Racing NSW becoming a monopoly according to Peter Moody
FORMER trainer Peter Moody has slammed Racing Victoria in the fears that Racing NSW will soon have a monopoly on the Australian racing industry.
The trainer of Black Caviar walked away from training in 2016 after getting a six-month ban for his horses testing positive to cobalt, but he’s still active in the industry and he labelled the Victorian racing industry as “rudderless” earlier this week.
Moody has spent the last month in Sydney and he believes there is nothing positive coming out of Racing Victoria as opposed to what he witnessed in Sydney.
“The buoyancy that was (in Sydney) in the last month that I experienced was phenomenal,” Moody said. “That has been missing in Victoria for a good few years unfortunately.
“It’s just very stagnant in Victoria at the moment and there are no positive vibes at all.”
Moody said a change must be made soon otherwise Racing Victoria will be battling to keep up with Racing NSW which continues to grow on the local and global scale.
“You would hate to see it become a monopoly for one state and that’s the way it’s going at the moment,” he said. “I think it has been pretty much on an even keel for a long time and now NSW just seem to have a head full of steam up and I don’t know what Racing Victoria have to do to stop it.
“With the tax parity (in NSW), they are going to keep getting more money and they are going to get bigger and stronger,” Moody said. “I’m an uneducated man… but some leadership needs to be taken and we have to get some positive vibes and positive notions out there.”
Moody said Racing Victoria should be going after the likes of Peter V’landys or Darren Pearce, which would not only help Racing Victoria but the industry as a whole.
“(V’landys) would be your first go-to man… but RVL should be at least after one of them,” Moody said. “You would make them a priority instead of getting someone from another industry and make them an offer they can’t refuse.
“By having one of them in Victoria, surely it would make the interaction between RVL and NSW easier and stronger for the betterment of racing instead of racing Classics on the same day.”
V’landys has been heavily criticised for suggesting Racing NSW would move the Craven Plate to clash with Melbourne’s Caulfield Stakes in the attempts to lure Winx, but Moody believes that move should be congratulated.
“That is being open-minded and she is the drawcard of, if not Australian racing, world racing,” Moody said. “He is to be wholly and solely congratulated.”
Racing Victoria spokesman, Shaun Kelly, supplied figures to support his claim that racing in Victoria was nothing to be concerned about.
“We have posted consecutive surpluses of $50 million and $29 million in the last two years, following a successful $40 million debt repayment program, and are committed to future investment in the industry that delivers sustainable growth for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders,” Kelly said.
“Turnover on Victorian racing is up over nine per cent this financial year to record levels and we are pleased to see the numbers of owners surpass the 60,000 mark for the first time this season.”