With commissioner Shane Gillard’s resignation on Monday, it gives Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace clear air to make the wholesale changes required to turn things around at QRIC.
After missing out on a $51 winner by a nose last Saturday, the guys return to have another crack at the Group 1s in Queensland. Plus of course, we have the Self-trumpeters, Yays or Neighs, and all the best bets and Betfair Back or Lays for Saturday.
The system is broken.
Since being introduced in 2016 in the wake of the live baiting scandal, QRIC has offered little stability to the racing industry and come at an enormous cost.
With a state election looming at the end of the year, finding a new commissioner to take the $400,000+ a year job could prove a challenge, with the LNP opposition all but certain to take over power.
There are suggestions the LNP are keen to dismantle QRIC in its current setting, potentially making the job a poisoned chalice for whoever takes it.
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Regardless of who takes over, there are clear changes needed when it comes to racing integrity in the Sunshine State.
Stewards are treated more like glorified public servants, made to work behind layers of bureaucracy and attend countless meetings rather than doing their actual jobs.
With no forward facing accountability to the industry, QRIC’s offices hold more secrets than the wreck of the Titanic.
The fact the result of a state election can have a direct impact on racing integrity shows politics are far too closely entwined in the sport.
Shane Gillard has become the latest to quit his post at QRIC.
Surely the best course of action is to return racing integrity back under the umbrella of Racing Queensland, with staff reporting to racing stakeholders, not politicians.
With a spate of high-profile flops when it comes to prosecutions, a former high ranking racing official compared it to 1985 when Ray Murrihy took over the role as chief steward in Brisbane in the wake of the Fine Cotton affair, which saw confidence in Queensland racing plummet to an all time low.
With the right backing, Murrihy became one of the most respected stewards in the country, and helped bring the next generation of stipes in Kim Kelly, Terry Bailey, Allan Reardon, Steve Railton, Marc van Gestel and Jamie Stier through the ranks.
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John Schreck also turned Sydney around with strong leadership when he came in following the Mr Digby saga in 1981.
What it does show is that with the right people in place, things can be turned around quickly.
QRIC needs a strong leader, not someone who will simply hold the wheel or be a puppet for politicians.
If the government wants to bury their head in the sand, I challenge Grace to find a single person in the industry to say they support QRIC in its current format.
■ Trenton Akers is a senior racing reporter for News Corp Australia.