The racing community is a fickle lot. A jockey makes an instant decision on the home turn to go to the inside and gets blocked for a run, and punters will call for his head on a platter when he gets beaten. Another jockey breaks the Rules of Racing continuously over a period of time, and the racing media fall over themselves to defend the guilty.

Trackdata was amazed with comments such as “being made a scapegoat” and “all jockeys tip to punters at some stage” from some senior media personalities over the weekend. It was not so long ago (1995), that NSW Stewards gave Jim Cassidy a 21 month suspension for exactly the same crime. No-one was rushing in to defend Mr Cassidy at that time.

If Hong Kong is so lucrative that jockeys fall over themselves to get a contract there, why do they need to resort to extra forms of payment? If all jockeys give tips to punters, then why is Chris Munce the only one charged?

Does anyone really accept that as a society, citizens can choose which laws they will follow, and which laws they will reject, to suit themselves? Is it not commonsense that obeying the law while residing in an overseas country is even more important than in your own? Is anyone under the illusion that different countries may not treat the same crimes in the same way as Australia?

Trackdata has the utmost respect for Chris Munce as a professional jockey, and wishes sincere sympathies to his family at this very trying time, however, we feel at present, there are Australian jockeys with even more urgent problems that have occurred through no fault of their own, such as the Malcolm Pay appeal. It is time for the racing community to get their priorities right.