Investigation into the integrity of Tasmanian racing

Latest News – Tasmanian Government decides to abolish the Office of Racing Integrity (the government regulator) – Premier’s news release

In September 2021, the then Tasmanian Minister for Racing Jane Howlett announced a review of the Tasmanian racing industry.

The Minister framed the investigation as a review of the state’s racing laws. However,  it is far more likely to be a reaction to a string of ongoing issues with Tasracing and the Tasmanian Office of Racing Integrity (ORI). Unusually, no terms of reference have been provided for the review.

In September 2021, the Tasmanian Racing Club, Tasmanian Trotting Club and the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club stated that if the review was limited to the Racing Act 2004, it would not “deliver the transformative structural change that the Tasmanian Racing Industry so desperately needs”.

 

"It’s abundantly clear that Tasracing and the ORI are incapable of properly regulating the industry.”
Andrew Wilkie MP
(pictured with Fran Chambers of Let Greyhounds Run Free)

Key points

  • 21 staff have left the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI) since 2018 with many vacancies remaining unfilled.
  • Current and ex-employees label the ORI workplace "dysfunctional" and a "toxic environment".
  • In April 2021, Tasmania Cup winner Rhys Nicholson was stripped of his victory and $75,000 in prize money. Nicholson was found guilty of excessive and improper use of the whip and "hocking" which is where the jockey's foot comes into contact with the back of the horse's leg.
  • Anthony Latham, acting general manager, ORI is under investigation over an allegation that he requested a $200 fine against Rhys Nicholson be dropped and deleted from the record.
  • Former Racing Integrity and Stewards manager John King was forced to step aside due to a professional standards investigation in relation to his previous career with the police force.
  • As at 2 September 2021, four greyhounds had been killed racing at the Hobart track compared to two for the whole of 2020. Two greyhounds were killed on the Hobart track in one week.
  • In October 2020, major Tasmanian trainer and head of Tasmania's Greyhound Adoption Program was suspended after one of her dogs tested positive to a banned substance.
  • In late 2020/early 2021, two major horse racing meets were cancelled at the last minute and others were under threat due to poor track conditions.
  • The Tasmanian Minister for Racing has announced $8m in taxpayer funding for a new harness and greyhound racing track in Devonport. There is no commitment to incorporating a straight greyhound racing track despite 75% of fatal injuries occurring on track turns.

A taxpayer-funded industry

A 2020 report produced by the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance stated that government funding for the Tasmanian racing industry is more than double any other Australian jurisdiction. The industry receives a minimum of $27 million a year as part of a 20 year contract between the two bodies agreed in 2009. Despite this, Tasracing reported a loss of $3.92 million over the 2019/2020 financial year.
 

In late September 2021, Minister for Racing Howlett stated that “more than 5,500 Tasmanians are either employed in the industry or are direct participants”. However,  the Treasury and Finance report showed that according to the most recent ABS census data (2016), 181 people derived their main income from the industry which equates to 0.08 percent of the Tasmanian workforce.

* Source: Tasmanian Treasury Report
+ Government funding data is not available for WA and NT

How the Tasmanian Government is failing greyhounds

Leading animal welfare organisations recognise that the only way to protect Tasmanian greyhounds from unnecessary suffering and death is a ban on greyhound racing. In the interim, RSPCA Tasmania, CPG, Let Greyhounds Run Free and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie call on the Tasmanian Minister for Racing to conduct a truly independent inquiry into all aspects, procedural and operational, of both Tasracing and the Office of Racing Integrity.
 
Greyhound advocates also call on the Minister for Racing and the Tasmanian Government to implement the following best practice animal welfare protections.
  • Any greyhound racing must be overseen and regulated by an independent body, with a formal and complete separation of the integrity and regulatory functions from the commercial function.
  • Comprehensive lifecycle data (birth to death) on each greyhound must be collected and made available to the public.
  • Greyhound injury and death statistics must be collected and made available to the public.
  • Systems must be implemented to ensure the robustness and transparency of all greyhound-related data. This must include independent auditing and regular inspections rather than a reliance on self-reporting.
  • An effective national identification and traceability system for all greyhounds must be developed and implemented. This will ensure each greyhound born is accounted for throughout their lifetime, including effective oversight.
  • There should be an expectation and stringent regulations in place to ensure that every greyhound bred by the industry will become a companion pet on retirement whether they have raced or not.
  • Public funding of the racing industry should sunset in 2029 with the expiry of the 20-year funding arrangement between the Tasmanian government and the racing industry. The racing industry should now be planning for an orderly transition to self-sufficiency at that time.
"We will keep working to stop these senseless deaths. It is clear that there are significant and entrenched animal welfare problems inherent in the greyhound racing industry."
Jan Davis, CEO, RSPCA Tasmania
on the death of Action Plus, the second greyhound to die on the Hobart racetrack in one week.

Sources and further information