Must say that if I trained two-thirds of the pacers in a particular region I'd be somewhat inclined to set up the odd race or two for a decent result on the punt.  Particularly as most races these days offer peanuts for prizemoney.

'Peter Profit' has been screaming this from the tree tops for over a year & finally a mainstream crew has taken notice 

Yep, this is more about animal welfare than ''rorting'' or team driving, = same thing.......if you watched PP carefully a few weeks back he said the root of many an evil originated from a racing stable out at Warwick Farm, eg, the infamous go quick undetectable synthetic EPO........now who on earth would he have  been alluding to do you think?

Probe needed into Ben Yole harness racing stable allegations and Office of Racing Integrity, Tasmanian opposition says

An independent investigation is urgently needed into Tasmania's racing watchdog and how it handled allegations of race fixing and team driving by the state's leading harness racing stable, political parties say.

Key points:

• The Tasmanian government says it has asked the Office of Racing Integrity to carefully review allegations of team driving and race fixing
• The Greens have called for an independent investigation into the regulator, and how it handled the allegations

• RSPCA chief executive says an urgent overhaul of the state's "outdated" animal welfare legislation is needed

The state opposition and the Greens have both called for the probe following an ABC investigation that aired allegations of unusual races and betting patterns in races dominated by horses from Ben Yole's stable, as well as concerns about animal welfare standards.

Industry participants also alleged their concerns were not sufficiently investigated by stewards and the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI).

Opposition racing spokesman Dean Winter said it was the "darkest day for Tasmanian harness racing in many, many years", and the matters needed to be investigated "properly and fully".

"These trainers do not make these allegations lightly," he said.

They are the most serious of allegations that have been made by the industry itself, because they've lost confidence in the Office of Racing Integrity to do its job."

Mr Winter said the majority of runners at harness racing meets coming from just the one stable, Yole Racing, had "hurt the code for many years" and he had no faith in the Office of Racing Integrity.

"I was at the Burnie harness racing track when one of those races actually took place. I stood and spoke to participants afterwards who were bewildered; they had their mouths open, wondering how on earth that actually happened," he said.

"And we waited for an inquiry to be set up by the Office of Racing Integrity. And rather than setting up an inquiry, they did absolutely nothing despite what was clearly a case for any investigation there that day.

"No-one could possibly have confidence in ORI after what's been done, and no-one could possibly have confidence in the minister."

ORI lacking 'guts or capacity' to investigate, say Greens

Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said the allegations were "very disturbing" and accused the Office of Racing Integrity of lacking "the guts or the capacity" to investigate it.

Kent thought one race looked a bit 'strange'. But then it happened again

"Industry insiders have said they raised the alarm with Tasracing, they raised the alarm with stewards, got fobbed off, got nowhere," she said.

"Tasracing and the Office of Racing Integrity don't have the courage to take on the big players in the racing industry and that's why we need here a thorough, independent investigation.

"What's happened here is that our racing integrity bodies have allowed someone to get so big that they dominate the industry, that they are potentially able to influence the outcome of races, that they are too big to fail."

ORI rejects claims of driver collusion

The Office of Racing Integrity refused to comment on individual races.

It said it did not accept there was a serious risk of team driving if fields are dominated by one trainer, and that rules that prohibit driver collusion are actively regulated.

A statement from a Tasracing spokesman said the organisation had faith the Office of Racing Integrity had investigated the allegations of team driving and race fixing properly.

In a statement, Racing Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said the allegations were "very concerning", but claimed the Office of Racing Integrity and its director of racing, Justin Helmich, were "well equipped to investigate allegations of rule breaches".

She said she had asked the Office of Racing Integrity to "immediately and carefully review" the claims in the ABC's report "to determine what additional investigations may be required".

"In relation to specific matters raised in recent days, Tasracing has communicated to industry a proposed Equity in Participation rule, which will see a limited number of horses able to be entered in pre-determined races from any one stable," she said.

"The Office of Racing Integrity will also employ a betting analyst to assist across all three codes of racing, to provide 'real-time' access to information to assist stewards in their inquiries, as well as providing the opportunity to proactively review trends in relation to betting on Tasmanian racing."

She said the government was preparing legislation to create a Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner with power to set integrity and animal welfare standards, following an independent review of the state's racing regulations.

Mr Yole was contacted for comment.

A previous response from the trainer's lawyer emphasised the rigorous scrutiny and regulation the stable is subjected to, and described the allegations as "patently false".

Calls for overhaul of 'outdated' legislation

Horses at the Yole Racing stable near Sidmouth.(ABC News: Maren Preuss)

Mr Yole's next-door neighbour and racing steward Janet Ainscow told the ABC the conditions at his Sidmouth stables were "probably the worst conditions I've ever seen horses kept in of any racing establishment I've visited", alleging horses were kept in dusty paddocks with nothing to eat but their own excrement.

The stables have been subject to regular visits from both the Office of Racing Integrity and the RSPCA, with each saying no breaches of the rules of racing, or the 30-year-old Animal Welfare Act, had been identified.

RSPCA chief executive Jan Davis wants an overhaul of the 30-year-old Animal Welfare Act. (Supplied: Jan Davis)

RSPCA chief executive Jan Davis said legislative change was urgently needed.

"There are limits to what we can investigate under the legislation," she said.

"Whilst we had a few changes last year that upped our powers, the legislation is still not specific enough for us to be able to do the things that we think we need to be able to do.

"For example, it says things like appropriate shelter, adequate food and they're very subjective measures. As a charity with very little funding, it's very difficult for us to take on well-funded and quite significantly active groups to try and win that battle without some better back-up in the legislation.

"The rules have changed, expectations have changed, everything's changed but our legislation lags behind that recognition."

Government minister Roger Jaensch said the Office of Racing Integrity's powers included oversight of animal welfare and urged anyone with concerns that animals had been mistreated to contact the RSPCA.

Read this article yesterday and wow, didn’t realise there was so much money bet on Tasmanian harness racing. Would explain why so few questions have been asked about the situation. Seems a flashing red light. And the animal welfare issues are sad to see. Eating their own gelati? Wow! 

ExceedAndExcel wrote: Read this article yesterday and wow, didn’t realise there was so much money bet on Tasmanian harness racing. Would explain why so few questions have been asked about the situation. Seems a flashing red light. And the animal welfare issues are sad to see. Eating their own gelati? Wow!

The more people who are in the know, the more they'll bet! TABs & corps won't go broke any time soon 

Murrihy report into Tasmania's harness racing industry makes finding of race fixing and team driving
In short: A report into Tasmania's harness racing industry, sparked by an ABC News investigation, has found the state's leading trainer had engaged in race fixing and animal abuse.The report also found the role of director of racing at the government agency charged with policing integrity within the industry was "perceived as lacking true independence, particularly in serious integrity-related matters".What's next? The Minister for Racing says it is a "dark day" for the industry and says he was "shocked" by the report's contents.A 10-month investigation into Tasmania's harness racing industry has found individuals within the industry engaged in team driving, race fixing and animal abuse.
"Today is a dark day for Tasmania's harness racing," Racing Minister Felix Ellis said.
"The report is not an easy read and will shock many Tasmanians, I was shocked when I read it."
The Tasmanian government announced in March 2023 that an independent review would be carried out after the ABC aired allegations of team driving, race fixing, and animal welfare concerns in the state's harness racing industry.

The ABC also reported on allegations of unusual races and betting patterns in races dominated by horses from trainer Ben Yole's stable.

Mr Yole is Tasmania's leading harness trainer and has previously described all allegations as "patently false".

The ABC has contacted Mr Yole about the final report's findings.

Racing and national integrity expert Ray Murrihy was appointed to conduct the investigation.

Mr Murrihy's final report, which was handed to the state government last year, was published online on Tuesday.

Office of Racing Integrity 'perceived as lacking true independence'

More than 44 submissions were received and over 50 interviews were conducted as part of the inquiry, along with examining betting records, reviewing extensive race footage and undertaking site visits.

"The investigation scrutinised allegations of team driving and race fixing in the two races mentioned in the ABC media report of 26 March 2023, as well as two additional races selected from more than 50 races from the past three years referred to in submissions," the report stated.

"From these four races, two were determined to involve conduct non-compliant with the AHRR, while the remaining two races lacked sufficient evidence to support a non-compliant determination."

As a result of the report, the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI) will also be abolished.
Read more [copy/paste https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-31/murrihy-report-tasmania-harness-racing-race-fixing-findings/103374678
Felgate spoke to Murrihy today, questioning why, when it was completed on Nov 28, has it taken untill now to be released & Yole still allowed to train 

Looks like all Yole runners have been withdrawn from Launceston harness meeting tonight.

Pity help trainers of the most traumatised ones; I know harness horses are renowned for their toughness but then there's tough &...............

Tasmanian harness racing trainer Wayne Yole banned from keeping, training horses on Sidmouth property

Tasmanian harness racing trainer Wayne Yole has been banned from housing or training horses at his Sidmouth property in northern Tasmania, following a multi-agency inspection of the stables.

Tasracing issued the trainer with a notice imposing the condition on his licence on Monday.

He has been given seven days to move the horses off the property.

The penalty is a result of an inspection conducted by the Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner, representatives from the Tasracing Integrity Unit, RSPCA Tasmania, Biosecurity Tasmania and the West Tamar Council in late March.

During the search, Tasracing says it identified numerous alleged breaches of regulatory requirements and animal welfare guidelines.

Mr Yole was issued a notice for him to show cause as to why the stables should be allowed to home, stable or train horses from the premises.

Wayne Yole is the father of harness trainers Ben and Tim Yole. Both trainers have been disqualified from the industry for three years.

In a statement, Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll said that while improvements had been made to the premises in response to the notice, Tasracing decided to impose the condition.

Mr Yole is expected to appeal the decision to the Tasmanian Racing Appeal Board.