WHERE IS THE MONEY, BILL?

The Bill Vlahos soap opera continues to roll on. The Melbourne News Limited flagship tabloid – the Herald Sun- in a front page exclusive on Monday, again focussed on the monumental task facing investigators in tracking down the missing millions of dollars from hapless investors- dollars which appear to have been fraudulently and mysteriously unaccounted for through alleged transactions involving an equally mysterious person named “Danny Maxwell” based in Dubai.

“Danny Maxwell” has not been seen or heard from ever since the “scam” was made public, and there is growing conjecture that the “Danny Maxwell” referred to in this case is a pseudonym for a person or persons associated with some prominent Australian racing identities of dubious repute who may have or have had business interests or otherwise in Dubai, and who may have connections with Vlahos and his close associates.

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SHAME ON YOU, TABCORP!

Tabcorp and Sky Racing’s outright rejection of TVN’s offer to distribute vision of NSW and Victorian racing to country hotel and pub tabs, which do not subscribe to Fox Sports on a revenue share basis during the present dispute, is compelling evidence of its contemptuous behaviour towards Australian punters.

What Tabcorp, Sky Channel and their respective Boards and management need to understand is that they no longer have a monopoly on wagering, with their behaviour in recent days, weeks and months only hastening their demise as the nation’s premier wagering operator and revenue earner.

It is behaviour normally associated with commercial monopolies, and under normal circumstances would warrant an official investigation by Australia’s official consumer watchdog – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

It is appalling and disgraceful that Tabcorp and Sky Racing are deliberately depriving country punters of the opportunity to watch their money go round on their fancies in NSW and Victoria, because of the brawl which they have instigated against TVN and the racing states of NSW and Victoria.

The punter yet again, is the innocent victim, and not by choice. It will come back to bite them and bite them hard and sooner than later.

It surely is time for Racing NSW and the ATC to come out of hiding and support TVN and force Tabcorp and Sky Racing to put an end to this bitter and already costly war of attrition. Like Tommy, the deaf, dumb and blind kid who played a mean pinball, the silence of both the ATC and Racing NSW is deafening and is only emboldening Tabcorp and Sky Racing to continue to hold the NSW and Victorian racing industries to ransom.

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THE MAGIC MILLIONS CHALLENGE

The announcement of the $10 million prize money for the Magic Millions 2016 Gold Coast race day would have sent shivers down the spines of the ATC and Racing NSW.

Yes, the Sunshine State means business, and following on the heels of a series of prize money and winter racing carnival initiatives, Queensland racing is repositioning itself to ultimately challenge the two major racing States of NSW and Victoria for a seat at the power brokers table.

They seem to be doing a lot right in Queensland racing with consistently large field sizes, which, in NSW, continues to be an embarrassment. It might have something to do with the way racing is being administered in Queensland by its governing body – Racing Queensland.

With the Magic Millions 2016 race day so close to the Championships, it is bound to impact on the quality of some of the Championships races, and that must be a worry for both the ATC and Racing NSW.

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HERE COMES CHRIS PARNHAM

Ask any knowledgeable WA racing person about Chris Parnham’s riding ability and they will tell you that he is potentially one of the most exciting young riding talents to come out of the west, which, in recent times, has gifted Damian Oliver, William Pike and Victoria’s rising star and one of our favourite riders to follow, Damien Lane, below.

The eastern states got as brief glimpse of Chris Parnham’s talent last Sunday at Victoria’s Bendigo provincial race meeting when he had a 100% winning strike rate aboard his two rides for the meeting – rides which announced his arrival as a potential future rising star in the jockey ranks.

With NSW arguably having Australia’s best roster of talented jockeys, bleak city racing could do with more star talent in the jockey ranks and a permanent move by Chris Parnham can only bolster Victorian jockey ranks.

Before he eventually leaves, perhaps he can offer Paul Harvey some riding tips. The Pontiff, below, seemed to lose his staff- and mind?- with a truly bizarre ride aboard Ripper Red at Ascot today.

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PROPOSED WA TAB SALE DIVIDES THE WEST- AND HERE COME THE WARRGS???

The West Australian Tab remains the only Australian State totalisator to have avoided privatization- at this point in time. But that is about to change despite some very bizarre manoeuvrings by an unlikely coalition of racing industry groups in the west.

From what we have been told, the WA principal governing body – Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) is strongly opposed to the sale, but being a State Government appointed body is fearful of making its opposition to the sale public for obvious reasons. The Western Australian Tab also just so happens to be part of the RWWA structure.

Enter a group known as Western Australian Racing Representative Group (WARRG) – a group which has conveniently or otherwise taken up RWWA’s cause. WARRG??? Really??? A prominent member of this self-styled representative group is a little known but belligerent WA trainer Michael Grant, whom little is known outside his home state.

The Group commissioned the recently released Report on the potential privatisation of the WA Tab by an eastern States consultant Ray Gunston, whom we are led to believe, has had some experience in Tab privatisations in other States.

From what we are hearing, the Report may not necessarily be what either RWWA or WARRG were hoping for. WARRG??? Really???

It would be an extreme longshot for the WA State Government to not sell off the WA Tab- and on terms favourable to the commercial investment sector.

Grant and his industry participant group mates might be better off training, riding and breeding winners than venturing into political and commercial territories, where they will almost certainly embarrass themselves and the groups which they represent.

There is also conjecture as to the source of funding for this Report, with a certain race club in the west being mentioned in dispatches.