By Patrick Bartley
Senior racing officials are concerned that ongoing debts incurred by the caretaker Racing Victoria board will leave the new regime to not only shoulder the unnecessary expense but may be forced to close other initiatives.
At the start of the year Racing Victoria engaged a major Melbourne law firm to hold an inquiry into the departure of former RV chairman David Moodie.
Racing Victoria officials have many spotfires to put out.Credit: Reuters
The probe, which many believe is an expensive witch hunt, has entered its third month from reviewing the report made by Victoria's Racing integrity commissioner Sal Perna.
The review saw RV engage Melbourne law firm Allens to establish a new probe into the leaks relating to the Mark Kavanagh and Danny O'Brien cobalt cases.
To complicate matters Moodie has launched legal action of his own against Perna.
Racing Victoria are currently appealing a VCAT finding that cleared O'Brien and Kavanagh.
"Considerable work has been undertaken on the Allens Review however it is yet to be completed due to impacts of the legal action brought by David Moodie against the Racing Integrity Commissioner," RV spokesman said.
"We are working through those impacts with Allens so that their review can be brought to its conclusion at the earliest opportunity."
However Allen's do not have the same pool of witnesses that Perna had nor the extensive powers of the commissioner.
Perna interviewed 32 witnesses during his period compiling his report.
Just 24 hours after Perna's findings, chairman Moodie stood down after Perna identified that sensitive information had been leaked and had been used for an adverse impact on the stewards' cobalt investigation.
Racing officials who are awaiting the makeup of the new Racing Victoria board and are worried that Allens expensive probe will make for unnecessary debt for the new board.
Acting chairman Mike Hirst and stand-in CEO Giles Thompson engaged the law firm in early January.
And racing.com, which is becoming an expensive offshoot of Racing Victoria, has caused many eyebrows to be raised after they paid an exorbitant $6 million for the vision rights of South Australian racing.
SA only race three times a week and it is doubted that their racing will help overcome racing.com's content problems.
However, the signing of South Australia is in itself an admission that racing.com have now strayed away from their original business plan of becoming Victoria's boutique racing broadcaster.
In other news, Darren Beadman trained his first winner for Godolphin with Malahat breaking through at Canterbury.
Beadman, a two-time winning Melbourne Cup jockey, was confirmed as John O'Shea's Godolphin replacement last weekend.
In his first metropolitan meeting at Canterbury on Wednesday, Beadman watched on as Malahat held off stablemate Kementari.
"It's nice to feel that winning feeling again," he said. "To be given this position by probably the biggest racing stable in the world is a dream come true, really. I'm very honoured."