - why is he seemingly unapproachable. No question mark there as it’s a rhetorical question as we all know the answer to that one.

In his statements after the affair first came to light Bittar was so far up Godolphins backside there was a worry he would never be seen again. The inclusion of Crisford at the post inquiry press conference sent out wholly the wrong signal and Bittar’s statements in the days after the hearing showed distinct bias.

Why was Sheikh Mohammed’s lackey (Crisford) interviewed and not the main man himself? After all when all is going well the Sheikh is lauded as being the big hands on boss who takes all the credit, yet when the guano hits the fan he is somehow very detached – they cannot have it both ways.

It seems the BHA are prepared to accept the Al Zarooni version of events but it has already been shown there were inconsistencies in his evidence, in which case why should any of it be believed?

The only clear conclusion of this report is the confirmation the BHA have no "control" over this matter at all but the entire investigation has been driven and influenced by Godolphin and the retention of Godolphin’s investment is a bigger priority.

You can almost imagine the correspondence

"Dear Holiness and beloved benefactor,

Here's the deal.

We obviously can't say nothing at all, so we'll have a little moan about procedures at Moulton.

We'll go on and make some airy fairy assumptions just to underscore the duplicity of that terrible chap / stooge Al Zarooni and then life can get back to normal.

"Some hacks, like that tiresome Greg Wood, will make a song and dance about it all but it will soon blow over.

"We hope that OK with you our Lord and Master, Mo the Almighty.

Sincerely
The BHA

aka your suppository "

Then, last week, a disciplinary hearing slipped through almost unnoticed, where trainer Mark Johnston was before the disciplinary panel for not keeping vaccination records updated – his fourth such offence in a year.

Yes, the same Mark Johnston who is a vet (you would think vets, of all people,  would keep up to date vaccination records) and, oh yes, sits on the BHA board – so a man who sits on the board of the regulator is seemingly happy to flout their rules.

How can someone remain on the board of a regulator when he has been found to repeatedly fail to follow the procedures of said regulator?

All seemingly small incidents on their own but there eventually comes a tipping point.

The BHA’s report has underscored where their true priorities lie, not in the integrity of the sport but in making sure they do not upset one of the sport’s biggest benefactors.

The BHA had the perfect opportunity to show they had grown some balls, instead they have demonstrated how impotent they are.  

It confirms who is in charge of the sport and it isn’t the BHA, although in fairness this has been known for some time, although some of us thought it was the bookmakers.

For me, though, this is the straw which breaks the camel’s back.

I have contractual commitments until the end of 2013 so coverage of racing will continue for the remainder of this year but I will not be applying for accreditation in 2014 and the live reporting on the website and Twitter will end after Warwick on 31^st December.

I won’t turn my back on the sport completely, to use the earlier couple separation analogy again, I hope the parting will be amicable and we will still remain in touch.

I don’t, any longer, want the sport dominating my life as it has done for the past six years – it isn’t worthy of such devotion and there are far more important things in life.

I will still keep an eye on the sport and comment where I think appropriate.

Indeed it will be quite liberating, as I will feel less constrained being on the “outside”, indeed I may even feel emboldened to publish some articles I had previously “spiked”.

In contrast to the perceived wisdom “it’s better having someone on the inside pissing out,” it will be good to be on the outside, pissing in, as it were.   

I’ll still go racing occasionally, I’ll take out a couple of memberships.

I’ll still make my annual trip to glorious Cartmel.

It will be lovely to be able to watch the Fontwell chases in the centre of the course, like I used to before I had to follow the entire race.

It will be good to enjoy The Derby amongst the racegoers on The Hill, one of the most amazing experiences there is.

I’ll still pop across to Paris the first weekend in October for one of the best days racing there is in one of the world’s greatest cities.

I won’t miss battling the crowds at the Cheltenham Festival, driving 40,000 miles a year. I won’t miss having to defend the sport to those who think it cruel or bent.

I’m looking forward to 2014, as Edith Piaf said, “Non, je ne regrette rien.”

Postscript.

I wrote this article almost ten days ago but have not got round to putting it online due to an ongoing family illness and subsequent bereavement.

During that time I missed, amongst others, Ascot’s King George meeting and Glorious Goodwood and, do you know what, I didn’t miss them – the world did not end, life just carried on.

I’m happy I’ve made the right decision.