Racing Industry

In the first of a new series, Jessica Owers chats to the recently retired Val Hayward about her 37 years with Magic Millions, her love of travel and the ever-changing nature of her own life and the thoroughbred industry which became her professional home.

With a flair for figures, Gary Crispe has helped turn RAS Technology Holdings into a global racing data powerhouse. It is no surprise he has applied the same thinking to his quest for racetrack success.

The King Island season will be shortened to four meetings as the first step in a restructured summer program aimed at saving 2025/2026 racing in the Bass Strait community.

Part-owner Neil Werrett was heartbroken when Black Caviar died 12 months ago, but the continued success of her remarkable family has been some solace for he and the crew of friends who raced the unbeaten superstar.

Flemington and the Victoria Racing Club have seen off a determined bid from the Melbourne Racing Club and Caulfield to win the rights to host the 2026 Cox Plate.

For all the discussion about the Australian thoroughbred industry’s need to co-operate and focus on the future, its inability to sort through the mess that is the black-type pattern speaks to the lack of leadership when it comes to a truly national approach, writes Bren O’Brien.

The Pattern of Racing has always been a thorny issue. Every few months it resurfaces, and with it the same debate: how do we ensure a program that balances quality, commercial reality, respects traditional values and the long-term health of the industry?