https://www.g1x.com.au/news/racing/embattled-trainer-kate-goodrich


Embattled trainer Kate Goodrich claims Racing Victoria has “destroyed her” and asked Fair Work Australia to place a “stop bullying order” against Racing Victoria CEO Bernard Saundry on Tuesday.

Goodrich claims the inaction of RV in dealing with her bullying case has left her with no alternative but to take action against Saundry. She claims Saundry has done nothing to address the findings of an independent investigation, which found she had been “bullied” and subject to “threatening behaviour” while training horses at Kilmore.

Read: Investigation rules in favour of Goodrich

The independent investigation, commissioned by RV, also found a suspension of Goodrich by the Kilmore Racing Club to be “flawed, unjustifiable and did not withstand scrutiny”.

“They have destroyed me,” Goodrich said. “Looking at these horses just breaks my heart. I’ve got to the point where I will have to sell everything.”

Goodrich said Saundry has been in possession of the independent report for 10 months, but “has done nothing”. She said the bullying was continuing.

“For three years I haven’t been provided with a safe workplace,” Goodrich said.

“Racing Victoria is not going to handle it – they just go around and around in circles.

“I need someone to come in and make a ruling on the investigation.”

RV declined to discuss specific aspects of the Goodrich case, but issued the following statement on Tuesday.

“Racing Victoria remains actively engaged with Ms Goodrich and her representative Mr Jess in a bid to facilitate a resolution of her dispute with the Kilmore Racing Club.

“As these discussions are ongoing, we do not intend to comment publicly on the specifics at this time, other than to say that we remain committed to facilitating a resolution at the earliest opportunity.”

Goodrich also accused RV of providing false and misleading information about her in a document sent in January 2015 to Racing Minister Martin Pakula.

Goodrich, in documents seen by G1X.com.au, told Pakula via email on May 11 that Saundry and RV government relations and company secretary Mark Close had sent him documents that displayed “clear bias".

She said she received the documents, obtained under a Freedom Of Information search, “contained factually incorrect and misleading information about me”.

Goodrich, in her email to Pakula, said that at a meeting with RV earlier this month she had been told she had her “chance to put our side forward to the government.”

“As I explained to Mr Close, the information he provided the government was not a ‘side'; it was factually incorrect,” Goodrich said.

“Racing Victoria should hold itself to the highest standards when communicating with government departments and by sending this 'scuttlebutt' they have failed to do so. Why did Racing Victoria feel the need to take a ‘side'?"

Goodrich said in her email to Pakula that when she went to RV and Country Racing Victoria for help with the bullying, harassment and threatening behaviour she was experiencing at the Kilmore Race Club, she did not receive help or support.

“Their behaviour escalated the harm that has occurred and the reprisal I have faced has made working in the industry almost impossible for me, and I have felt isolated and excluded,” Goodrich said.

“When I have requested assistance from the industry due to their failure to resolve this situation meaning my not having anywhere to train my horses; Racing Victoria have ignored these requests.”

Goodrich has asked for the horses remaining in her stable to be transferred to pre-trainer Nathan Dunn at the expense of RV, but she said this proposal was rejected.

“This was a reasonable request; I did not profit out of it and it would have shown some good faith to the owners who have been dragged through this situation,” Goodrich said.

“Bernard Saundry has been made aware of all the following. Why, in his role as CEO, has he chosen to ignore this and prolong this situation?

“They have basically hung me out to dry. They just don’t get it – they don’t get the damage they’ve done.

“They have asked me to be on this female steering committee to find ways to bring women into racing. I said ‘you have got to be kidding me.' I wouldn’t recommend anyone into the racing industry let alone females given what they have done to me.

“When you look at it as a whole, it wasn’t just the Kilmore Racing Club that was out to get me. I have given them three years to fix this. They won’t even say the word 'bullying' – they say grievances. Really, I’ve been bullied.”

Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna said his department is still reviewing Goodrich’s case. He said he had no time-line when it would be completed.

“We are still getting information from RV about what they have done about it,” Perna said.

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Not a very good look for RVL and the Racing Integrity Commission that this has not been resolved ...asking Fair Work to intervene when there's no master servant relationship seems a wasted exercise .

Giddy Up



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GiX

The Sad Perna mystery is on a par with 'what happened to 'turnbull p m'

It is about time an administrator was appointed to run RVL -- issue after issue is festering and TAB punters are being treated with disgraceful disdain daily.

The idea of betting on Melbourne mid-week racing is never again likely to occur to me --  the nonsense presented at the Valley of Tears is the stuff of legend and off-season Saturday racing in melbourne is similarly bereft of proper management of the quality of the racing presented.

........... bettor-not is the punters' motto for RVL.

Goodrich asks Integrity Commissioner for help

BY Adrian Dunn - @adriandunn2

2 hours ago Horse Racing

Kate Goodrich. (Pic: supplied)


Embattled trainer Kate Goodrich has asked Victoria’s Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna to arbitrate her latest incident.

Goodrich has made an impassioned plea to Perna after an incident at Kilmore on Monday that has led to Racing Victoria refusing to accept her nomination for any horse she trains.

RV stewards notified Goodrich they would not accept any nomination from her following her decision on Monday not to allow members of the Compliance Assurance Team to enter her Kilmore stables to inspect a horse she had engaged at the meeting.

Goodrich described as “untenable” her situation with RV.

“I just don’t trust them and I have the evidence of why I don’t trust them,” Goodrich told G1X.com.au.

“It is so disgusting that you can have your life destroyed and no one held is accountable.”

Goodrich said she is awaiting a jurisdictional verdict as to whether RV is considered an employer. She added if that outcome is correct she will go to Fair Work Australia.

“I don’t have a safe working environment. All the evidence I have is either dismissed or totally ignored,” Goodrich said.

“I can’t go in front of the stewards I don’t trust. There’s evidence of a Racing Victoria employee planting evidence and that has been used to threaten my trainer’s licence.

“How can I trust they are going to act in the best faith?”

Goodrich said Rhys Melville and Simon Quintner, members of the Compliance Assurance Team, arrived at her stables on Monday to inspect Street Stalker, who was engaged to run in a Benchmark 64 later that day at Kilmore.

Goodrich said she refused the CA team access to her stables unless Victoria Police were present. She said the CA team recorded the interview and she also recorded it.

“I just said I didn’t trust them and they weren’t accountable. I told them (the CAT squad) I was happy for them to look at the horse but not unless the Police were here.

“I said, ‘I think that is fair given the allegations we have made against the (integrity) department' and they said no they would not do that and then left.”

RV steward Geoff Hausfeld, who chaired the Kilmore meeting, then contacted Goodrich by telephone.

Goodrich said she offered to bring Street Stalker to the Kilmore track and have him drug tested, but she re-affirmed that she did not want any members of the RV Integrity team on her property.

RV declined to take up Goodrich’s offer.

Goodrich said she sent the recording of the Monday interview to Perna along with a letter. She has asked him to help her resolve an issue.

“This is now four years old and no one has been held answerable for their actions against me,” Goodrich said.

“It has all been covered up. Since I didn’t sign off on their offer all communication with me has been cut off. I have all this evidence of improper behavior that hasn’t been looked at.”

On Tuesday, RV chairman of stewards Terry Bailey sent notification to Goodrich that she can’t nominate horses until such time as she appears before an inquiry into why members of the CA team were denied access to her stables.

“Thanks to the actions of the integrity department I don’t have horses to nominate anyway because of the damage they have done to me,” Goodrich said.

Goodrich said there was in incident at Wangaratta races in October which revolved around the shoeing of her horses.

She said she told stewards at Wangaratta that no-one was listening to her allegations against the integrity department or employees of RV and consequently she did not “trust the system”.

“I basically told them the actions of the integrity department against me had not been in good faith and I believed they had been malicious and deliberate in hurting me, but nothing came of it,” Goodrich said.

“There wasn’t a hearing into what I said so I wrote to Bernard Saundry. I said, 'While all my allegations remain unresolved and unanswered, I don’t believe it it fair for the integrity department to come on my property.'

“I don’t trust them. I told Sal Perna (Victorian Racing Integrity Commissioner). That email went to Bernard, Ron Beasley, a (RV) Board member and it went to the ATA (Australian Trainers Association).

“Not one of them bothered to acknowledge the email.”

Goodrich said she sent the email on October 26.

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Getting Sal involved she's hoping for a miracle a big change of mind .....he wiped his hands on her  original complaint now she's in more trouble.....obviously she needs some help trying to get Fair Work involved is a desperate and futile move.


Giddy Up

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Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus........... and today he  santa-sacked the board that ran RVL in a way that dismayed the punters.

 It was just and just what I wanted for Christmas.

.................. I will put the filled sack in the rubbish bin (not to be recycled)

The quicker this matter gets before a judicial review body the better -- this is not a good look for RVL.

Go girl -- you are on a good thing -- get thee to a judge and  ride it out

Don't tell the judge

A judge, fairly counselled after reviewing the file, will be free to consider all elements of the circumstances which have led to a minor expression of civil disobedience -- one clearly intended to flush out the cultural and attitudinal issues that have led to this imbroglio more generally.

This matter should have been put before a judge well before this.

One can only hope the 'new' RVL is not far from being installed to run racing in Victoria -- and this hearing will also be instructive in illustrating what has to be done.

Don't tell the judge

A judge, fairly counselled after reviewing the file, will be free to consider all elements of the circumstances which have led to a minor expression of civil disobedience -- one clearly intended to flush out the cultural and attitudinal issues that have led to this imbroglio more generally.

This matter should have been put before a judge well before this.

One can only hope the 'new' RVL is not far from being installed to run racing in Victoria -- and this hearing will also be instructive in illustrating what has to be done.

Exactly.

The Judge is an absolute disgrace if he does not allow these issues to be heard and taken into account.

For    sake it is the motivating factor behind the incident.

Bring it on! Now the documents TV have tried to suppress under FOI may be subpoenaed..
Ahhh, the wonders of an actual court...
RV should be worried- she's had the evidence all along, now she has the ppl to use it...