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  The passionate punter ADAM SHAND: The track's officially dead. The runners are modest at best. Still, a couple of hundred have turned up here to back their fancies. How many mugs would still lay their money down if it was all cooked up, a boat race, in turf speak? NSW Chief Steward, Ray Murrihy, is suspicious that the fix is in and he's waging a very public campaign to catch those he suspects are responsible. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: What it has uncovered is, in our view at least, some unhealthy liaison, or communication, between punters and licensed persons. Now we don't see that from an image point of view to start off with particularly appealing. And that is a matter that we intend to continue to pursue. ADAM SHAND: If Ray Murrihy gets his way, he'll bug telephones and plant listening devices to catch the chatter of the players around the race track and beyond. Central to the steward's inquiry is this man, Eddie Hayson, now the nation's largest punter. He reputedly has an annual gambling turnover of $100 million. But he says it buys him no respect. He denies any wrongdoing. Have you ever been involved in fixing a race? EDDIE HAYSON: Definitely not, definitely not. It's just absolutely ridiculous. ADAM SHAND: Have you been aware of anybody else fixing a race? EDDIE HAYSON: Absolutely not. I think Sydney racing is as clean as it's ever been. I don't know of any wrongdoing going on, so I think it's all nonsense. I think they're flapping their wings for no reason. ADAM SHAND: This is Stiletto, Sydney's most opulent bordello, which is owned by Eddie Hayson. Rumour has it the punter and his racing cohorts regularly meet here. If he gets these ASIO-style powers, Murrihy's forces could also be at Stiletto, but listening in. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: There is an expectation that the stewards — what stewards might achieve. And we feel that would be enhanced if we had some of the powers the police have, to go to the Supreme Court to seek a warrant to be issued to put in place some surveillance, some listening devices, those sort of things. They would be reserved for the most extreme circumstance, one would expect. PETER BREDHAUER, JOURNALIST: Where does his power end? Does he only want to tap the licensee or does he want to go to the broad spectrum and tap anyone he wants to? CHRIS MURPHY, LAWYER: The race track has provided a convenient, clean way of washing up dirty money from drug dealing or from illegal enterprises. But in terms of the racing itself, it's very fair dinkum. Bet on horses if you don't believe in the laws of mathematics, because you will be decimated by the percentage. But don't be afraid to bet on a race horse because you think the race is fixed. ADAM SHAND: There are claims that as he seeks these extra powers, Murrihy himself misused recording devices while chief steward of Queensland racing in the 1990. PETER BREDHAUER, JOURNALIST: I was standing outside the jockeys' room at the Brisbane Turf Club there at Doomben and he just walked outside and he said, 'I want to see you for a minute.' So I just quite innocently walked into the room and unbeknownst to me the entire conversation between he and I was tape recorded. ADAM SHAND: So what advice would you give to anyone dealing with Ray Murrihy on that basis? PETER BREDHAUER, JOURNALIST: Tread with caution. ADAM SHAND: Even fellow stewards like Sydney and Hong Kong boss John Schreck have doubts about the need for covert taping. JOHN SCHRECK, FORMER NSW STEWARD: I would have considerable doubts about it because I don't — I wouldn't be able to cope with that myself. Racing stewards are like everybody — like journalists, like members of the police force. There are good ones. There are ones that are not so good. There are ones that are squeaky clean and ones that are not quite so squeaky clean. There are ones that would abuse their powers and ones that wouldn't. ADAM SHAND: This is the kind of conversation that Ray Murrihy would love to eavesdrop on. Eddie Hayson talking the form. EDDIE HAYSON: Reg Reagan, how is he coming along? ADAM SHAND: When Hayson likes a horse, he can move the market with bets in hundreds of thousands of dollars. He has got 60 top-flight horses. Forty of them are unraced and awaiting their debut. This is his trainer. Tim Martin is one of the rising stars in Sydney racing. Together they've pulled off a series of spectacular betting plunges on previously unraced horses and along the way they've become regulars at a string of stewards' inquiries this year. EDDIE HAYSON: Put a lot of money into racing and things and done nothing wrong. ADAM SHAND: Neither Hayson nor Martin have been charged with race fixing, let alone convicted. Yet every appearance at an inquiry has been met with a blaze of publicity. EDDIE HAYSON: Why wasn't it held behind closed doors? And if charges were laid, then go to the meeting and bash us up all they want. But how is it good for racing? Racing is the loser here. ADAM SHAND: Newcastle jockey Allen Robinson holds the record for the most wins in an Australian season. With 30 or 40 rides a week, he'll go anywhere for a race, especially if it is a Hayson horse. Robbo, as he's known, was recently suspended for three months on an unreasonable riding charge. Stewards claim he took Silent Song to the front too early and the horse faded badly in the home straight. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: If one man hates me, he can put me out because of his opinion. Now his opinion don't stand up in court, you know. They charge me for shitting myself and I know I only farted. ADAM SHAND: Hayson had put a bet of $4000, a fraction of his normal volume, on Contrast, the horse which won that race. EDDIE HAYSON: The betting supervisor, Terry Griffen, thought I'd backed the horse in six or seven places. They handed me a letter — a note saying, "These are all your bets" and they were all completely wrong. None of them were my bets at all. ADAM SHAND: Hayson's friendship with the jockey was the strongest evidence the stewards could find to justify calling him before the inquiry. Have you ever pulled a horse for him? ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: No. I pulled it up after the winning post because I had to come back to the enclosure. But no pulling up horses. Because they know I won't help them. I wouldn't do anything wrong. Honest Al, the punter's pal they call me. ADAM SHAND: It is a tough grind for Honest Al today, a brace of fourth placings at Newcastle and another careless riding charge to face before the stewards in the coming week. Robinson believes the stewards take an unhealthy interest in him because of his outspoken ways. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: Me and him we're like that. ADAM SHAND: This is Newcastle steward Steve Carvosso. He and Robinson share a curious history. In late 2004 the jockey was allegedly involved in a fight with a stable hand and Carvosso investigated. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: So then he even said to an apprentice jockey, "If you give me the right information, "I won't swab you for a couple of months," you know. Like what's going on there? ADAM SHAND: This is the jockey that made those allegations, Daniel Oldham. He would later fail two tests for cannabis and amphetamines. DANIEL OLDHAM, JOCKEY: He rang me up about a fight with Allen Robinson and Greg Smith that happened at the Bulli race track. And he said to me, "Tell me what happened or I won't swab you for a while," and I took offence. ADAM SHAND: How did you feel to have this offer put to you by the guy who's actually responsible for drug testing jockeys in Newcastle? DANIEL OLDHAM, JOCKEY: Made me feel very uncomfortable. This is my job, you know. That's all I know what to do is just to ride horses. And the last thing I want to be hassled by a steward saying he's going to drug test me if I don't tell him what happened. ADAM SHAND: Racing NSW inquired into Carvosso's behaviour but found the allegation was not sustained. However, it did find Carvosso's handling of the matter failed to adhere to the professional standards expected of a steward. Peter V'Landys is chief executive of Racing NSW. Did Steve Carvosso offer to give Daniel Oldham a holiday from drug testing in order to get evidence from him? PETER V'LANDYS, RACING NSW: The evidence doesn't substantiate the allegation. ADAM SHAND: This jockey later failed two tests for cannabis and amphetamines, this was a serious matter. It wasn't a joke. PETER V'LANDYS, RACING NSW: Look, you have to take into account all the evidence provided in that case. And all the evidence indicated to us that the allegation could not be substantiated. However, there were courses of his actions which could have been done better and according to the code of conduct. As I say, he was disciplined. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: After thorough investigation, they could find no untoward doing but he did fail to adhere to standards that were expected of a steward. So I don't know. Pretty sad. ADAM SHAND: The tension between the stewards and Eddie Hayson broke into open warfare in May when the Tim Martin-trained filly Interfere debuted impressively at Rose Hill. For Hayson, this was a classic plunge. Interfere was the 6/4 favourite. It had breeding and a poorly understood form line. EDDIE HAYSON: It won a trial in very fast time at Rose Hill, beat a very smart horse in Tango Fire. And Tango Fire then went and trialled at Canterbury and beat a very good horse, Astounded, by four or five lengths. It looked a very good bet. It looked the best bet we've had in Sydney for a long time. ADAM SHAND: So you know your form then? EDDIE HAYSON: Of course. I think jockey's tips and trainer's tips are the last people's tips you would want. I think everybody in the thick of things would know that. ADAM SHAND: What got the alarm bells ringing? Interfere was a well-backed favourite that won. Surely punters would be happy with that, wouldn't they, normally? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Look, I think if they're going to profit by orchestrating a race, first of all, you want to do is pick the best horse because it needs least help. We were concerned that there was a lack of pressure put on the horse. Interfere, which was up the front of the field, it led. On the day, we asked some questions of riders that ride what we call on pace runners that normally we might expect to see up there. ADAM SHAND: Do you walk a fine line with this? EDDIE HAYSON: Look, I probably walk a fine line, but I know where the line is. I'm certainly not going to break the law. ADAM SHAND: At the height of the Interfere inquiry, an extraordinary story surfaced in Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper. An unnamed bookmaker said that every Friday night, a gang of footballers, jockeys and trainers would gather here in Stiletto, the Hayson-owned bordello, to cook up the results of races and football games of that weekend. It seems an odd place to hatch a conspiracy, but earlier the chief steward had warned of the moral dangers that awaited licensed persons here. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: 18 months ago, he told me to stay away from Eddie Hayson — 'What are you doing at Stilettos?' You know? What am I doing at the fruit markets? What am I doing at that pin ball shop? What am I doing at the football last night? ADAM SHAND: Well, at the fruit markets, people tend to squeeze the fruit. ALLAN ROBINSON, JOCKEY: Yeah, yeah. So you're saying at the brothel I go there, 'Hello Dolly', but, no. That's a matter for you. But it certainly doesn't ... It's a bar. It's a bar to me. I'll go down and we'll have something to eat and drink. There's been plenty of licensed people there. I hate going to Randwick to ride let alone going to Stilettos to talk shit. Three or four other people who think we're going to fix a race up. You know. And fixing races. There might be 10 of us. We fix up eight of them. The other two will beat us home. You know. It's with the fairies, mate. It's with the fairies. ADAM SHAND: Despite the serious implications of what the anonymous bookie told the Telegraph, he has never been called to an inquiry nor even questioned. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: That bookmaker remains unidentified. I don't think it bears any more comment. ADAM SHAND: You know who it is, don't you? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: I know who it is, yeah. ADAM SHAND: Surely he has information if he is coming out there and saying that there's a gang of villains cooking up races. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sure if he had that information, he hasn't told us. ADAM SHAND: After six sittings of the inquiry, an exhaustive viewing of the race film, stewards could find no fault with any of the jockeys in the race. Murrihy turned his attention to those who had backed the horse. Hayson was asked for his telephone and betting records, which he duly supplied. There were calls to and from jockeys Jim Cassidy and Hugh Bowman who were both in the race. EDDIE HAYSON: Well, they were very misleading, the reports Mr Murrihy gave to the journalists there. Hugh Bowman tried to call me three times and got my message bank three times on different days. I wouldn't call somebody getting a message bank as talking to. And Jim Cassidy, I tried to ring him, got his message bank. In actual fact, I didn't speak to any jockey. ADAM SHAND: Hayson's records also showed several conversations with Pat Sexton, the head foreman for trainer Gai Waterhouse. Hayson was asking after Admirel, the Waterhouse runner. Because the insinuation is, if not allegation, is that somehow that race was cooked up, that Interfere was given the run of the race and allowed to win. PAT SEXTON: Oh, I can't swear, can I? It's crap. It's seriously crap. I think there's a certain point where you've got to say, 'Okay, we've looked at that. We'll move on.' But it just — it's very messy. ADAM SHAND: In the end, Sexton's five-year friendship with Hayson would cost him the job he loved with Gai Waterhouse. PAT SEXTON: Her exact words were, she said, 'Pat, we're going to have to part company. We're going to have to part company'. And I, you know. ADAM SHAND: And that was the net result of the Interfere inquiry, the sacking of one man, Pat Sexton. And though the investigation could be said to have failed, the stewards, in their wisdom, decided to keep the inquiry open indefinitely. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: On balance we've got to decide what are the pluses and what are the minuses. Now for the time being, it will remain open. If, after some period that expires, we believe it's futile, we may well close it. But for the moment it will remain open. On balance, we say it is in the best interests of the industry. ADAM SHAND: But Ray Murrihy says it would have all been different had he access to surveillance and listening devices. Suspicion would have become evidence. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Well, it may have been to the benefit of the parties if we had it. But I'm not going to comment further than to say that. If the conversations or communications were available in this case, as I said, it may have closed the inquiry in one day. ADAM SHAND: But Murrihy's critics say his track record with listening devices does not inspire confidence. Peter Bredhauer is a racing journalist and blood stock agent. In March 1995, he fell out with Murrihy after hearing rumours the chief steward had lunched with the tribunal member before a crucial appeal was to be heard. He summoned Bredhauer into the steward's room and took him to task. Sunday has obtained a transcript of that conversation. TRANSCRIPT OF CONVERSATION: Now I'm just going to mention here there are laws of libel in this state and if I hear you're inventing or repeating stories about myself, I just put you on notice that I won't cop it. I don't like people who are devious and I don't like people who are two-faced." ADAM SHAND: Little did Bredhauer know that Murrihy was taping the entire conversation using the official steward's recording system. Have you ever misused a hidden listening device in the pursuit of a personal dispute? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Adam, I don't know where you're coming from. You'll have to put that to me. What particularly you are asking? ADAM SHAND: Do you recognise this transcript? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: No. ADAM SHAND: Drawn from a conversation from May 1995. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Every conversation in the steward's room is recorded. Every conversation. Peter Bredhauer didn't walk into a room, he was asked to come in. Now I don't want to comment beyond that in that particular case. ADAM SHAND: Did you inform him that he was being recorded? That is the standard procedure, isn't it? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: No, it is not. I have never told anyone they have been recorded. Every licensed person and person that comes into the steward's room is aware their conversations are going to be taped. Did you have any sense that you were in there on official business? PETER BREDHAUER, JOURNALIST: No. Well, I'm not a licensee. I just thought he wanted to ask something to find out something. It was no concern to me at all. ADAM SHAND: So he never said that he was taping you? PETER BREDHAUER, JOURNALIST: No, never. I never knew a thing about it. I had no idea. ADAM SHAND: You say when people go into the steward's room for inquiries, was this an inquiry? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: If a person is asked to come into the room, it doesn't matter whether it is an inquiry, an interview, whatever. ADAM SHAND: But you wanted to threaten him with a defamation suit or a libel suit because he was spreading stories personally about you. It had nothing to do with racing. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: It didn't have anything to do with racing? You're kidding. ADAM SHAND: There was no inquiry. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: I beg your pardon? ADAM SHAND: Bredhauer made an official complaint about Murrihy's conduct that day. Queensland Racing boss Bob Bentley investigated and discovered the covertly-recorded tape was in the chief steward's desk. GREG HONCHIN, FORMER QLD RACING OFFICIAL: He immediately said to me to go down to the office, get the tape out of Mr Murrihy's drawer, dub it, and put the tape back. Greg Honchin was then the chief executive of Queensland Racing. He and Bentley hatched a plan to oust the increasingly unpopular chief steward. Honchin recorded the conversation. RECORDED CONVERSATION TRANSCRIPT: I reckon this will rattle him, right … and we'll hit him cold with the Bredhauer thing. If necessary we will play the tape to the meeting, so that meeting there and then we'll make a decision right? Take it steady … steady and we'll trap him … yeah. ADAM SHAND: At a meeting in April 1995, the committee confronted Murrihy with Bredhauer's letter of complaint but kept the tape in reserve. GREG HONCHIN, FORMER QLD RACING OFFICIAL: There is no shred of doubt that if the Sydney job wasn't there, Mr Murrihy was only a week away from being sacked. ADAM SHAND: But Greg Honchin decided there was another way to get rid of Murrihy without the risk of bad publicity. GREG HONCHIN, FORMER QLD RACING OFFICIAL: I said, 'Ray, we haven't got on in the past and that's common knowledge.' I said, 'I'm taking my hat off as CEO, if you get the position or get offered the position of chairman of stewards NSW, take it.' Mr Murrihy took that on board, thanked me, walked out and then proceeded to resign from Queensland Racing. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Adam, I have worked 36 years in this business. I have worked for organisations practically in every state of Australia. Now if you want to think that muddying my reputation over this matter is appropriate, obviously there is an agenda there. ADAM SHAND: Is it right to tape people without their knowledge? Surely you have to advise people that they are in a formal inquiry? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: Adam, all conversations are taped. ADAM SHAND: Every one? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: In the steward's room. ADAM SHAND: Do you still tape conversations now? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: I beg your pardon? Yes. We don't advise people that you are going to be taped. The shorthand writer when they walk in will start to take notes. ADAM SHAND: But that is in formal inquiries. This had nothing to do with a formal inquiry. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: I have answered the question, Adam. Formal, informal, that is the process in the steward's room. Sometimes they may be videoed as well. PETER V'LANDYS, RACING NSW: Stewards have to abide by a code of conduct. If they breach that code of conduct — breaking a law of the land would be a serious breach of the code of conduct. They would be disciplined or even terminated. RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: If you want to dredge through my reputation, I'm not going to respond to all these matters. They are so petty. I can see the direction you are coming from. We've just departed completely from this inquiry and now it is to be a character assassination of Ray Murrihy. ADAM SHAND: Don't you think you have been involved in character assassination with the 'name and shame' game you've been running in Sydney racing? RAY MURRIHY, CHIEF STEWARD, RACING NSW: No, I don't. No, I don't, Adam. Can we just take a break? ADAM SHAND: Sure. We waited for 10 minutes but Murrihy declined to return to the interview. In light of these issues, he faces an uphill battle to win his new investigative powers. Next week, NSW jockeys will meet to consider a no-confidence motion in their chief steward. From there it is odds on that racing in this state will never be the same again. Click here for a printer-friendly version. |
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