Naming honour for Yates

TASMANIAN greyhound racing is the first of the three codes to honour former race caller Shane Yates, who lost his battle with cancer recently.

The greyhound code has renamed the Tasbred Winter Cup as the Shane Yates Memorial, which will be run on a rotation basis around the state starting with the inaugural running of heats and final next month.

Yates had called greyhound racing for 40 years, of which the past eight were as a full-time caller with RadioTAB and comprised calling all three codes.

His No. 1 passion was race calling but he also was proficient at calling other sports including cycling, basketball and athletics.

Heats of the inaugural Shane Yates Memorial will be held in Launceston on July 20 with the final on July 27. PREMIER Tasmanian jockey Craig Newitt made a beeline for Victoria when the local industry was shut down on April 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, but what was expected to be a short-term move could become more permanent. Racing resumes in Tasmania on Sunday after an 11-week hibernation because of the pandemic, but Newitt is a notable absentee from the lineup as he remains committed to riding in Victoria till at least the end of the month.

He has to return to Tasmania early next month for personal reasons, but he is unsure whether he will stay or return to Victoria on a permanent basis.

“I’m in two minds at the moment about coming home permanently, but we’ll see how I feel at the end of the month,” Newitt said.

Meanwhile, Tasmanian Hall of Fame trainer and master of apprentices Leon Wells is hoping his former star apprentice Scarlet So is given permission to return to Tasmania to finish her twoyear-stint under his guidance.

So is one of two Hong Kong apprentices sent to Tasmania to further their riding careers, but when Tasmanian racing was shut down for COVID-19 the Hong Kong Jockey Club extracted her from the state and sent her to South Australia.

So was Tasmania’s leading apprentice with 20 wins when she left the state in early April and she has had very limited opportunities in SA having secured only 12 rides since arriving at Leon Macdonald’s stables.

Wells says he has had no communication from the HKJC, but he is hopeful the talented young rider can rejoin his stable.