Racing Victoria is facing legal action from the trainers of last year’s Melbourne Cup winners, Sheila Laxon and John Symons. The Queensland pair has filed a claim in the District Court after discovering that they have yet to receive their share of the $464,000 prizemoney, despite payments being made to the winning jockey and owners. They are entitled to approximately 10 per cent of Knight’s Choice’s earnings, which totalled $4.4 million.
The issue arose when Racing Victoria transferred the funds, but the trainers’ bank account details were outdated. Consequently, they cannot access an old account, while Racing Victoria claims to have made efforts to resolve the matter without success. A spokesperson stated they are unable to elaborate due to the ongoing legal proceedings but affirmed that all due prizemoney has been disbursed according to their records.
Despite the account reportedly being still active, neither Laxon nor Symons can access it, and none of the funds have been transferred by the individual who currently has access. This situation mars the triumph of Knight’s Choice, who, at odds of $100, surprised the nation with a stunning victory under jockey Robbie Dolan’s guidance at Flemington in November.