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Keeping our Jockeys and Horses safe.
West Australian Racing
coastalchill
126 posts
From what I've heard Peter Knuckey's accident was"an accident waiting to happen".It's alledged that the crossing at on the viscaride has been reported by jockeys and trainers alike to an employer of RWWA an Perth Racing.Surely it's of utmost importance to keep safe our riders and horses.Racing needs to keep positive safe attitudes especially this time of the year when we are approaching our jewel in the crown of Perth Racing.
Comments
If this allegation is correct it amounts to serious negligence.
If so why in the world hasn't the person who has had that conversation gone to Work Safe??
If anyone wants to send me a Personal message i will take this up as a project to get real change on this issue. i find it nearly impossible to believe in this day of litigation that anyone in any position at PR or RWWA would respond that way.
If it is true, that needs to change and it needs to change immediately. if this situation did contribute to young Bree's situation and it has now contributed to another accident Work Safe would normally shut down a work site until a fix has been put in place to stop it ever happening again.
this is an area that i have a massive amount of experience in, and if anyone wants to provide - via personal messages - some real information and is prepared to talk to me about it, i will follow this up and drive some change for the future.
But as stated a few times i find it very hard to believe that the responses stated above are anymore than stable talk..
We are serious - from "tell someone who cares' to
"We (PR) have no money". Why track staff would comment on the financial position of Perth Racing is also rather out of their " job " isn't it. This so called accident on thursday was 100% preventable, if the trainers and jockeys were given credit for knowing the track that they work on every day., and listened to. PR and RWWA deserve to be "hauled over the coals' big time for this one.
Maybe if they cannot fix serious track conditions trainers and jockeys should not compete on saturdays.
The simple fact remains you still cannot tell the the truth in the media in WA about racing and the racing industry and if you do, you can expect if you're an employee of them to be suddenly without a job or and if you're not an employee to then suffer extremely serious consequences and despite my experiences, nothing has changed.
The same people are still in power and acting in the same breathtakingly arrogant manner grossly abusing their immense power and positions and like I said at the WA trainers association meeting last year the only way this is going to change is if the industry participants stand together as one and say no more. If everyone sticks together until decisive changes are made and if everyone stands together united, then they can't target you as individuals.
What are they going to do, out every trainer and jockey for conduct not in the best interests of racing, these people who are currently in charge have to go and both RWWA and the WA Turf Club need to be swept through from the very top downwards with a bloody great broom.
If anyone is intimidated by these tactics by a government administered entity(RWWA) i am rather certain that there are many ways to deal with this. I have been a successful whistle blower in several companies and i will continue to be such. Yes, i do take the moral high ground and yes my "career" so to speak has been destroyed twice in my working life...Whippy do... if people are doing the wrong thing it has to be stopped..at the very least confronted. A personal price to pay???? AC and DW on here, know how hard that is.. AC a lot worse than anyone.....
These issues need to be dealt with by the authorities that are charged with dealing with them, and not in a public forum like this. The individuals that have been spoken to in this way need to stand their ground and say that isn't good enough. If an individual doesn't stop and speak about right and wrong, then no-one will take notice...the guy in front of the tank in Tienamin Square a few years back is the classic proof of that.
If people(trainers at the track) are told what is written above has been said, and accept that and go on with their business knowing that what they are doing is dangerous.........who is really to blame??? One person that said that is how it is, or the one person that accepts the word of that person and continues with a dangerous activity????Until the situation is bought to the attention of the people in authority and management of the entire process....at Ascot i would assume that would be PR.... then nothing will change.
But this forum is the place to whinge about it. Private discussion by interested or affected parties with the managers of the facility is the way to change things..but to do that you have to identify yourself.......and too many people in this industry are too scared to do that due to past practises....the managers of RWWA and PR will never change their ways, if we don't keep on giving them the opportunity to change.
I don't condone what certain jockeys may or may not have done but I can't blame them either when you know the breathtaking hypocrisy that exists in racing, oh and news flash jockeys bet and tip, seriously if anyone in racing doesn't know that, they shouldn't be involved in the game and again I'm not in anyway condoning their alleged actions.
I know of corruption at the very top by senior long time racing officials and administrators who all act holier than thou and want to carry on like their saints when someone is embroiled in a racing scandal, has a positive or a bet etc etc etc but these same people couldn't lie straight in bed. and surprise, surprise, these same people have horses as do influential breeders and industry powerbroker have horses with "name" stables. Yet it's the poor nathan schofield's of the world (whom I don't know from a bar of soap) that are targeted when these people are only trying to compete on a level playing field while other dubious explanations from certain leading trainers are seemingly accepted at face value if there's a swab or treatment issues etc because of the quality of horses they already have in their possession and the high profile owners who support them as it would be too embarrassing to have them outed.
The whole sport from the very top downwards needs a bloody great enema.
Time may prove me wrong - then I will be tired and worn out like so many others - but at this point in time I am confident that the “will to change” is a serious option for some who are in a position to change things...
The two associations need to combine to address the issues.
I would have thought negotiations could sort it out with WATA and WAJA.
Both PR and RWWA have proven to be effective when backed into a corner. I'm sure that a few chats with the right people there to chat - the associations you talk about - would get a bit of clarity to the situation..And if not, then there are many other actions to be taken after that...but that is the first place to start...And no-one has stated whether that path has been trodden recently or not.
I hope that if it hasn't happened it does soon...we cant afford to continue to expose the well being of our people to this known risk...and the potential to harm a horse or to finish a career in this process isn't that good either...bit like leaving the snake in the stables and hoping it goes somewhere else!!!
The minutes from the last 2 meetings (on the RWWA website) show little or nothing is raised by industry bodies.
1 meeting had apologies for the WARTA and WAJA rep.
It seems RWWA is giving the opportunity for the industry to raise issues but for some reason things aren`t happening.
I`m not sure of the abilities of the industry reps but from those minutes it would appear they aren`t doing their job.
Unfortunately, wingeing on forums seems to be the way participants raise industry issues.
Perhaps those who see the crossing as an issue can ask those who attended these meetings (supposedly representing industry members) why it hasn`t been raised before or if it has, why it wasn`t re raised until it was fixed.
For all of the industry bodies to attend the May meeting without raising 1 issue is a disgrace.
RWWA probably conclude that if those bodies don`t see the need to raise 1 issue they must be doing things right.
I have also been informed that Peter Knuckeys injuries will keep him out of racing for 8 to 10 weeks.
There now seems to be a process to follow through the WARTA , lets hope there is not just a lot of shouting and egos in competition. A peeing competition is not needed.
Accountability is.
However in this industry and particularly with regard to safety issues immediate feedback is the norm and rightly so.
Some issues can't wait for the allocated meeting times each year.
When peoples lives are at risk and feedback is given to the appropriate people I would expect action rather than waiting for the agenda to be circulated for the next consultative meeting. The action required in this situation would be within the ambit of the authority directly responsible surely.
If something is wrong with a track on race day the jockeys rep brings it to the stewards attention immediately and it is dealt with via the jocks rep and/or senior riders at the track..The same process should be in place for all issues. The jockey and trainers reps are busy earning a dollar.
There are people at both organisations (PR and RWWA) that should be able to take it further immediately and then get back to the interested parties...these issues should never get left to a once a quarter meeting. That is when they should be reviewed and agreed that the resolution process was right..
We have a multi million dollar industry...the above suggestions are the basics for any business that wants to survive, and it shouldn't have to be discussed in this format..it should be automatic..
I get back to a question i posed earlier.....who really is at fault for nothing happening????...the people who were told and do nothing about it, or the people who are aware of the danger and continue to use a facility which they know is dangerous????
Complacency after years of "suck it up princess" needs to change, and i still believe there is a will to change things at the moment that might not have been there in the past.