GWIC CLARIFIES INACCURACIES IN 2GB BROADCAST

The Acting Chief Commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission, Mr Chris Wheeler PSM, seeks to clarify a range of inaccurate claims made recently on the Ray Hadley Show.

“The Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission provides the following facts in response to inaccuracies reported in this morning’s Ray Hadley program on 2GB”, Mr Wheeler said,

In relation to the recent disciplinary action undertaken against Trainer Andrew Bell:

• The Rule under which Mr Bell was charged is known as the ‘Presentation Rule’. This Rule is a National Rule approved by the Greyhounds Australasia Board. Greyhound Racing New South Wales is the New South Wales State Representative and Member of that Board. One of the roles of GWIC is to implement the National Rules.
• The ‘Presentation Rule’ creates an obligation on a Trainer to ensure that greyhounds trained by them are free of any prohibited substance when presented to race.
• The definition of ‘Presentation’ as specified in the National Rules includes the time following the race in which the greyhound has competed and until the greyhound is removed from the racecourse.
• There was no evidence before the Commission that Mr Bell was responsible for administering the prohibited substance and he was not charged with that offence.
• Mr. Bell’s disciplinary history includes a previous breach of the ‘Presentation Rule’ in 2019 when he presented a greyhound to race when a sample taken from it following the race was found to contain arsenic greater than twice the permissible level.
• The level of amphetamine found in this more recent sample was 20 times greater than the level asserted in this morning’s radio broadcast.
• The relevant race occurred on 16 December 2021, not during COVID lockdowns as asserted on the program.
• The handler of the relevant greyhound ‘King Reed’ was a registered close associate of Mr. Bell with registration records indicating they share the same residential address.
• Betting records submitted into evidence at the hearing of this matter confirmed that Mr. Bell had placed two multi leg bets both of which were dependent on King Reed winning the event.
• Betting records show that Mr. Bell received $11,800 because of these successful bets.
• The penalty-imposed on Mr. Bell accords with other penalties applied for the same offence and having regard to the fact that Mr. Bell is a previous offender under this Rule.
• Over the past two years nearly 15,000 analytical samples have been collected by the Commission both in a racing context and out of competition with only two samples (inclusive of this sample taken from King Reed) returning a positive result to this substance.
• The Commission has not determined on the evidence in any case to date, circumstances whereby contamination or inadvertent contamination has arisen due to a person not really connected to the dog, catching the dog, as expressed in the media report this morning.

“The program went onto to suggest an inappropriate appointment of Mr Kevin Adams as a Steward at the Commission. This is not correct”, Mr Wheeler said

Mr Adams was recruited following normal public sector recruitment processes and he has a long and distinguished career as a steward within two racing codes.

The Commission’s Chief Steward, Mr Wade Birch, has never been a close personal friend of Mr Adams as has been suggested and has never sat or presided on the same Steward’s Panel as Mr Adams prior to his commencement with the Commission.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Adams made the Commission aware of a 2009 Industrial Relations Commission decision that referenced him.

The decision related to an unfair dismissal claim made by a co-worker of Mr Adams with whom he had developed a personal relationship. Mr Adams was not a party to those proceedings nor was there any finding that Mr Adam’s had sexually harassed anyone. The circumstances surrounding this matter did not preclude Mr Adams from employment by the Commission.

Mr Adams comes to the commission having spent the past 6 years working in a senior stewarding role in the greyhound industry in Queensland, including most recently for the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission.