Blinkers On is a weekly column covering the biggest issues of the spring racing carnival.
It is the last thing racing needed on the eve of Melbourne Cup week – another group of unsuspecting victims caught up in racing’s breast cancer drug saga. But, here we are again.
This time around, up to 50 owners have had their Cup week dreams ruined because their horse Major Share has produced a left-field positive to formestane – a mysterious substance that popped out of nowhere almost four years ago and which has baffled the racing industry ever since.
It is the second time Major Share has thrown a positive swab in 12 months and as a result, their talented gelding can’t run on Oaks Day.
To say the large cohort of country-based owners are gutted is an understatement. One minute they are booking their tickets to Flemington, the next they are packing away their suits.
“I’ve been involved in horses in one form or another for 50 years, and this is the best horse I’ve ever been involved in, by a considerable margin,” retired school teacher Greg May told this masthead.
“To not be able to see him race because of something, which all the evidence points to occurs naturally and in minute doses, so it has no impact on his physical performance whatsoever, is incredibly frustrating.
“We’ve got another six or eight weeks of bills to pay with no possible chance of getting any prizemoney back, and it’s not [trainer] Adam Chambers’ fault.
“If anything, I think Adam is more of a victim in this than the owners because his reputation has been impinged.”
Major Share was due to return this week after 12 months out. It first tested positive at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day last year. No one has ever been able to explain why.
There are two trains of thought. The substance is produced naturally by horses as it is in humans, or it is a performance-enhancing supplement. As a drug, formestane is not available in Australia.
In this case, as in all the mystery cases, owners have backed their trainers. They all circle back to UK research that points to the substance being exogenous – naturally occurring. Sadly for them, the research is still yet to be peer-reviewed and published, so cannot be used in evidence.
But here’s what sets this latest case apart: it was a voluntary test. Warrnambool-based Chambers organised for the swab to be taken so that Major Share could be cleared to return to racing. He drove the horse to Hamilton races seven weeks ago to provide the urine sample.
It is hard to believe a trainer would set himself up to fail.
A bitter pill to swallow
When it comes to formestane, which is used in some countries to treat breast cancer, Racing Victoria continues to hide behind the rules.
RV says a horse must be banned for 12 months if it throws up a positive at a race meeting, trial or jumpouts.
The organisation says it is bound by the Australian rules of racing, and cannot make state-based exceptions.
It is a bitter pill for connections to swallow.
“I can tell you that there are owners of Major Share who won’t be investing again in horses because of the way we’ve been treated,” May said.
So far, 13 Victorian stables have had horses disqualified since February 2023. All have protested their innocence.
“It is something that we have no control over, no trainer has any control over, and Racing Victoria has dropped the ball in terms of amending the rules to say, ‘well, we accept that trainers aren’t doing it. It occurs naturally’,” May said.
“Surely, it’s within their powers to say, ‘we’ll either stop swabbing for it or put any penalties on hold until the scientific evidence from their research is finalised’.”
At least in this latest case, Major Share will not be rubbed out because Chambers requested the sample outside a race, trial or jumpout.
Meanwhile, we have to wait.
Racing Victoria told this masthead it has commissioned its own research.
Racing Analytical Services Laboratory, which is part-owned by Racing Victoria, will conduct a global study of more than 15 target compounds including formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone, 6a-hydroxyandrostenedione and DHEA.
The study will take 12 months. By then, Major Share might be cleared to run on Oaks Day.
Unhappy punters at Derby Day
On face value, Derby Day was a roaring success. More than 88,000 people flocked to Flemington and largely avoided the forecast rain.
But not everyone was happy. Those who spent the day in the precinct’s nursery carpark were left feeling unloved.
They said drivers had to wait more than an hour to enter that section of the course to set up their catering for the day; those on foot had to wait more than an hour to pass through the limited number of turnstiles; and there were not near enough toilet facilities.
Interestingly, these issues might have ramifications at the coming Victoria Racing Club elections.
Melbourne Cup week is run by a members-based club, unlike, say, the Australian Open or Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The board can be held accountable, and members will be asked to cast votes on four VRC boardroom seats at the end of this month.
A large chunk of those members were in the nursery carpark on Saturday, many of them busting to use the loo.
Shadow over Tabcorp?
Racegoers might continue to live it up at Flemington this week amid a sea of TAB-sponsored green, but it is not all fun and frivolity for the gambling giant.
Tabcorp boss Gill McLachlan fronted investors last week and revealed his company was still being probed by the financial crimes cop (Austrac) about their ability to manage money laundering risks.
“Our growth plans will not come at the expense of keeping our customers safe,” McLachlan told those tuning in to Tabcorp’s annual general meeting.
“[We have a] dedicated team fully co-operating with Austrac. [We will] inform the market when there is a material update. Financial crime and risk transformation programs are an absolute priority.”
Tabcorp, which booked a net profit of $46.3 million from $2.63 billion in revenue for the 2026 financial year, said the investigation was at an early stage despite kicking off in May.
But, in its annual report, McLachlan’s mob acknowledged that any breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws could lead to “significant” penalties.
For its part, the watchdog said it “had a number of serious concerns with Tabcorp’s ability to effectively identify, mitigate and manage its ML/TF [money laundering and terrorism financing] risks”.
McLachlan hired ex-Austrac chief executive Paul Jevtovic as its chief financial crime officer, after news emerged about the regulator’s concerns in May.
