OTI Racing Director Terry Henderson believes the veterinary requirements of all Melbourne Cup runners ‘has not worked’ and is ‘over the top’.
This year’s edition of the Melbourne Cup was met with several changes as Racing Victoria (RV) looks to stamp out the unacceptable death and injury rate in Australia’s greatest horse race.
All horses were made to undergo a series of tests to ensure they’re fit enough to run and despite all horses in the Cup on Tuesday cleared, the Matt Cumani-trained Future Score presented with “lameness” in his left foreleg on Monday.
The OTI-owned gelding failed an RV re-inspection on Tuesday and was subsequently scratched.
“It’s way over the top and it’s gone over the top,” Henderson said on SEN Track’s Bensley.
“I think that it has to be, and it will be addressed, most of the authorities in Victoria now know that they’ve got to come back and re-look at the way we make sure that the right sort of protocols are in place for horses to come here and race safely.
“Very little credibility is given to the trainer, probably more importantly the clinically vets that treat these horses day in day out, their opinion is effectively ignored in this process, and that clearly is not right.
“These people know the horses far better than the vets that are coming from Racing Victoria.
“Going through what Matt Cumani had to go through is totally wrong and it really impacts on the integrity of both Matt and the vets that have checked the horse."
Moreover, Henderson believes that RV’S credibility is at serious risk given what’s occurred in the past 12 months.
“Racing Victoria’s credibility is at serious risk here with what’s happened in the last 12 months. That is because the process that they put in place are extraordinary and are way outside the norm.
“As a result of that, the whole appeal of the Melbourne Cup to the international visitors is lost.
“We need to do something and we need to do it fast and properly.”
