It remains a bit of a baptism of fire for Queensland Racing’s new Chief Steward Josh Adams whose appointment to the top stewarding job in the state was confirmed by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Shane Gillard last week.
The announcement also confirmed that Adams would take over from the Acting Chief Steward Dan Aurisch with immediate effect. Aurisch had filled that role since the previous Chief Steward Peter Chadwick resigned and left the building overnight.
Adams certainly has had no time to settle into the role as he is currently chairing the steward’s inquiry into the shocking events that transpired in the build-up to the Birdsville races in late August when a photograph posted on social media appeared to reveal jockey Ric McMahon holding an electrical device (a jigger) when riding a Todd Austin trained horse at trackwork.
That inquiry which, so far, has covered three days of evidence, has most notably produced startling claims by McMahon, who threw Austin under the bus, shifting blame squarely onto the trainer for allegedly producing the jigger, only for Austin’s lawyer to basically counter with an attack on McMahon’s credibility as a witness, citing a list of previous indiscretions on McMahon’s part designed to put his evidence in doubt.
The photographer who took the photograph in question and a bookmaker friend of McMahon have also been questioned at this stage amidst fairly intense legal sparing between McMahon’s legal representative Gabe Hutchinson and Austin’s legal counsel Jim Murdoch … in an environment falling under Adam’s authority underlining the responsibility that comes with the position that Adams holds, both in this particular inquiry and in his overall role moving forward.
Originally, right after Chadwick’s departure, a Queensland Racing Integrity Commission media release on September 15 stated that the search for a new Chief Steward was to be taken world-wide, but ultimately their decision for the best man for the job came back to an internal appointment which Adams landing the job.
That is one major appointment completed in the world of Queensland racing.
Another appointment to a significant role remains to be made in the coming months after the CEO of Racing Queensland, Brendan Parnell, announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the organisation in Autumn next year.
