By: Andrew Eddy

Chief executive Giles Thompson said he was comfortable with Racing Victoria’s handling of integrity issues within racing despite the release of explosive text messages in Wednesday’sĀ Herald Sunregarding widespread doping.

“There are a whole range of measures that we use to ensure that the integrity of our sport is protected,” Thompson toldĀ RSN927’s Racing PulseĀ on Wednesday morning.

“Those measures will improve over time. At Racing Victoria we have the resources and the investment and the will of the board to do that.

“We invest huge amounts – well over $8 million in 2017 alone – to ensure the integrity of our sport.

“That is multiples more than most sports anywhere in the world.”

Thompson said no one who loved racing liked to see Wednesday’s headlines involving high-profile trainers and former employees of Aquanita Racing but he said the revelations at least highlighted RV’s commitment to catching wrong-doers.

“As painful as it is to see us on the front page with a story that is not a positive racing story, the silver lining is that we are doing something about integrity,” he said.

“We don’t want to stick our head in the sand and we’re on the front foot to ensure that those participants – that is the vast majority – that want to compete on a level playing field in our sport, that they can with confidence.

“I think it’s important to recognise that this is an isolated case in racing in Victoria. The vast majority of our participants do the right thing and love it for the sport that it is.”

Thompson said the leak to theĀ Herald SunĀ was not of RV’s doing.

“I’m 100 per cent confident that this information has not been passed to the Herald Sun by Racing Victoria,” he said.

Thompson said his hands were tied in relation to saying more about the on-going doping investigation.

“I can’t comment on the specifics of any case or comment on the specifics of any evidence around a case,” Thompson said.

“Our priority here is to ensure that if we find evidence that is worthy of prosecution, that the prosecution happens appropriately and effectively and by going into detail about evidence, I put that at risk.

“The priority here is the integrity of the sport.”