Cheat saga not over
RACING Victoria should release details of every race touched by the Aquanita doping scandal so affected parties can get the “natural justice” they deserve, according to prominent owner Terry Henderson.
Life bans handed out on Thursday to disgraced trainer Robert Smerdon and his coconspirators put the results of potentially hundreds of races from 2010 to 2017 in doubt.
The work done by RV stewards to catch, charge and penalise the cheats within a relatively short period has been applauded by many in the industry.
But Henderson, who has been a strong voice since the Aquanita Eight were first exposed, believes RV could enhance its standing by releasing details of every race it believes was run with horses that were “topped-up”.
He said owners and trainers could then decide whether to pursue compensation in some form.
“It is incumbent on Racing Victoria to release the infor- mation that relates to the charges in respect of the specific races that have been brought forward,” Henderson said.
He said Racing Victoria and individual owners would then have the right to assess if their horses had been impacted.
“At this stage, many owners, including ourselves, are not aware if some of their horses had been affected . . . so we are denied the opportunity to assess our position.
“Racing Victoria has to be given the opportunity to digest what has happened, then make a decision on what it is going to do. But I would hope they would put it out there for everyone to assess from their own point of view.”
Henderson said in the absence of a public release of the information he would seek the information privately.
He said it was not about recouping money, but “natural justice”. “You can’t underestimate the complexity of all of these horses being disqualified because you have high-valued mares sold on the back of winning Group 1s where they have been treated, as we have seen with Mosheen for example,” Henderson said.