Mike Dillon: Changes to complicated Rules of Racing on the cards

A full review and an almost certain rewriting of the Rules of Racing is the aftermath of the unsatisfactory Te Aroha and Rotorua judicial raceday decisions.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing's new CEO Paul Bittar told the Herald that the framework was already in place for the project plan to fully review the rules.

New Zealand almost certainly has the world's most complicated set of racing rules.

Australia, with many times the amount of racing of New Zealand, has only a fraction of the rules our judiciary has to work with.

Bittar is an Australian with a background in working closely with racing's judiciary in his home country. "I couldn't believe it when I came here and saw the New Zealand rule book. It's an inch thick and the one used in New South Wales is around 60 pages," he said.

"As a comparison, I threw the two on the table at an executive meeting the other day."

Bittar is not in an easy position right now.

His job demands that at least on one level he has to be seen to be supporting racing's decision-making, even though the Judicial Control Authority, which has absolute raceday authority, is an entirely autonomous body.

Privately it is a different matter - Bittar clearly supports changes to regulations that led to the shocking publicity racing received here and in Australia when Viennetta was relegated from a group one win at Te Aroha and Ascot Isle lost the chance of black type against her name when the $40,000 Rotorua Stakes on May 13 was declared null and void.

In each case there were alternative options because the Rules of Racing provides in most cases the use of discretion.

Viennetta's owners Kevin and Julie Taylor have lodged a complaint about the way the inquiry was handled at Te Aroha and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has requested a full report from chief stipendiary steward Noel McCutcheon, who was not officiating at Te Aroha, and chief racecourse inspector John McKenzie.

On the day, Kevin Taylor was so upset at the decision to relegate Viennetta to third that he said on television that the mare would not race again in New Zealand.

Taylor, with a huge financial investment in New Zealand breeding and racing, appears to be trying hard to be fair.

"Look, we don't agree with the Australian system where you can slaughter another horse and still keep the race, but we want a fair go.

"Part of our complaint to Thoroughbred Racing and to the Judicial Control Authority is that we were not identified in the judicial room at Te Aroha, which I understand breaches the rules.

"The owners of Salsa were identified. At one point they were asked if they understood proceedings - we weren't even identified. You can't treat owners with that sort of contempt.

"I also believe that Leith Innes stopped riding Salsa before the finish and that was a major factor in the final result."

Innes has adamantly denied that and has the backing of stipendiary steward Alan Coles, who officiated on the day.

McCutcheon is due to attend a head of judicial stewards conference in Australia and Bittar has asked him to complete his inquiry before he leaves. It should be received this week.

"What we see in that will determine what our next move is," said Taylor yesterday.

The Dannevirk-based Taylor believes the system is unfair all round. He compares what his rider Darryl Bradley received for causing the interference to Salsa that led to the relegation, to the downside he and his team have lost financially with Viennetta losing her group one status.

You can make a case that group one wins are worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars in broodmare earnings.

"Darryl gets a slap on the hand (a suspension) and Viennetta gets a lifetime sentence.

"I've got three to four million dollars worth of horses on this property - you wonder why you bother.

"I could go and buy another farm."

Bittar sympathises.

"What happened that day does not sit entirely happily with us at NZTR and with me personally.

"I can fully understand the Taylors' annoyance. We don't want people like that walking away and not wanting to be involved.

"We are working with the JCA so they understand how we would like the rules to be interpreted.

"I know that's small consolation to the Taylors, but realistically that's all we can do to move forward."

That and changing the rules to eliminate the word discretion.

"It's not a minor programme," says Bittar of rewriting the rule book.

Neither is reversing the bad publicity racing is receiving.