Off the Track WA horses will help vet nurses learn new skills through an online training course starting this winter. Applied Vocational Training (AVT) is launching an equine care course to give nurses the chance to gain a broader knowledge of the handling and treatment of large animals. AVT Assessor Ann-Marie Moyles said content was […]

The only person who was surprised when Kelly Roads won an animal welfare award was Kelly Roads. The thoroughbred racehorse retrainer and serial greyhound foster mum holds the 2022 Kerry Vernon Award for Excellence in Greyhound Welfare, part of Racing and Wagering Western Australia’s Greyhound of the Year Awards, despite having no idea she was […]

Racehorse welfare is being reinforced by a new initiative to bring down the cost of high-tech health scans. Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) is introducing a rebate of half the cost of using advanced diagnostic imaging to investigate musculoskeletal conditions in thoroughbred and standardbred racehorses, up to $1500. RWWA Veterinary Services Manager Dr Judith […]

Racing and Wagering Western Australia — the State-appointed regulator of racing — welcomes a report examining thoroughbred horse welfare across Australia. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group’s (TAWWG) report, an industry group including breeders, trainers, jockeys, and owners, consulted industry and other stakeholders about the effectiveness of welfare arrangements. It made several recommendations related to […]

Legendary racehorse Rock Magic has quite a few quirks but his strapper Natasha Barbarich understands and loves all of them. The champion, trained by Chris and Michael Gangemi, ran his last race in the Winterbottom Stakes on 27 November 2021. At the age of 12, he moves on from his first career of 16 wins […]

An advanced veterinary imaging centre at Murdoch University will help Western Australian horses stay in top shape. Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) has partnered with The Animal Hospital at Murdoch University (TAHMU) to bring standing CT and MRI to the horse community, including subsidised scans for thoroughbred and standardbred racehorses. Innovations in CT and […]

The Taylors are well known in racing circles and have long been a horse family.  Lochie Taylor is the third generation of his clan to choose a life with horses and he’s proud of the tradition started by his grandparents Lois and Mick Taylor.  Three generations still join in the chores at the family property in Bullsbrook, including Lochie’s trainer dad Jim Taylor, his TV racing personality sister Brittany and grandmother Lois, who holds a special place in racing […]

Work and leisure are two different things for most people but for Mara Coombes life merges with livelihood. At work, she is Racing and Wagering Western Australia’s Off the Track WA Marketing Coordinator, supporting racehorses in finding new homes and purpose when they retire. At home, her family includes an off the track thoroughbred, an […]

When Phoebe retires as a clerk horse for harness racing, Tamara Markham will lose her most trusted colleague. Together, Tamara and Phoebe learned their clerk of the course duties 14 years ago and they’ve been taking care of each other and the horses and drivers at racetracks across the state ever since. But as Phoebe […]

Elite racehorse Man Booker is beginning a second career as a show horse with a rider who was delighted to give him a new home when he retired. Together, he and new partner Indianna Weinert have been working on their skills and a recent coaching clinic on the first anniversary of the Off the Track […]