Racing NSW stewards will open an inquiry into alleged animal cruelty in the Australian Turf Club Mounted Division at its Druitt Street headquarters on Friday.
Fairfax Media on Sunday revealed the alleged mistreatment, cruelty and illegal sedation of horses in the club's security division, lifting the lid on a case the stewards' investigation team has been working on since January.
The Australian Turf Club at Randwick has introduced an equine mounted division of former racehorses.Credit:Facebook
The six horses in the division have been spelled and removed from their Centennial Park stable until the investigation is concluded.
Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel would not comment directly on the investigation as an inquiry date had been set.
Australia's Next Top Model Vitoria Triboni poses in a photo shoot with the horse Cabriole.Credit:Gary Herry
"We have scheduled an inquiry for 10am on Friday and a number of ATC officials and other parties have been asked to attend," Van Gestel said. "The horses are at a spelling farm and have been vet checked. Our investigators have been working on these allegations and building a brief of evidence, which will be presented on Friday."
ATC chief executive Darren Pearce confirmed the horses were being spelled and that staff from the mounted division were ready to front stewards on Friday.
"All of the horses in the program are in good health," Pearce said. "When these concerns were raised, we immediately worked with Racing NSW to have the horses spelled as a precaution, and checked independently by vets. The ATC welcomes the inquiry and the chance for our staff to defend themselves against the claims."
Racing NSW took action in the mid-January after an incident at the three-day Falls Music & Arts Festival near Byron Bay, where a horse and its female rider were injured.
The inquiry will probe the allegations of cruelty as the horses are retired racehorses and stewards will decide if any charges need to be laid.
Racing NSW takes rehabilitating retired racehorses seriously and established the NSW Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Trust in 2011, which runs a program to re-educate horses after the track.
As part of a prizemoney increase announcement last year, the Equine Welfare Fund was set up with one per cent of all stakes in the state paid into the fund
"We need to be aware of community standards and we are being proactive in making sure our horses are cared for throughout their lives," Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys said at the announcement.
"The first year there will be more than $2 million to start this initiative and the plan is to keep building it into the future."
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Racing writer for The Sydney Morning Herald