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George Main Renamed in Honor of King Charles III, The Everest Gets Purse Boost

Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club (ATC) announced on Sunday that the G1 George Main S. will be replaced by the G1 King Charles III S. at Royal Randwick starting this year. The King Charles III S. is named in honour of His Majesty The King and will be run over 1600 metres under weight-for-age conditions and carry a prize purse of A$5 million, making it the world's richest weight-for-age mile event. Last year's George Main S., won by Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss), was worth A$1 million in 2022.

The King Charles will run on Oct. 14 along with the world's second-richest Thoroughbred race, the A$20 million The Everest (which rises from A$15 million). The entire card offers prizemoney of nearly A$35 million and includes the A$2 million The Kosciuszko, the A$1 million Silver Eagle, the A$500,000 St Leger S. and the A$250,000 G3 Angst S. Previously, the George Main S. was held two weeks prior to the G1 Epsom H.

“The King Charles III Stakes creates a new level of excitement for the Sydney Everest Carnival, with a feature open-age mile race boosting an already mouth-watering Everest Day meeting,” Racing NSW Chairman Russell Balding said. “It is also befitting of Royal Randwick to have a feature race in spring named in honour of His Majesty, to complement the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in autumn, with Royal Randwick being Australia's only Royal Racecourse.

“At $20 million of prizemoney, The TAB Everest is now the second-richest race in the world and the richest race on turf. This further increase in prizemoney is not only recognition of The TAB Everest as being the highest-rated race in Australia, but also of the success this event has created in flow-on benefits throughout the entire NSW Thoroughbred industry for the whole of the year.”

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Baggage Handler To Horse Racing Millionaire: Industry Regulators Not Able To Keep Criminals Out?

Australian horse racing authorities have come under fire for allowing alleged cocaine kingpin Damion Flower to operate at the sport's highest level, according to an investigation printed by abc.net.au.

The former airline baggage handler was denied a license as a groom in August of 2013 because of his history of violence and bankruptcy, but four years later regulators accepted Flower's check for $1.8 million to help create one of the world's richest horse races, The Everest.

It was apparently Flower's part-ownership of Australian Group 1 winner and leading sire Snitzel that helped convince the regulatory body, Racing New South Wales.

“In the circumstances, it could not be reasonably suggested that a person who made many millions of dollars from selling shares in a horse that cost him $260,000, while retaining an ongoing revenue stream in Australia's No.1 performing stallion, is not a person of considerable means,” Racing NSW general counsel Pete Sweney said in a statement to abc.net.au.

Flower was arrested in May of 2019, and eventually pleaded guilty to importing 228 kilograms of pure cocaine from South Africa on 12 flights since 2016. At his sentencing hearing last Friday, Flower's attorney told the court Flower was “weak but not beyond redemption.”

“Mr Flower failed to have the fortitude to withdraw from the enterprise,” Francis said, according to news.com.au. “This was an isolated breach in criminality.”

Flower and his co-conspirator John Mafiti are due to be sentenced in February 2022.

According to Nick McTaggart, Australia's most senior operational officer investigating money laundering until he retired in 2016, organized crime has a long history with horse racing.

“The criminals are able to operate in plain sight,” McTaggart told abc.net.au. “The beauty about the horseracing game is that you can either buy such assets individually, or you can buy them with a group of other people, which doesn't diminish your wealth, but doesn't allow asset confiscation groups to make a complete claim on your assets.

Between 2013 and 2019, Flower purchased over $30 million of Thoroughbreds between Australia's auction houses, Inglis and Magic Millions. He would follow those purchases by selling off shares to investors.

McTaggart also said that racing's regulators are not in a position to be able to stop criminals like Flower.

“It's not within Racing NSW's bailiwick or charter to be doing background checks on the individuals involved in horseracing, unless they have a suspicion that these individuals are actually doing something by way of illegal activity with a horse or fixing races or issues like that,” McTaggart told abc.net.au. “So, their ability to be able to scrutinize activity is fairly limited in its terms.”

Read more at abc.net.au and news.com.au.

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Australia: Jockey Banned Eight Years For Betting On Himself

A jockey who changed his name by deed poll and used it to operate a betting account while still riding under his old name has been disqualified for a total of eight years.

Terry Treichel rode over 1,200 winners across New South Wales and Queensland before relocating to Northern Territory.

But when Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory (TRNT) stewards began investigating allegations of betting activity at Alice Springs they discovered Treichel had changed his name to Daniel Jack Smith.

The 41-year-old Smith, formerly Treichel, pleaded guilty to all 32 charges issued against him while a licensed jockey between July 2019 and December 2020.

These included falsely declaring in his licence application that his name was Terry Treichel when he had changed his identity to Smith.

He committed 27 breaches of betting rules, 16 relating to bets on his own mounts and 11 on other runners in races he was involved in. He placed approximately 174 bets on races he has not riding in through various betting accounts. There was no evidence of any corruption in the races the jockey bet and rode in.

As one of the accounts was opened in 2015, Smith could be investigated by Racing NSW and Queensland as he was licensed by both jurisdictions.

The inquiry notice said: “This is a unique set of circumstances not seen before in Australian racing. The coveting of a change of identity and subsequent volume of betting whilst licensed as a jockey is unprecedented.”

Smith has the right to appeal.

This story was originally published by Horse Racing Planet and is reprinted here with permission.

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NSW: Prize Money For Owner Phoenix Thoroughbreds Frozen Over Money Laundering Allegations

Racing New South Wales has frozen the prize money of owner Phoenix Thoroughbreds, reports Just Horse Racing, over allegations the founder Amer Abdulaziz is involved in money laundering.

“Racing NSW has investigated the matter and any allegation made in respect to legal proceedings internationally is denied by Mr. Abdulaziz,” said Racing NSW chairman of stewards Marc Van Gestel. “Pending the outcome of those matters Racing NSW is freezing the prizemoney of horses raced by Phoenix Thoroughbreds.”

Just Horse Racing reports: “In January, Phoenix and Canberra casino owner Tony Fung were the top buyers at the Magic Millions yearlings sale having spent $11.6 million on 19 horses.”

Phoenix also campaigned 2020 Golden Slipper winner Farnan.

Phoenix reportedly is not permitted to race in France, United Arab Emirates or the United Kingdom. No state racing commissions in the United States have taken regulatory action against Phoenix.

Phoenix continues to be active at U.S. bloodstock sales, including the $1.2 million bid by Phoenix agent Gerard Butler to buy out a partner in stakes winner Lady Apple last November at Fasig-Tipton. Shannon Arvin, president and CEO of Keeneland, released the following statement concerning Phoenix being allowed to participate in sales after court documents filed by a federal prosecutor in a money laundering case involving the multi-billion-dollar OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, accused Abdulaziz of being a money launderer for OneCoin.

“Keeneland is aware of the allegations that may involve Phoenix Thoroughbreds and is monitoring the situation,” said Arvin. “However, it is our understanding that Phoenix Thoroughbred has not been indicted by a grand jury, let alone convicted on any allegations. Keeneland will continue to follow any developments in this matter, and certainly will comply with any regulatory or legal action or direction from a governing authority.”

Since the money laundering accusations were made in federal court against Abdulaziz, it is believed that he has not traveled to the United States from Dubai, where he resides.

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