Racing:Time to sheath the knives

The Geoff Small-trained Changeover wins the 2008 NZ Trotting Cup at Addington. Photo / Simon Baker

THE biggest idiot at New Zealand Cup week might have unwittingly done harness racing a favour.

Because the drunk who threw a pen that turned into a knife might finally have highlighted the silliness surrounding racing's longest-running legal battle.

In case you missed it, a racegoer got drunk at Addington last Tuesday and threw a pen on to the track during the New Zealand Cup.

At any normal time this would be a cowardly, stupid act to be handled by the police.

But this is no normal time. We are living in the Changeover/Geoff Small era, when reality has left the stabling block.

So, over the weekend, that pen became in the minds of some a knife, which was inexplicably aimed at the horse, Changeover.

The end result - TV One news runs a piece stating a knife might have been thrown at the New Zealand Cup field.

Welcome to the circus that is harness racing 2009.

Because in this new harness racing world, the one created by the actions of Geoff Small and reactions of others, logic has been knifed - or penned - to death.

Let's quickly recap.

South Auckland trainer Small is training under stays of proceedings here and in Australia after drug charges involving Changeover and another charge involving abusing officials at Addington and pulling a horse out of a race without a reason.

These come on the back of numerous other charges over three years.

Bottom line: Small is now the most unpopular trainer in harness racing.

He is a hell of a yearling selector and great horseman but he has acted unprofessionally on occasions and needs to control his temper. On a personal note, I've told him he should never drive again.

Because of protracted delays to his hearings, Small has caused frustration in some sectors of the industry.

Which is where things start getting really messy.

It is impossible to discuss Small with almost anybody in harness racing now without an emotive, sometime hysterical, response.

For punters and fans that is fair, they are passionate and have the right to voice their opinions. But officials? Paid professionals? The media?

How many industry insiders who criticise Small are also now acting unprofessionally?

An example. Supposedly, one of the owners of Auckland Reactor physically threatened driver Philip Butcher after last Friday's New Zealand Free-For-All.

Stewards warned him. Warned him?

Would he have got off so lightly if he had physically threatened any other licence holder in the stabling block?

Maybe Phil Butcher deserved to be abused, but that is not the point. The rules of harness racing are there to protect everybody, even those who drive for Geoff Small.

One of the claims frequently lodged against Small is that some of his actions have brought harness racing into disrepute.

I agree.

But what about officials and media who have told the public knives are being thrown around Addington and there were fears of ugly scenes if Changeover was allowed to race?

Such unsubstantiated and subsequently clearly wrong statements are doing more to harm harness racing. They are bringing the industry into even greater disrepute.

Ask any casual NZ Cup Week racegoers about tranexamic acid or team driving and they will look at you blankly before getting back to their beer.

Tell them people are throwing knives around and they may not be so keen to come back next year.

So what has the idiot with the pen that became a knife taught harness racing? Calm down.

Let the best qualified people - the JCA, High Court judges - rule on the future of Geoff Small.

Almost certainly it will take longer than you want. But is a two-year disqualification any less painful to Small in February than it is now?

Because people running around making things up, alarming the public and calling each other names is just embarrassing and makes harness racing look like a joke.

Like that now infamous joke about the pen that turned into a knife.