Waiting is the worst part for racing abuse victim Dennis Green.
Fifty years have passed since the former jockey and trackwork rider was subjected to, and witnessed, sexual abuse and cruel practices by older staff while working at the Caulfield stables of trainer Geoff Murphy.
Former apprentice jockey and trackwork rider Dennis Green.
Two-and-a-half years have elapsed since he spoke about those horrors to the Office of the Racing Integrity Commissioner as part of an industry-wide review.
Eighteen months ago, the commissioner tabled a 78-page abuse report calling for nine recommendations, including restitution for victims, to be adopted by racing’s three codes – thoroughbreds, harness and greyhounds – by March this year.
Six weeks ago, Green wrote a letter to Racing Victoria CEO Aaron Morrison asking if the nine recommendations had been acted upon.
He told this masthead last week he was still waiting for answers.
“It’s been 50 years, for some of us, of silence,” Green said. “Total bloody silence and non accountability. It’s devastating.”
Green was one of 185 people who spoke to then-Victorian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll’s office between 2022 and 2023. Not all of them were victims.
But their sessions revealed decades of physical abuse, sexual abuse, assault and harassment.
“I took a risk doing it because you are re-traumatising yourself over stuff that you just want to let go because it is so god-damn poisonous and toxic to you,” Green said.
Former racing Integrity commissioner Sean Carroll handed down a 78-page abuse report in 2023.Credit: Joe Armao
“It was only on the promise of transparency and accountability that I even partook in the thing.”
The report’s recommendations, released publicly by Carroll in August 2023, included the establishment of a redress scheme for victims, drawing on “best practice from other sports and industries”, as well as reporting mechanisms, education programs, and processes to ensure participant and child safety.
Carroll, who has since taken up a post in Tasmania, urged racing’s three codes to adopt the report’s nine recommendations within 12 to 18 months.
But that time has passed and Green said it felt like the victims were being kept in the dark.
“As soon as the 12 months was up, in August last year, I expected an update,” he said.
“They committed to transparency on all of this, but from my perspective, it’s just been silence.
“I want evidence that they have followed through. And to this point, there has been none.”
When contacted by this masthead, Racing Victoria admitted it had not yet implemented a redress scheme for victims. It expected to do so in the coming months.
But the state’s chief racing body said it had “completed or absorbed into practice” eight of the nine recommendations.
Green said he was still waiting for proof. He said no one had shared this information with the victims, publicly or privately.
“The scenario that I found really disturbing was when I did reach out to the review people about what’s going on, it was like, ‘Everyone’s sworn to secrecy’,” Green said.
“In other words, the last people that are going to hear about any of these recommendations, whether they are in place or not, are the 180-odd people that gave testimony.
“That doesn’t make sense from a victim-centred position … if you are going to drag them into a review, well, you have got to keep them informed.”
A report into systemic abuse in the Victorian racing industry was tabled in 2023.Credit: AP
Green said a so-called “anonymity” clause could not be used as an excuse.
“It is untrue that they don’t know who gave evidence. It is simply untrue,” he said.
“What happened was that you had to register for that review, so you had to have a point of contact. They’ve got everyone’s details.”
Racing Victoria replied to Green’s six-week old letter on Monday – the same day this masthead sent his office a series of questions about what action they had taken on Carroll’s report.
“After 50 years of nothing, you would probably expect no more than that. Of course, it would be tardy,” Green said of the delayed response.
Racing Victoria said in a statement on Tuesday it had been active in implementing the report’s recommendations.
It has mandated online learning modules, conducted on-the-ground training sessions, delivered a “large range of educational materials” to racing clubs and workplaces across the state, and held 17 sessions and workshops for trainers, racing clubs and stable leaders.
Green, now 66, said the ongoing trauma of abuse had cost him 40 years of his life. In 2008, two staff members from Murphy’s Caulfield stables, where Green lived and worked as an apprentice, were found guilty of indecent assault in the County Court.
“I was in drug rehabs and then jail throughout my whole 20s after I was apprenticed,” he said.
“My father suicided when he found out, so it has cost me a lot.
“I was travelling a lot better before this review, but that is the collateral damage of inaction and non-transparency and, frankly, bullshit narratives.”
Harness Racing Victoria said it had implemented three of the nine recommendations and expected to adopt the remaining six by the end of this year, while Greyhound Racing Victoria adopted a new rule in November last year “making it an offence to engage in harmful behaviours”.
The three racing codes made public apologies after the report was released in 2023.
The Cranbourne greyhound track is being renovated and reopened.Credit: Getty Images
Dogs return to Cranbourne
The state government is backing a $9.5 million rebuild of the Cranbourne dog track, three years after the venue was closed down for safety reasons.
Greyhound racing was abandoned at Cranbourne in January 2022 when a lure broke down mid-race, resulting in the death of one dog and injuring several others.
Work is scheduled to begin next year and the upgraded facility is expected to create 15 new jobs.
Racing Minister Anthony Carbines said the Allen government would contribute $4 million from its Victorian Racing Industry Fund, while Greyhound Racing Victoria would put in $3.5 million and the Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club $2 million.
“The upgrade will provide a safe and state-of-the-art venue,” Carbines said.
The new track will be wider and have fixed starts at the 650-metre, 420m and 330m marks.
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