Jane Howlett,Minister for Racing
The situation around the late notice cancellation of the races last night at Mowbray was simply not satisfactory. I spoke to the Tasracing CEO last night and again this morning to receive advice on the issue.
What happened had the potential to put horses and jockeys at great risk and has significantly inconvenienced trainers, strappers and owners among others. It cannot be allowed to occur again.
The quick rescheduling of the race meeting to Saturday is welcome. With coverage of these races on the Sky 1 racing channel (taking over the South Australia metro slot) this ensures strong profile of the race meeting.
Tasracing will be compensating trainers and owners under the existing Postponed and Abandoned Races policy, however, it will be increasing the applicable rates. Jockeys will also be compensated under this policy.
I welcome Tasracing's immediate review into this matter and it will work with the Office of Racing Integrity stewards to get to the bottom of this serious track management issue. This review will examine running rail move practices and track review processes.
I look forward to receiving the results of this investigation once complete. Actions must come out of the investigation to prevent further similar events occurring again.
