“SOLD OUT” SYDNEY CUP DAY LUNCHEON A GREAT SUCCESS

Commiserations to those of you who could not make our Annual Sydney Cup Day luncheon. You missed out on something very special indeed. The function, which was a sell out, took place on Anzac Day at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

As you are aware, racing on Anzac Day is an Australasian tradition and one which NSWROA was very pleased to be involved with. So much so that when some of the many servicemen on course for the day came collecting, they were invited to stay.

Our friends from Redkite with Catherine Kelly (third from right) and John Kelly (far right) at the luncheon		NSWROA President Ray McDowell with servicemen at the luncheon

The function commenced with pre-luncheon drinks in the Kingston Town Room before moving into the Vista Room for a sumptuous buffet luncheon. I would like to extend our thanks to Roger Brassington from the AJC Convention Centre for all his help with the function and also to all the staff “on duty” that day.

The Master of Ceremonies for the day was our good friend Richard Davey, who did a brilliant job as always keeping everyone updated and entertained and we extend our sincere thanks to him.

One of the many “highlights” on the day was the Tipping Competition. To assist the vast array of guests, we were most fortunate to obtain the services of Stephen Brassel, Tony Brassel, Ken Callander, Henry Noonan and Max Presnell as our Guest Tipsters for the afternoon.

Henry Noonan was also kind enough to provide bookmaking services for the function. Our thanks to all the gentlemen and congratulations to Mr Scott Heffernan, the winner of the competition.

In addition, Henry Noonan was very happy to run again, the second chance draw for losing betting tickets. This prize was won for the second year in a row when the lucky drawer backed Noble Edict in race 8 at 14.0 (Trained by Kevin Moses who was also in the room) which returned the winner and Redkite $1,300.00 respectively paid in cash on the day.

Master of Ceremonies – Mr Richard Davey		Catherine Kelly (right) with Joanne Cracknell – the winner of the Best Hat Competition

The Best Hat and Best Tie Competitions were other highlights on the day. Catherine Kelly from Embellish Atelier, another of our wonderful supporters, was kind enough to adjudicate on the Best Hat Competition – and what a fantastic job she did.

The Best Tie Competition was also a closely contested event. Redkite Chief Executive Officer, Jenni Seton took on the hard task of selecting the winner of this competition.

A raffle was also conducted on the day and a big thank you to Kelly McLean from Redkite for officiating.

Jenni Seton (right) with Jeff Jarvis – the winner of the Best Tie Competition		Kelly McLean from Redkite drawing the raffle prizes

During the afternoon, various friends and guests “dropped in” including Brother Dan Stafford, John Cornish and James Mathers from the AJC.

A pictorial guide to the luncheon will appear on the website (www.nswroa.com.au) shortly but hereunder are a few of the very happy attendees:

Jennifer and Max Whitby with Brother Dan Stafford		NSWROA Director Michael Kissane and Robyn Kissane		NSWROA members Cress Dawson & Mytch Jeffrey with Brother Dan Stafford

And lastly, let’s not forget NSWROA members who had winners on Anzac Day. Congratulations to:
* Patinack Farm Racing Syndicate (Group 1 AJC Champagne Stakes with Onemorenomore)
* Alan Cardy (part owner of Cape Breton winner of AJC Tabcorp Handicap)
* Bob and Jan Bergstrom (the owners and breeders of Extra Zero winner of the Listed Anzac Day Stakes at Flemington)
* Sheikh Mohammed (Nixie a winner at Broadmeadow)
* Robin Lees and Len Hoyle (Year Long a winner at Murwillumbah)
* Terry Burke (Nobragnow a winner at Nyngan).

44TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

A reminder notice to members that the forty-fourth Annual General Meeting of the NSW Racehorse Owners Association Limited (ACN 000 498 859) will be held at 'The Rugby Club', Rugby Place, Off 31A Pitt Street, Sydney, 3rd Floor - Barbarian Room, on the 19 May 2009 at 6.00pm.

SWINE FLU: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE INDUSTRY AND EQUINE INSURANCE

Our good friends and corporate partner Gow Gates Insurance Brokers, have kindly prepared, via Kingsley Edwards, B.Agr.Ec (Syd.), Dip.Fin.Serv. (Ins. Broking), ANZIIF (Snr. Assoc.), C.I.P., the following update on 8 May 2009:

With the devastating impact of Equine Influenza still fresh in the minds of racehorse owners, the recent outbreak of swine flu around the world has caused much concern. Some of the established and relevant facts surrounding Swine Influenza are outlined below which have been used as the basis for evaluating the threat to the equine population in Australia.

Swine Influenza is an acute respiratory disease caused by type A influenza virus which is found in pigs and is highly contagious. Although causing varying degrees of illness, it has a low mortality rate of around 1% of pigs infected. No cases of Swine Influenza have ever been detected or reported in Australia, however it occurs in most other pig producing countries throughout the world and interestingly is considered endemic in the USA and Mexico.

The current outbreak is significant because the virus that has emerged recently is a new subtype of H1N1 not previously detected in pigs or people and furthermore, this new strain of the influenza A virus has been identified as having components of swine, avian and human influenza viruses. For this reason, it has introduced an element of uncertainty regarding the behaviour of the virus.

Swine Influenza is normally species specific and although in the past it has occasionally spread from pigs to humans, it has rarely spread from person to person. This is another complicating factor in predicting the virus and its effects.

To date, however, there have been no reported infections of horses anywhere in the world by this strain of Swine Influenza and the consensus amongst equine veterinary specialists at this stage is that it is most unlikely that horses will contract the disease.

From an insurance perspective, the London market (where the vast majority of Australian horses are insured), is presently taking the view that the risk for the horse industry is minimal. There is therefore no indication at the moment that insurers will place an exclusion on equine insurance policies in respect of swine influenza.

The issue of Swine Influenza and its influence on horses is being monitored very closely by authorities and vets all over the world and may change at any time.

Disclaimer: The information in the above article is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon without seeking independent professional advice.

2009 SYDNEY AUTUMN CARNIVAL RACING MASS

The 2009 Sydney Autumn Carnival Racing Fraternity Mass was conducted at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Kensington. The Mass which is nondenominational, blessed the racing fraternity for the STC Golden Slipper and AJC Royal Randwick Carnivals.

Father Adrian F. Meaney – photo courtesy Steve White		Bill Picken, Julia Ritchie & Michael Kenny with trophies for blessing – photo courtesy Steve White

The event is organised by Brother Dan Stafford, the racing chaplain, who said: “the Racing Mass now forms part of the official events calendar for the Autumn Carnival. This year’s Mass was the best attended in recent years”.

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS

A WINNER – there are no better words for an owner to hear! As members are aware, as part of our membership renewal process, NSWROA requested members to forward the names of their racehorses in order for us to acknowledge their racing triumphs in our publications.

Accordingly, hereunder are the lucky NSWROA members who had winners in April 2009:

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

If you are receiving this newsletter by “snail mail” and have recently obtained an email address, please advise the office of your new email address.

It should be noted that Members receiving the Newsletter by email receive it in its new user friendly style - html format whilst the old PDF format is used for “hardcopy” recipients.

Yours in Racing
Ray McDowell, President
11 May 2009